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Monday, December 31, 2012

Friends and New Years

Happy New Year's Eve!  It's time for another Friends of Speedy TV challenge and today's theme is New Years.  I worked with a New Year's sentiment from a Mark's Finest Papers sentiment from Peaceful Nuthatch.  Then I added some potted Amaryllis.  I didn't force any bulbs this year, but I wish I had.  My paper Amaryllis will just have to do.  These images are from Amaryllis Definition.
There aren't too many extra details on this card.  I used my Copic multiliner to create a border around my stamped images and then layered a couple of ribbons under my main image.  I also went over the stamen (I'm not sure of my flower parts here) with a white gel pen.  I have the worst luck with white gel pens.  Can anyone recommend a good one?
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a safe New Year!
 
Details - Stamps: Amaryllis Definition (MFP), Peaceful Nuthatch (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Epic Black, GKD white; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic & Touch Twin Markers; Copic multiliner, white gel pen, poppy parade poly-stitched ribbon, 1/8" black taffeta ribbon, Scor-tape, dimensional adhesive.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Free For Emboss Resist

 
Yep, it's winter break!  We are in between Christmas and New Years and that leaves me a bit of time to play!  So play I did.  I played around with today's Free For All challenge to use the emboss resist technique.  Looking at my card now, one could think that I embossed white on kraft card stock.  Oops!  What I did was clear emboss on white card stock and then sponge 3 browns over the top.  I repeated my pussy willows behind and found a patterned paper to go with.
 
Thanks for stopping by!  I'm heading back to  my craft room to see if I can sort out some of the clutter in there.
 
Details - Stamps: Pussy Willows (MFP); Paper: Favorite Natural (MFP), Early Espresso, Elegant Soiree dsp; Ink: Versamark, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso; Accessories: clear ep, heat tool, sponge dauber, circle punch, SU pearls, paper snips.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Using Up My Resolutions

 
Good Morning!  I'm happy to be off work this Thursday and supporting Michelle as she hostesses today's Ways To Use It challenge on Splitcoaststampers.  Michelle has called her challenge Resolution Check In and challenges crafters to make a project after looking back on the past year's resolutions.  I think...my resolution had to do with reducing the volume of my possessions.  In crafty terms that would mean using up my stash.  I have done a good job throughout the whole house, but not so much in my craft room.  For today's card, I used some Basic Grey paper scraps to paper piece my card and then pitched the little bits that were left.  I can call this a success in terms of my resolution then. 
 
Thanks for stopping by!  Sorry for the short post...my girl wants me to read and then it's time for a nap.
 
Details - Stamps: Oh Beans (MFP); Paper: Favorite Natural (MFP), Basic Grey Sugared dp; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: paper snips, two way glue pen, corner chomper, Touch Twin Marker.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Friends and Cracked Glass

 
Merry Christmas Eve!  I felt compelled to make today's challenge card a Christmas card.  I will probably give it to my Mother-in-Law as she really seems to enjoy the cracked glass cards that I make.  The challenge for this week's Friends of Speedy TV challenge number 52 is a technique challenge called cracked glass.  There are a couple of tutorials on Speedy TV that you can follow if you need to.  Here is the link to Davi's tutorial and here is the link to Chris's tutorial.  It's tough to see my cracks in my glass, but trust me, they are there!

As always, Mark's Finest Papers offers up a prize for one lucky participant.  This week's set is called Ice & Snow.  Here is a little peek at this wonderful set.
I used a sketch from Retro Sketches to flesh out this card.  Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful holiday!
 
Details - Stamps: Poinsettia Blooms (MFP), Just A Note (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Crumb Cake, GKD white; Ink: Crumb Cake, Rich Cocoa, Versamark; Accessories: Copic Markers & Touch Twin Markers, corner chomper, sponge dauber, Nestabilities; crumb cake seam binding, heat tool, clear ep, Sakura Clear Star gel pen. 


