Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Mark's Finest Papers Christmas in July Blog Hop


Welcome to Day 3 of our Christmas in July Blog Hop!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

HO,HO, HO!! WELCOME TO MARK'S FINEST PAPERS, a Heinrich Co.'s CHRISTMAS IN JULY BLOG HOP!  DURING THIS FUN CHRISTMAS HOP, MANY OF THE CHRISTMAS SETS IN MARK'S FINEST PAPERS, a Heinrich Co.'s ON-LINE SHOP WILL BE FEATURED BY MFP'S VARIOUS DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS.  WE HOPE YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG WITH US ON THE HOP  - AND MAYBE GET A JUMP START ON SOME OF THOSE CHRISTMAS CARDS AND PROJECTS!

Today's special blog hop creations are Christmas Candy Kisses Sleeves and Cookie Boxes! 

These treat containers were super easy and fun to make.  For the cookie box, there were several scores and a few cuts.  The kisses sleeve was even easier...three scores!  I broke out my Christmas paper for these projects and didn't want to cover up too much of the beautiful flocked design.  I made a couple of tags to go on each treat container with some fabulous Mark's Finest Papers stamps.  I used Holly Jolly, Christmas Selections and Winter Scenes for my Santa images and sentiments! You won't want to miss a bit of this fun hop.  The ladies on today's hop are listed below in case you are just getting started.  
 




Toni (you are here) 

Sample made by Kathy B.
Sample made by Kathy B.
Hop with us for a chance to win this fabulous stamp set.
The winner will be chosen at the end of the hop and will receive this awesome Christmas/Winter stamp set!!

 Thanks for joining us today and be sure to stop back by tomorrow for the final day of our Christmas in July Hop.
 
Details - Stamp: Holly Jolly (MFP), Christmas Selections (MFP), Winter Scenes (MFP); Paper: Christmas Cocoa Specialty dp, SU White tags; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape, Copic & Touch Twin Markers, SU eyelets, SU silver cording, May Arts ribbon, corner chomper, stampin' dimensionals, gold gel pen.

More Dirt on Tuesday

I'm still playing along with the Dare To Get Dirty challenges over on Splitcoaststampers.   For Karen's challenge, I got out my Mark's Finest Papers set called All Postal and created a background for the trimmed out postage stamp images from an SEI paper pack called Mia Bella.  This was a fun one to create.  I used a CAS(E) this sketch by Karolyn Loncon and bam, I was done. 

This was Tammie's challenge and a fun challenge to boot.  I opened up some new Verve to get this one done.  I used a Viva La Verve sketch and several different stamps sets and dies for this project.  I love how my apples look glossy.  What happened there is just how the ink took to some brand new stamps.  It's not embossed or anything.  Crazy, how things turn out while you are stamping!
However, I am woefully behind in my effort to make one card for every challenge.  I think I should close up my post and finish the card that I have started on my crafting desk. 
 
Have a wonderful day!  Like my last post of Dare To Get Dirty cards, I will link up to my cards in my SCS gallery for a supply list.
 

Monday, July 29, 2013

Friends and CAS

Good Morning!  This week's Friends of Speedy TV challenge is about making clean and simple cards.  I thought last week's challenge was right up my alley.  This challenge could not be more perfect.  After seeing one of my teammate's dragonflies from a challenge gone by, I knew I had to pull it out today.  Then I looked up something dragonfly images on line and copied the colors onto this beauty.  I embossed the wings onto vellum and then glittered up the whole dragonfly.
I borrowed the sketch from the clean and simple stamping blog.  It's Fall To Layout 251, only I have rotated it to the left 90 degrees and then turned it over (like you are viewing a printed sketch from the back side of the paper). 
 
