Sweet Little Changito

Happy Thursday!  It's a Ways To Use It kind of challenge day.  Hannah is our hostess today and she asked us to use a child in our image or make a card for a child!  I couldn't resist this sweet little Changito character from Stampendous.  That little monkey reminds me so much of my daughter.  She always wants to be on her Dad's shoulders or his back.  He is very happy to oblige.  I think I will stamp a Happy Birthday sentiment inside and my daughter can give it to her Dad for his birthday in a couple of weeks.  I was going to quick and easy when I stamped this card.  I stamped my image first and then embossed the oval shape around it.  (Note to self:  Next time make sure it is a bit more balanced vertically).  Then I colored it and stamped my sentiment.  After that, my card felt like it needed a bit more.  I thought about it and came up with some cute little Verve heart stamps and used a red ink that matched my copic marker colored mouth.

On a personal note, the family is heading back to Winthrop this weekend for a little warmer temperatures.  My hubby is making it hard for me to get my craft on.  Never fear...the week after this is the buddy hike (no girls allowed), so I can get crafting then!  I'll leave you with a little picture that I always take of my girl when we are in Winthrop.  She's a bit of a wreck, as we were camping without water and power!!

Thanks for coming by and have a fabulous day!

Details - Stamps: Changito PiggyBack, Hang On To You (Stampendous), Love Notes (Verve); Paper: Sweet Tooth White; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Corner Chomper.



Friends and the Fourth

Happy Monday!  Are you ready for another Friends of Speedy TV challenge?  We have a great one for you.  This week the challenge is to make a 4th of July card.  I had to think and think on this one.  I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with for this challenge.  It's my Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company take on the Grand Old Flag.  I used the polka-dotted ribbon stamp from Flaps My Wattles and then borrowed a portion of a sentiment from Fabulous Dogs!  I did a little trimming, cutting, pasting and embossing and a card was born.

Don't forget that you are playing for a wonderful Mark's Finest Papers stamp set called "Oh Happy Day".  Check it out here:

I hope today kicks off a wonderful week for you!  I'm very excited as this is my first full week out of school.  I have plans to have fun!  Thanks for stopping by!

Details - Stamps: Flaps My Wattles (MFP), Fabulous Dogs (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Basic Black; Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Square Lattice ef, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals.

Silly Shells - A Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 
                        June Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Welcome Poppies Featured June 19
I'm In Stitches Featured June 20
Island Life Featured June 21
Silly Shells Featured June 22
Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on June 23, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday June 22, 2012.

Lois
Vicky
Anne
Pat G.
Karen H.
Patty P.
Mary
Marilynn
Pam
Debbie
Nancy
Bonnie
Kathy
Brenda
Toni
Tangii
Thrifty Stamper
Sue
Kelli
Janine
Tammylee
Janis L.
Mark's Finest

Hooray!  Friday is here and it brings us the last blog hop of June for the Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company release.  Today brings us Silly Shells.  What a darling set!!  I opted to make a birthday card.  I embossed the cone shell, sponged some ink over the top and trimmed it out.  I popped it up over my sentiment panel, embossed the mat below and tied on some copper cording.  I'll be taking off for a little camping later today.  It's too bad that we aren't heading to the beach to find some lovely shells like we have featured today.  We are going east of the mountains to find warmer weather.  It's still a bit cold to enjoy some shell hunting on the West Coast!

Thanks for stopping by!  Head on to Tangii's blog now for a bit of eye candy!

Details - Stamps: Silly Shells (MFP); Paper:  Sweet Tooth White, Chocolate Chip; Ink:  Versamark, Creamy Caramel, Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Clear ep, heat tool, paper snips, Nestabilities, D'vine Swirls ef, copper cording, stampin' dimensionals. 

Island Life - Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 

                        June Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Welcome Poppies Featured June 19
I'm In Stitches Featured June 20
Island Life Featured June 21
Silly Shells Featured June 22
Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on June 23, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday June 22, 2012.

Lois

Vicky

Anne

Pat G.

Karen H.

Patty P.

Mary

Marilynn

Pam

Debbie

Nancy

Bonnie

Kathy

Brenda

Toni

Tangii

Thrifty Stamper

Sue

Kelli

Janine

Tammylee

Janis L.

Mark's Finest

Happy Thursday to you!  Today I felt like water coloring.  I used a light touch, which is just my style.  I have a tough time with bold colors, but I think this turned out nicely!  I wish I could say our sky looked like this last night, but I won't complain.  We finally had a break in the rain and it warmed up into the 70's.  That's big for here in Western Washington.  What a treat for the first day of summer!  I used a Splitcoaststamper's sketch, but modified it just a little bit.  I changed the shape of the vertical panel.  My daughter had a track meet yesterday and took a second and third place ribbon in the 50 meter dash and the 50 meter hurdles.  I trimmed the tails of the vertical panel to match up with her ribbons!

Don't forget to swing by Tangii's blog and see what she has for you today!

Details - Stamps: Island Life (MFP); Paper: Watercolor paper, Basic Black, In color dsp; Ink: Versamark, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, Creamy Caramel, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi; Accessories; Watercolor brush, black ep, heat tool, 1 3/8" square punch, Nestabilities, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, scor-tape, stampin' dimensionals.