Sunday, December 23, 2012

A Scor-Pal and Fancy Pants Designs Cracker

It's time for another Scor-Pal project.  With Christmas right around the corner, we have a holiday theme for you.  Our friends at Fancy Pants Designs have supplied us with some fabulous product and are hopping along with us!  Be sure to check out all of the amazing projects on the Scor-Pal blog and the Fancy Pants blog.  For your viewing pleasure today, I have constructed a Christmas Cracker*.  In my experience, the cracker is traditionally filled with a paper crown, a joke and a small gift.  However, you could fill it with whatever you like.
For this project, you will need:
  • Card stock or patterned paper measuring 6 3/4" x 9"
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Ribbon
  • Embellishments
Begin with your 9" side of the paper again the top fence of your Scor-Pal.  I used patterned paper from the Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch line called Strolling.  Make sure the pattern that you want to show on the outside is face up.  Score at 1", 2 3/4", 6 1/4" and 8".
Turn your paper 90 degrees.  Now your 6 3/4" side will align with the top fence.  Score at 3/4", 1 1/2", 2 1/4", 3", 3 3/4", 4 1/2", 5 1/4" and 6". 
Rotate back 90 degrees to the original paper placement and flip over.  Now the pattern you want on the outside will be face down.  Score at 1 7/8" and 7 1/8".  Don't sweat the fact that you don't have those grooves marked on your Scor-Pal.  Diana has put together a video to help you score at any 1/8" mark you need.  Check it out. 
With a ruler and a pencil, make marks on the 1 7/8" and 7 1/8" score lines at each 1/4" interval between the vertical score lines.  I have made black dots to illustrate this in the next picture.  I highlighted a couple of score lines to clearly show the 1/4" intervals.  After you complete this, burnish all your score lines.
With one score line folded at a time, trim out a triangle shape.  The triangle will go from the 2 3/4" score line to the marked 1/4" interval and back out to the 1" score line. 
Repeat this trimming until all the score lines have two trimmed out triangles on them.  When you lay the paper flat, they look like diamonds.  Next, you will have to trim two of the same triangle shapes on each end.  I traced the triangle pattern in black for illustration purposes.
Flip your patterned paper over and line one end with Scor-Tape
Remove the backing from the adhesive and adhere the two end segments together. 
You will want to tie one end of the cracker closed with ribbon.  Fill the center with treats and close off the other end with ribbon.  For my cracker, I tied off each end with a thin wired silver ribbon.  Then I threaded some silver cording through a couple of the Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Mingled Buttons.  I added a couple of mini jingle bells, tied a small silver cording bow and then glued my button/bell/bow embellishment down to the ribbon.  To personalize my cracker a bit more, I created a tag.  I cut a piece of Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch paper named Jump Rope to size.  I rounded two corners, trimmed the others, punched a hole and used the Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Fundamental Stickers to spell out my name!  I tied my tag on with some more silver cording.
I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial for today.
 
Now I have to get busy and make crackers for the rest of the family (wink, wink).
 
* I adapted my cracker from a tutorial for a triangle box. 
 
Details - Paper: Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch (Strolling & Jump Rope); Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape, Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Mingled Buttons, Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Fundamental Stickers, mini jingle bells, ruler, paper snips, silver wired ribbon, silver cording, corner chomper, hole punch, glue dots.
 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Scor-Pal and Fancy Pants Designs Extra

 What a great hop that Fancy Pants helped us put on!!  Did you see it?  If not, you will want to stop by either the Scor-Pal blog or the Fancy Pants blog for all the eye candy!
 
I just have one more picture to offer you today which showcases the amazing colors and papers in the Fancy Pants Design Hopscotch Collection!  I used the coordinating Sticker Fundamentals and Mingled Buttons. 
Here you see all the Christmas crackers for my small family of three. My daughter, of course, gets the hot pink cracker!  This Fancy Pants collection is so fun, I can't wait to have a little free time over the holidays to just play with it!  A big thanks to Fancy Pants Designs for sharing such amazing product.  If you didn't catch my tutorial from Saturday on the Scor-Pal blog, stay tuned and you will see it here in a bit!
 
Thanks for stopping by!

 
Details - Paper: Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch (Strolling & Jump Rope); Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape, Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Mingled Buttons, Fancy Pants Designs Hopscotch Fundamental Stickers, mini jingle bells, ruler, paper snips, silver wired ribbon, silver cording, corner chomper, hole punch, glue dots.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

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


   December Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are
Ivy & Blossoms Featured December 18
Oh Beans Featured December 19
Recipe Card Featured December 20
Kilt Fun Featured December 21

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 December 22, 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 December 21, 2012.