Now, don't forget that Mark's Finest Paper is quite a generous company and offers a free stamp set to one randomly chosen participant.  You aren't required to use MFP stamps, but if you do, you are given another entry into the drawing.
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
 
Details - Stamps: Dragonflies (MFP), Glad Glads (MFP); Paper: Neenah Solar Crest White, Black Licorice, GKD White, vellum; Ink: Versamark, Tuxedo Black; Accessories: decorative scissors, Sakura Clearstar gel pen, corner chomper, Waterfall, Stardust, Black Diamond Stickles, stampin' dimensionals.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

A Dirty Sunday

I know that sounds bad, but it is really a reference to the Dare To Get Dirty challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  Lydia hostessed this challenge.  Fun stuff, let me tell you.  Well, I can't give away all the details, but I can tell you a little about my cards.  This one features some Heartfelt Creations leaves that I embossed and water colored.  I  die cut a Spellbinders Fancy Lattice and used it as a mask for a light spritzing.  I like the effect.  Some cross stitching in the corner finishes off this card.
 

This little Pure Innocence cutie was created for Stacy's Dare To Get Dirty challenge.  I used a My Favorite Things Wednesday sketch to get going on this card.  My Favorite Things is a sponsor for the Dare To Get Dirty challenges, so I wanted to be sure I inked up some of their stamps.  I'm a big fan of purple, so I added it to my red.  I like the way it looks.  I also threaded my buttons on this one!

Kittie747 hostessed the challenge for which I made this simple little birthday card.  I borrowed the sketch from Retro Sketches.  It was last week's sketch and I thought it was cute then, but didn't have time to make a card for it (oodles of gardening got in the way).  It might be difficult to see in the small picture, but I embossed my card base and then popped up my patterned paper panel. 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!  No details here...I'll just provide my gallery links as I want to get back to crafting.
 


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Using Mats

This week, I hostessed the Ways To Use It challenge and I asked folks to create with mats, or layers.  For my card, I wanted to highlight the lovely blush color of the lotus, so  I colored my mat with the same blush color.  I am just about to head over to the gallery and see what beautiful work is there.  I've been busy with garden work and anniversary parties.  Today, I am playing along with the Dare To Get Dirty challenges on SCS and have some extra free time.  I'll see you in the gallery!
 
Details - Stamps: Lotus Blossoms (MFP); Paper: Amuse Black, GKD White; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, corner chomper, Linen & Canvas impression plate, stampin' dimensionals.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Friends and No Designer Paper

Hello Friends!  Happy Monday and welcome to a new Friends of Speedy TV challenge.  This week we are not using designer paper.  I have to admit that this was pretty easy for me.  I'm a CAS kind of girl by nature and (while I love designer paper) only use it in bits and pieces.  I am much more inclined to stamp on and then emboss my card base for interest. If you click on my card to enlarge it, you may be able to see the texture...maybe not.  My photography skills could use some help.  It might help if I got myself a new camera too!  Oh well.  The butterflies and sentiment are stamped right on my card base and then the framed gladiolas are popped up between those images. 
As always, Mark's Finest Papers, gives away a stamp set to one lucky participant.  Won't you play along?
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
 
Details - Stamps: Glad Glads (MFP); Paper: Neenah Solar White; Ink; Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, paper snips, corner chomper, stampin' dimensionals, Linen & Canvase texture plate (PTI).

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Friends and Summer (late, late, late)

Well, I meant to get this up Monday when the Friends of Speedy TV challenge went live, but I didn't.  Something about this summer is different from summers gone by in that it has taken me an enormous amount of time to get into my summer groove and I'm not even sure that I am there yet.  Anyhoo, enough of my sob story (unless you have some tips for getting organized, feel free to leave those in my comments!), back to the challenge.  The theme this week is summer fun!  I chose these shells because my daughter just came back from her grandparents house and they spent some time in Birch Bay.  The beaches in Washington are rocky, making shell finds a bit more of a chore.  Not her, it's hard to stop a 7 year old on a mission to bring home shells!
 
I used a Reverse Confetti Sketch For You To Try for my card.  I think it turned out nicely.  Now don't forget that Mark's Finest Papers gives away a stamp set to one lucky participant.  This week they are giving away Tree Selections.  This is a wonderful set for adding to any scene!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Details - Stamps: Silly Shells (MFP), Firefighter (MFP); Paper: Favorite Natural, Chocolate Chip, GKD White, Mulberry Paper; Ink: Rich Cocoa, Blush Blossom; Accessories: Nestabilties, Kaiserkraft pearls, square punch, corner chomper, stampin' dimensionals.
 