I'm In Stitches - Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 

                        June Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Welcome Poppies Featured June 19
I'm In Stitches Featured June 20
Island Life Featured June 21
Silly Shells Featured June 22
Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on June 23, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday June 22, 2012.

Lois

Vicky

Anne

Pat G.

Karen H.

Patty P.

Mary

Marilynn

Pam

Debbie

Nancy

Bonnie

Kathy

Brenda

Toni

Tangii

Thrifty Stamper

Sue

Kelli

Janine

Tammylee

Janis L.

Mark's Finest

This sample for today was inspired by my daughter's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Williams!!!  When I saw the measuring tape in this new set, I knew a teacher card was coming.  To make the measuring tape look like an authentic ruler, I had to find some paper that looked like wood grain.  I clear embossed the measuring tape and then sponged over the whole image to show the numbers and the 1/8th inch markings.    I finished off my card with some die cut letters and a heart punch.  Did I mention that I have been die cutting for the classroom all year.  Mrs. Williams and the teacher's aide had been tracing and hand cutting shapes for years!

I had to make another card when I saw this sentiment!  Those fabulous chipboard buttons and lace trim have been keeping my company at my desk for some time now.  The Sew..What's New? sentiment and the faux stitching with a simple little sketch is exactly what they have been waiting for.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to head over to Tangii's blog to see what treasure she has today!

Card 1 Details - Stamps: I'm In Stitches (MFP); Paper: Early Espresso, DCWV dp, Everyday Enchantment dsp; Ink: Versamark, Early Espresso, Accessories: clear ep, heat tool, Many Thanks sizzlit die, small heart punch, Piercabilities Pinking Border, corner chomper, sponge dauber, stampin' dimensional.

Card 2 Details - Stamps: I'm In Stitches (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Klutz dp; Ink: London Fog, Basic Gray; Accessories: Chipboard buttons, lavender lace, white embroidery floss, stampin' dimensionals, scor-tape, embossed curve border punch. 

Welcome Poppies - Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's 

June Blog Hop! 


 This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Welcome Poppies Featured June 19
I'm In Stitches Featured June 20
Island Life Featured June 21
Silly Shells Featured June 22

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on June 23, 2012 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday June 22, 2012. 

Lois 
Vicky 
Anne 
Pat G.
Karen H. 
Patty P. 
Mary
Marilynn 
Pam 
Debbie 
Nancy
Bonnie 
Kathy
Brenda
Toni
Tangii
Thrifty Stamper
Sue
Kelli
Janine
Tammylee
Janis L.
Mark's Finest 



For my sample today, I used a DIY paper technique I first saw used by Alison Cope last month.  I stamped all my poppies first in a random pattern and then colored between.  I liked the look so well, that I didn't feel the need to add color here or there like Allison did.  I just added a few rhinestones to the exposed poppy center and called it good.  I finished off my focal image with a some grosgrain ribbon and a sentiment.  My card base looked rather flat compared to my DIY paper, so I took my Versamark cube and inked up the edges a bit. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to head off to Tangii's blog to see what gem she has in store for you!

Details - Stamps: Welcome Poppies (MFP); Paper: Chipboard (MFP), Speedy The Cat Black Linen (MFP), Going Gray; Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamark; Accessories: Copic Markers, black grosgrain ribbon, M's rhinestones, Nestabilities, stampin' dimensionals.  

Friends and Summer

Welcome to Monday, once again!  I'm here with another Friends of Speedy TV challenge.  This week is all about summer.  I was thinking summer harvest.  I chose to use this wheat image from the Buffalo Spring stamp set.  I saw some pretty cool summer wheat harvest images on line and opted to go with kind of a funky layout for my card.  It's been pretty dreary here in Washington, even though summer is technically just around the corner.  We typically won't get our summer weather until quite a bit later!  So, in honor of our overcast sky, I offer you some muted colors today! 

This challenge will run all week and you know there is a prize involved.  Here is the fabulous Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company set that is up for grabs:  Lighthouses.

To play along, make a card following the summer harvest theme and link it up over at Speedy TV!  See you there!

Details - Stamps: Buffalo Spring (MFP); Paper: Chipboard (MFP), Deepest Mahogany (MFP), Speedy the Cat's Cream (MFP), Turquoise; Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Sponge dauber, thin turquoise satin ribbon, scor-tape.

Inspired by Earrings

Just a quickie little post today, while my hubby is enjoying a chat with one of his best buddies!  Yesterday, while he was fishing, I had a little time to play the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.  I chose a pair of earrings as my inspiration piece.  I got to use my newest Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company set.  This is called Welcome Poppies and will be released next week.  I love the black poppy image stamped on the kraft card stock.  I color one poppy for interest and added a sentiment flag to try and create a visual triangle. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is having a Happy Father's Day!

Details - Stamps: Welcome Poppies (MFP); Paper: Chip Board (MFP), Speedy the Cat Black Linen (MFP), Ruby Red; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, Square punch, stampin' dimensionals. 