WOW can you believe it is December already? All of here at Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co want to wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas! It is time for our December Blog hop and we Scotts some great deals and stamp sets for you this month. 


 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
 
" You've Got Style"

Today's card was a good mix of fun and work to make.  You see, there is not a drop of Celtic blood in my body.  I'm German and Norwegian.  But my daughter, now she has a deal of Scottish blood running through her veins!  My husband is part Scottish and really identifies with that part of his heritage.  Every year, we attend the Highland Games locally.  We enjoy the bagpipes, the Games and sheepdog trials. My daughter enjoys the fair food, the crafts and the pony rides.  I guess she likes watching her grown up cousin compete too.  Anyhoo, back to my card.  Our family name falls into the Ogilvy Clan and their tartan is primarily blue, green, black with thin lines of yellow and red.  That will take many iterations to get that right, so I opted for blue, green, black with a touch of white.  Also, the ribbon tails remind of the garter flashes you see holding up socks everywhere at the Highland Games!
That's all for me today!  Sue has another goodie for you, so head off to her blog now.  Thanks for stopping by!
My nephew, Luke, competing at the Highland Games and then posing with my daughter!
Details - Stamps: Kilt Fun (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Neenah Epic Black; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, circle punches, scallop circle punches, copic multiliner, corner chomper, stampin' dimensionals.  

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Recipe Card Starters - A Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company Blog Hop


   December Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are
Ivy & Blossoms Featured December 18
Oh Beans Featured December 19
Recipe Card Featured December 20
Kilt Fun Featured December 21

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 December 22, 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 December 21, 2012.


WOW can you believe it is December already? All of here at Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co want to wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas! It is time for our December Blog hop and we Scotts some great deals and stamp sets for you this month. 


 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
 
" You've Got Style"

We have another fun set for you today!  Recipe Card Starters offers a cool collection of kitchen tools and a funky font!  I especially like the cool little stars that we see in this set.  They kind of remind me of the fun star in last month's Amaryllis Definition set. 
For my card, I took a big acrylic block and lined all five of these stamps up on my block.  Then I stamped it all in one impression.  I colored it and matted it a couple of times.  A few rhinestones finish off today's card.  I took my sketch from the clean and simple stamping blog this week.  I couldn't help it, the sketch was perfect for all those little images and the longish sentiment.
 
Off you go to Sue's blog to see what she has cooking!  Thanks for stopping by!
 
Details - Stamps: Recipe Card Starters (MFP); Paper: Unknown black, Neenah Epic Black, GKD White, SEI Wintersong dp; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Copic Markers, Kaisercraft red rhinestones, SU corner punch, dimensional adhesive.
 
 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

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


   December Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are
Ivy & Blossoms Featured December 18
Oh Beans Featured December 19
Recipe Card Featured December 20
Kilt Fun Featured December 21

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 December 22, 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 December 21, 2012.


WOW can you believe it is December already? All of here at Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co want to wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas! It is time for our December Blog hop and we Scotts some great deals and stamp sets for you this month. 


 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
 
" You've Got Style"

What a fun set this one is!!  I'm a coffee girl at heart and this set really speaks to me.  I have dozens and dozens of ideas about what to do with this one.  Here's the first one that came to mind.  I hope you like it.
It just doesn't get any simpler than this.  I used two stamps, one color ink, one piece of card stock, one blender pen, one corner punch, one coffee cup and one spritzer full of water.  I did have to make a small sacrifice in the name of clean and simple stamping.  I now am the proud owner of one coffee cup with an ink stained bottom, teehee!
 
Don't forget to cruise by Sue's blog to see what caffeine inspired creation she has.  Thanks for coming by today!
 
Details - Stamps: Oh Beans (MFP);  Paper: Favorite Natural (MFP); Ink: Early Espresso; Accessories: blender pen, corner chomper, water spritzer, coffee cup.
 

 

Monday, December 17, 2012

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


   December Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are
Ivy & Blossoms Featured December 18
Oh Beans Featured December 19
Recipe Card Featured December 20
Kilt Fun Featured December 21

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 December 22, 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 December 21, 2012.


WOW can you believe it is December already? All of here at Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co want to wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas! It is time for our December Blog hop and we Scotts some great deals and stamp sets for you this month. 