Thursday, July 11, 2013

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

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 9th
Lotus Blossoms
 
Featured July 10th
Shello 
 
Featured July 11th 
Be Virtuous
 
Featured July 12th
Presents

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 July 13, 2013 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 July 12, 2013.

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
"Dino News"

 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is
"Dragonflies"
So, if you are a regular visitor, you may be wondering if I have someone guest posting for me?  Nope, it's just that this beautiful Christmas set, particularly this bird and the gift called for a dolled up card.  It's not my standard CAS fare, but it was just what I had in mind!  My layout isn't elaborate.  I just used a lot more layers and techniques than I normally do!
 
You'll want to skip off to Sue's blog to see how she finished this week.  Thanks for stopping by!
 
Here's the Design Team:
Details - Stamps: Presents (MFP); Paper: Neenah Solar White, Brushed Silver, Night of Navy, GKD White, Patterns Pack III dsp; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Nestabilities, White organza ribbon, scor-tape, snowflakes #8 embossing folder, sanding block, stampin' dimensionals, silver sharpie, Copic Markers.

Be Virtuous - A Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 9th
Lotus Blossoms
 
Featured July 10th
Shello 
 
Featured July 11th 
Be Virtuous
 
Featured July 12th
Presents

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 July 13, 2013 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 July 12, 2013.

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
"Dino News"

 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is
"Dragonflies"
I made a smaller than A2 card using today's set called Be Virtuous.  My card measures 3 1/2" by 4 3/4".  I gave it a little faux binding on the side because it reminded me of the menus in the Chinese restaraunt that my parents used to take my sister and I to, for dinner when we were much younger.  I used four of the images from the set on my card!  It's a bit hard to see, but I drew in the veins on the leaves with a gold gel pen.
 
You'll want to head off to Sue's blog in just a bit!
 
Here's the Design Team:
Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!
 
Details - Stamps: Be Virtuous (MFP); Paper: Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold, Black Licorice; Ink; Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-tape, gold gel pen, MM gold eyelets, vanilla satin cording, crop-a-dile, stampin' dimensionals.

A Scor-Pal and Clearsnap Card Box and Cards

Hi, Toni here!  It's my turn to showcase a Scor-Pal and Clearsnap project.  We will have a week long showing of some crafty goodness by both the Scor-Pal design team and the Clearsnap design team.  I received some really fabulous product and I wanted to show it all off, so I made a Card Box* and an assortment of cards to go in it.
For this project, you will need:
For the cards, you will also need:
Place the 7 3/4" by 9" piece of card stock on your Scor-Pal with one corner at the top of the  6" groove and the opposite corner between the arrows at the bottom of the 6" groove.  Score every half inch across the entire piece of card stock.  I have illustrated three of the score lines below.
Turn your piece of card stock 90 degrees and center the new corner at the top of the 6" groove and the opposite corner between the arrows at the bottom of the 6" groove.  Again, score every half inch across the entire piece of card stock.  You will create a diamond grid pattern on your paper. 
If you want to highlight the grid pattern with ink, you will do that now.  Refer to the card below for more information on inking the grid pattern.  For now, we will continue on with creating our box base.  With the 9" side of the card stock up against the top fence of the Scor-Pal,  score at 1 1/2" on all four sides. 
On the 9" sides, cut along the 1 1/2" score lines in to the 1 1/2" score lines.  You will create four tabs to adhere the box together.  Crease all of your score lines. 
Turn the box base over and line all four tabs with Scor-tape.
Remove adhesive backing and adhere tabs to inside of the box.  Now you see the finished box base.
Creating the box lid follows the same steps with slightly different dimensions.  This box lid was created with acetate, but could easily be made with card stock.  The acetate measures 6 7/8" by 8 1/8".  It is places into the Scor-Pal and scored at 1" on all four sides.  Tabs are created by cutting on the 1" score line in to the 1" score line.  Adhesive is placed on the outside of the tabs and adhered to the inside of the lid.  Below, you see the acetate lid placed on my scored grid box base.
For the first of four cards, I recreated the scored grid background on my card.  
Since my background was smaller, I placed my Scor-Envi into my Scor-Pal and used it to help me stabilize the smaller piece.  I placed one corner into the 6" groove and lined up one side flush with the Scor-Envi.  Score every half inch across the whole piece. 
Turn 90 degrees and repeat the scoring every half inch to create the diamond grid pattern. 
Without turning the paper over so that raised score lines are on the bottom, brayer on Clearsnap Mix'd Media Inx Chox ink.
I finished my card with a couple of stamped flowers, dies and burlap string.  For my gold flower centers, I used both Gold Lame Smooch and Goldrush Smooch Glitz.