Friends with Dad

Welcome to Monday and the new Friends of Speedy TV challenge.  Today on the Home of Speedy TV, the current challenge is to create a Father's Day card.  It's timely, of course, because Father's Day is next Sunday.  If you find masculine cards challenging, you may want to take a peek at what the team has posted.  The design team has put on a clinic with regard to masculine cards.  If you play along, you will all prepared and you may win the stamp set up for grabs!

The stamp I used, Get Reel, is this week's prize.  My sentiment and image are both from the set and you can see the entire set below. 

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous week!

Details - Stamps: Get Reel (Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company); Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Vellum; Ink: Tuxedo Black, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Accessories: Houndstooth ef, Nestabilities, Black Burlap twine, sponge dauber, square punch, glue dot and scor-tape.

Whew! I'm So Glad It's Sunday!

Sunday is my favorite day of the week!  I'm really glad that I have that to combat what a rotten time I had getting this post up.  I guess it was my turn to have blogging issues.  However, I think I just learned something!  For this card, I played along with a Flourishes Release Week Challenge.  The gist of  the challenge is to create a 10 minute card for those times when you are just about ready to head out the door to a function and realize that you have no card.  This almost feel criminal to a card maker like me.  In that spirit, I cruised through my card basket and discovered that I was shy a few birthday cards.  I opted to make this one a birthday card.  It was pretty quick! 

I stamped my sentiment and image, colored lightly with a blender pen, added some sparkle and some faux stitching and then matted it up.  Voila, a card!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your day is amazing!

Details - Stamps: Hello Hyacinth (Flourishes), Lighthouses (Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Basic Black, Wisteria Wonder; Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Mellow Moss; Accessories: Blender pen, Sakura Clear Star gel pen, Copic Multiliner, Stampin' dimensionals.

A Banner Day!

Yes, that's right!  It's a banner day with the Ways To Use It challenge.  I'm today's hostess and I would like cordially invite you to play along for fun.  I chose today's topic as it seems so relevant to crafting these days.  I am seeing banner dies everywhere I look.  I heard about a nifty trick to do with wide banner dies here. 

Until just recently, I made my banners the "old fashioned" way.  I cut my paper strip to the desired width and then lightly penciled in my right angle for the fishtail of the banner.  Then I grabbed my trusty square punch and popped it right out.  I usually have to finish up with a little erasing of my lines, but that's all right.

There isn't anything really exciting on my horizon today, except for viewing all the lovely creations in the Ways To Use It gallery.  That's plenty for me!  Have a wonderful Thursday!

Details - Stamps:  Cute-a-tude (MFT); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Basic Black, BG Lemonade; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, MAMBI rhinestones, black sharpie, paper snips, two way glue pen, stampin' dimensionals, Nautical Frames & Accents die.

Flashback Father's Day

With Father's Day being a mere 12 days away, the Flashback Friday challenge is absolutely perfect.  The 24.0 version of this fun challenge is all about masculine cards.  I looked and the first recorded masculine card I could find was this Father's Day card I made for my daughter to give to her father in 2008.  That was when I still crafted cards for her. She's a lot more hands on now! 

Speaking of that, I should probably get together with that girl and plan out her birthday thank you cards and her Father's day card for this year.  I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my past!  Have a great day!

Details - Stamps: Montage Collection Stamp; Paper: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, ? mystery neutral; Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black; Accessories:  MM asphalt snaps, crop-a-dile.  

Buttons, Bows & Friends

Welcome to Monday and the Friends of Speedy TV challenge.  This week's challenge is about adding buttons and bows.  I wanted to keep my card a bit masculine and challenged myself to do it, even with a button and bow on it.  I chose some nautical colors, a lighthouse image, twine and a dark button.  I think it works.  What do you think?

Want to play along?  The Friends of Speedy TV would love it if you joined in.  Up for grabs this week is the Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company stamp set called Daffodil Greetings.  Check it out here:

How about a quote today as we say goodbye?  To walk safely through the maze of human life...one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue - Buddha.  Safe journeys to you as you navigate today's maze!

Details - Stamps:  Lighthouses (MFP), North American Woods (MFP); Paper: Faith's Favorite Natural (MFP), Harry Periwinkle (MFP), Cherry Cobbler; Ink: Night of Navy, Tuxedo Black, Going Gray, Versamark; Accessories: Sponge dauber, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, random button, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals.

Friends and New Techniques

The new Monday challenge with the Friends of Speedy TV is all about using new techniques.  I picked an easy technique, as I am not such a technique fanatic.  I chose the Stamped Acrylic Block Background for my card today.  It's very subtle, but it's there.  My two long and thin block images back up my cluster of daisies quite nicely.  This card reminds me of a seed packet and I sure saw plenty of them last weekend as we worked very hard to get the last bit of our garden in the ground.

I hope you have some extra time this weekend to play along with this fun challenge and have a chance to win a great stamp set by Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company.  This week, North American Woods is up for grabs. 

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Details - Stamps: Oopsy Daisy (MFP); Paper: MFP card stock, chocolate chip; Ink: Rich Cocoa, Crumb Cake; Accessories: Watercolor pencils, blender pen, Stripes ef, corner chomper, gingham ribbon.