 The special stamp set we have for you this month is: 
" You've Got Style"


Here we are again!  It's time to hop and this promises to be a great week for it!  First up today is a wonderful new set called Ivy & Blossoms.  For the company blog, I used the flowers.  So for my blog, I wanted to play with the ivy.  I stamped some on my main panel and colored them quickly.  Then I stamped and fussy cut several others and colored them.  I added a bit of sparkle with my Sakura clear star gel pen, which look a bit gold on the green.  It's a nice touch, but very hard to photograph.
Thanks for stopping by!  Now you will want to be off to visit Sue
 
Details - Stamps: Ivy & Blossoms (MFP); Paper: Sweet Tooth White, Basic Gray; Ink: Old Olive, Basic Gray; Accessories: paper snips, stampin' dimensionals, blender pen, Sakura clear star gel pen, corner rounder.

Just My Style and Recipe Completer - A Mark's Finest Papers Bonus

It's time for a look at a couple of bonus sets this month at Mark's Finest Papers.  The card to the left here is  fun little holiday number with a bestie in mind.  I used the high heel from the new set called You've Got Style to make my wreath.  I embossed them in gold and then sponged and colored.  I finished the image off with some strategically placed red rhinestones.  This set comes with the fun "Hey, Girlfriend!" sentiment too.  I scored and tucked in the tails of my banner just to be different. 
This card is made with the mini set called Recipe Completer.  It's the free mini customers received when you purchase all four featured sets in the December Release.  I used Enjoy the View to showcase a couple of images from the new mini set.  I stamped my window frame on patterned paper first and then trimmed out the window panes.  I stamped a separate piece of paper with the bread and juice images and colored them.  I glued them underneath and popped them up on my card base.  I stamped my sentiment, scored diagonally and round the corners of my base. 
Thanks for coming by today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow and follow the links for a good luck at the first new December released set from Mark's Finest Papers
 
Details - Hey Girlfriend - Stamps: You've Got Style (MFP); Paper: Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold; Ink: Encore Gold, Old Olive; Accessories: Nestabilities, Copic Markers, clear ep, heat tool, sponge dauber, Scor-Pal, Kaisercraft Lippy Red Rhinestones, dimensionals adhesive.  My Kitchen - Stamps: Enjoy The View (MFP), Recipe Completer (MFP), Paper: Very Vanilla, Recollections Autumn dsp; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Scor-Pal, corner chomper, paper snips, craft knife, Copic Markers, dimensional adhesive.

Friends and Happy Holidays

It's Monday and time for another Friends of Speedy TV challenge.  The challenge theme for this week is Happy Holidays and it is challenge number 51.  .  So I dug through my stamps to find just that sentiment.  I found it in this mini set called Greetings of the Season.  I stamped and colored my pine cone and branches and then jazzed them up a bit with a glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds.  It might be hard to see in this photo, but I used a strip of Scor-Tape and dusted it with the Dazzling Diamonds.  I used the same embossing folder for my card base as for the vanilla colored that the pine branch and cones are popped on. 

I used the current sketch from Retro Sketches for my design.  I turned the sketch 90 degrees to fit my own needs. 

Don't forget that Mark's Finest Papers offers a free stamp set to one luck participant.  Today's stamp set is called Holly Jolly Greetings.  Here's a look at this great set!
 Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Details - Stamps: Greetings of the Season mini (MFP); Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Merry Moments dsp; Ink: Rich Cocoa, Early Espresso; Accessories: Copic  and Touch Twin Markers, Scor-Tape, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Nestabilities, paper snips, Finial Press ef, corner chomper, dimensional adhesive.

Scor-Pal and Fancy Pants Design Week

 
Who's ready for another fabulous cross promotional week?  Get ready, because here comes the Scor-Pal and Fancy Pants teams!!  Go to the Scor-Pal blog to start on today's hop.
 