For the next card, I scored sun rays onto my card base.  I used Gold Lame Smooch to line each ray and then ran a finger over it to spread it like it was glowing.  I also covered some card stock with the Smooch and die cut and trimmed it to represent my sun.
For the third card, the leaves were clear embossed on white card stock.  Then, I used River Mossy Smooch Spritz to spray over the top in an emboss resist technique.  Additionally, I scored on either side of the emboss resist panel, wrapped burlap string around the embossed panel, stamped a sentiment and rounded the corners.
For the final card, I scored a tic-tac-toe grid and embellished.  In the four corners of the grid, I used the Honey Mix'd Media Inx embossing powder to emboss the leaves.  I stamped flowers for the four outer boxes of the grid, adding Gold Lame Smooch to each flower center.  Finally, I stamped a sentiment, matted the grid and rounded the corners. 
The cards and envelopes fit neatly into the box with the lid.  It was finished with a simple bow tied with mini cording to match. 
Thanks for reading along!
 
*Card Box tutorial found on Splitcoaststampers. 


Details -  Stamps: Bloom & Grow (Verve), Doodled Occasions (Verve); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Chocolate chip; Ink: Clearsnap Mix'd Media Inx Chox Petals, Momento Rich Cocoa, Versamark; Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Envi, Scor-Tape, paper snips, brayer, Clearsnap Mix'd Media Inx Honey embossing powder, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Clearsnap River Mossy Smooch Spritz, Clearsnap Gold Lame Smooch, Clearsnap Goldrush Smooch Glitz, Nestabilities, Floral Circles dies (Verve), May Arts mini cording, May Arts burlap string, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals, corner rounder.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 9th
Lotus Blossoms
 
Featured July 10th
Shello 
 
Featured July 11th 
Be Virtuous
 
Featured July 12th
Presents

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 July 13, 2013 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 July 12, 2013.

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
"Dino News"

 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is
"Dragonflies"
Don't you love that turtle???  I know I do.  I think the saying is pretty fun.  I have no doubt that I will be able to use this card.  It's not that I forget birthdays or anniversaries, I just sometimes can't get my act together in time to get the card there on time.  Forgetfulness seems somehow more forgivable than disorganization! 

My card has some stenciled waves and then some sponged water.  I stamped my sea grass, turtle and sentiment right over the top and then colored.  I finished off my one layer card with some bling bubbles.  Who wouldn't want bling bubbles?

You will want to travel on to Sue's blog to see what kind of easel she has today.  If you were there yesterday, you know that is what Sue is up to this month!
 
Here's the Design Team:
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
 
Details - Stamps: Shello (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Ink: Marina Mist, Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Nautical Frames and Accents dies, Copic Markers, corner chomper, Recollections rhinestones, sponge dauber.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Lotus Blossoms - A Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 9th
Lotus Blossoms
 
Featured July 10th
Shello 
 
Featured July 11th 
Be Virtuous
 
Featured July 12th
Presents

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 July 13, 2013 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 July 12, 2013.

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
"Dino News"

 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is
"Dragonflies"
As soon as I saw the solid block image with the rounded corners, I thought of shadow stamps.  I worked it into today's card with some color blocking.  The line art lotus image crosses several of the blocks.  I had to work in some of the scrumptious dragonflies from the mini stamp set with the same name.  The "wonderful day" sentiment was perfect for today.
 
Today was my husband's birthday and we celebrated with a grand dinner at home.  We barbecued pork chops and beets straight from the garden.  I added some rice pilaf, roasted garlic bread and blackberry pie for dessert!  It was delightful...now I need to stay away from that pie.  Wish me luck!

Here's the Design Team:

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of the hop!
 
Stamps: Lotus Blossoms (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White; Ink: So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss, Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Multiliner.