Just to whet your appetite for the luscious Fancy Pants Designs papers, here is a look at a tiny portion of my project!
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!  It's a busy week on my blog.  You might want to hang around and see what's up.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

A Scor-Pal and Core'dinations Treat Box

I'm back with another Scor-Pal project.  This time, the Scor-Pal is joining forces with Core'dinations!!  Be ready to check out some amazing projects on both the Scor-Pal and Core'dinations blogs.  Today, I have prepared for you a Flat Backed Treat Box*.  You can fit a variety of small treats inside this little box. 
For this project, you will need:
  • One 7" x 9" piece of card stock
  • Scor-Pal
  • Scissors
  • Scor-Tape
  • Sand It Gadget
  • Corner Rounder
  • Additional card stock for stamped images
  • Stamps
  • Ink
  • Embellishments
To begin, place your card stock with the 9" side of the paper against the top fence of your Scor-Pal with your embossed pattern face down.  I used some Core'dinations Core Impression Modern Prints.  Specifically, I used the Leapfrog Chevron pattern.  Score at 1", 2", 3", 4" and 5".
Turn your card stock 90 degrees and align your 7" side with the top fence.  Score at 1/2", 3/4", 1 1/2", 5 1/2", 6 1/4" and 6 1/2".
Trim off the corner pieces as shown in the picture below.
Trim the tabs on 3" and 4" score lines up to the 1 1/2" score on either side.  These cuts are highlighted in red for you. 
Trim the edges of each tab at an angle to ensure a good fit.
Take your Sand It Gadget and sand over the embossed pattern on the top 4" by 4" section which will be the "flat back" on your box.  Sanding will reveal the cool ColorCore of this fabulous line!
Turn you box over and adhere your Scor-Tape between the 1" and 2" score lines. 
Next, you will burnish all the folds on your box.
Finally, remove the backing on your adhesive and assemble your box.  Fold each section in toward the flat back until you make the rectangular box at the base.  Fold in each of the short tabs.  Then fold in the longest tab to close off each end.
Embellish your treat box as desired.  Don't forget to fill it with fun little goodies.  This year, mine will hold holiday chap stick for my girlfriends
I hope your enjoyed today's tutorial, as much as I enjoyed creating it for you! 

*This tutorial was originally found on Splitcoaststampers. 

Details - Stamps: Winter Tree (Verve), Ornamental Christmas (Verve); Paper: Core'dinations Core Impression Pink Paislee Modern Prints, Core'dinations Core Essentials Card Stock Neutrals, GKD White; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape, Sand It Gadget, scissors, corner chomper, Copic markers, Diamond Stickles, rhinestones, silver cording.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Scor-Pal and Core'dinations Extras

Thank goodness that it is Friday!  I have a fun project for you today that goes along with my main project that is being featured on the main Scor-Pal blog.  There have been some really cool projects made this week by Scor-Pal team and the Core'dinations team.  Be sure to check them out!!
 
I wanted to personalize some tags to go on Christmas gifts for a gift exchange with my besties!  You see their initials represented on the tags below. 
I cut down a piece of Core'diantions Core Impressions Pink Paislee Collection Modern Prints to the size of my tag.  Then I die cut the initial from scrap paper and used temporary adhesive to keep it fixed to the tag, face down. 

 Next, I ran it through my Big Shot.  You can see the layered sandwich below.  From the bottom up, you have the multi-purpose platform with no tabs, a cutting plate, the tag, the No More Shims embossing mat and a second cutting plate. 
I wound up with a nicely embossed "L", which I sanded with my Sand It Gadget to reveal the inner core of the paper.  I also sanded the edges of the tag for  a bit of interest.

I rounded the corners of the tags and did a bit more sanding to the corners.
I punched a hole and set an eyelet in my tag for suspending from a gift bag with some gold cording.
Here you see my tag paired up with its corresponding flat back treat box.  Skip on over to the Scor-Pal blog today for detailed instructions on how to make the box. 
Finally, you have one more picture of all the flat backed treat boxes that match up with the tags I showed you at the beginning of my post!
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
 
Details - Stamps: Got Treats (SU), Winter Tree (Verve), Ornamental Christmas (Verve); Paper: Core'dinations Core Impression Pink Paislee Collection Modern Prints, Core'dinations Core Essentials Card Stock Neutrals, Sweet Tooth White; Ink: Tuxedo Black, Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa; Accessories: Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape, Sand It Gadget, Nestabilities, Word Window punch, paper snips, silver cording, gold cording, glue pen, TE tiny twinkles, stampin' dimensionals, SU rhinestones, glue dots, Stardust Stickles, corner chomper.