Stamp Happy

My Favorite Things Blog Hop!

Surprise!  Here I am at the end of the line for today's My Favorite Things Blog Hop featuring the new BC Dzyns set, Heartbreaker!  Kim emailed me a few weeks ago and asked me if I would consider being the January "Hot to Trot" Guest Designer!  I told her as long as it didn't require me to be physically hot-to-trot, then YES!  Heck, yes!  You all know how much I love the stamps from My Favorite Things, so this is a dream come true for me today!

So, welcome to the end of the line in the Blog Hop!  Hopefully you just arrived here from Michelle's blog!  If not, I highly recommend you hop on back to the beginning at Kim's blog, for the start!  I know you'll want to see all the super designs (and some chances to win along the way!)  So go on... hop back to the beginning and I'll be waiting for you here!

OK, you're back?  Good!  What did you think?  Awesome stuff, right?  I've got several designs to show you, too and a chance to win!  My first card uses some great new Valentine paper from Bo Bunny, and I thought it was just totally funky and perfect to go with our young lady here as she sits and daydreams about that cute boy in math class!  I paper pieced and glittered the heart with more of that Bo Bunny paper, and colored her with my Copics.  See that cool pink shading around her?  I caught on about doing that from the uber-talented Jody Morrow on her blog!

The more I looked over this stamp set and especially that big heart, the more I thought it'd be so cool to make it into a window.  So here you can see that I did just that by making a bag-a-lope to hold some CHOCOLATE!  (I should get a medal for not eating it all before this was done!)  For directions on how to make your own bag-a-lope, just click on the link above.  They're super fun, and easy!

Our young lady is doing a little more daydreaming here about that cute boy, and now she can journal a little about him, too!  LOL  I actually made up this little notebook for my daughter.  She's always making lists to remember what needs to be done, and I knew she'd love to have something funky and new to use!  Here you can see all the awesome sentiments that come with this set!  Something for every emotion running through a girls head!

 

And finally, here's our gorgeous girl... still daydreaming but this time she's doing it in the colors for today's Color Throwdown!  The colors for today are Pink Passion, Black and Kraft!  I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz to her tank top and the heart for extra sparkle!  Stop by the Color Throwdown blog for all the details, and creations from the other Throwdown designers!

So, I hope you've enjoyed the MFT Blog Hop today!  This new stamp set will be released tonight and you can join in the release party over at SCS for lots of fun and chatter! 

Also being released is a new sentiment set that goes along with Isabelle's Paper Dolls by Stephanie Fizer that were released last month!  Those little dolls are so cute, and now you can have the perfect sentiments to go along with them, just like my tutu-rific card, here!  I used Jen delMuro's Sketch for You to Try from this past Saturday for my card layout.  (Please note, the "you're" on this card is from another stamp set, and not part of the MFT set!)  Would you like a chance to win this Paper Dolls Sayings set?  Just leave a comment here and I'll draw one random winner to win this set on Friday night at 9:00 p.m.  Only one entry per person, please!  (*NOTE, this contest has ended!)

Many, many thanks to Kim for asking me to be Guest Designer this month!  I was thrilled beyond belief to be asked, and have enjoyed working with the new stamps!  Thanks everyone for stopping by today, and good luck!

 

 

In an effort to keep my post from being a mile long, I won't list supplies this time.  If you have any questions about anything used, please just email me!  Thanks!

Papercraft Planet - Saturday Sketch

Did you know there's a sketch challenge every Saturday at Papercraft Planet?  Lori Tecler created this awesome layout for today's sketch, and you can check out the details for this challenge here.  I decided to combine Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration challenge with the sketch.  Honestly, I'm not happy with how it turned out.  I feel like the mojo is missing, but here's my card.

 

If you're snowed in and hibernating from all this cold weather, why not get some stamping done and give the sketch challenge a try?  And if you're in a climate where the ground is not covered in snow, and the temperature does not start with a minus, then I don't want to hear it!  I'm freezing my tookus off!  When you upload your photo to Papercraft Planet, remember to put SK011709 in the tag line!  Lori will create an album for all the cards done with this sketch, and the tag will help her find your card!

Happy stamping, and thanks for visiting me today!

 

 

Stamps:  U R A Hoot (Kim Hughes collection for Cornish Heritage Farms)
Cardstock:  Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Kraft (Stampin' Up!), Pure Luxury 80 lb. cardstock for owl (Gina K Designs), designer paper (Chatterbox)
Inks:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories:  felt flowers (Creative Impressions), brads (Stampin' Up!), Threading Water punch (Fiskars).

Stamp Simply #69 - It's Still Winter!

TGIF!!!  Whew, am I glad it's Friday!  I was really anxious to have my girls go back to school this week so our lives could return to routine, but I think that all the extra bits of time off work during the holidays made it that much harder to get back into the routine, know what I mean?!  This week has seemed to drag on and on!  LOL  But there are other reasons to be glad it's Friday, too!  It's Stamp Simply time again!

Sharon Johnson has come up with another great challenge for you to try today.  Here is the challenge in Sharon's words...

"Yes, it is still the heart of winter, so let's pull out those snowflake and snowman stamps now that they've had a little rest since Christmas.  Make any type of card that says WINTER -- and if you can do that without using a snowman or snowflake, all the better!!!   Anything WINTER is what we're after!!!  Can't wait to see what you all do -- again, keeping it simple, if possible!!! Have fun!!!"

Sharon has a fabulous sample for you to see on her blog, and the rest of the Stamp Simply team members do, too!  Be sure to stop by them all to take a look!  (Not everyone has uploaded yet, so I will update these links as they become available!)

Deb Saaranen, January Guest Designer
Julie Koerber
Dee Jackson
Jennifer Buck
Janine Orchard
Becky Oehlers
AJ Otto

And here is my card for the challenge.  I had trouble coming up with anything wintery that didn't include snow, but maybe you'll be more creative!  I stamped these snowman over a year ago from some stamps my friend Cindy brought over one day.  I believe they are from The Angel Company, but I could be wrong.  (Just don't tell my husband I admit to being wrong about anything!  As far as he's concerned, I am ALWAYS right!)  I colored these cute little guys with my Copic markers, and used a Sakura glaze pen on their hats and scarves for some sparkle.  Then I dotted the snowflakes with a Quickie glue pen and applied Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and added some white Liquid Applique to the pom-pom on the blue hat!

On the inside, I used my Curlz font stamps from Just Rite Stampers for a sassy little sentiment!  Hmmm... maybe I'll stick this in hubby's lunch box before I go to bed with a little private message!  ;)

I hope you find time to play along, later today or over the weekend!  Sharon always comes up with great challenges that spark your creativity!  Happy stamping and thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #23

It's time for another week of the Color Throwdown, and this week our newest member Kimberly Crawford is our hostess!  Kim chose a really nice color combo that works great for any Christmas cards you're still working on, but also is great for any other occasions!

I chose to go with a non-Christmas card this week, because to be honest... I'm kinda' tired of making Christmas stuff already!  LOL 

Be sure to check out what the other Throwdown designers have created for today, and make some time to play along!  Also, be sure to check out my Stamp Simply Celebrates blog candy today!  If you participate in the Throwdown today, you can earn an extra chance to win the prize!

Kimberly Crawford
LeAnne Pugliese
Broni Holcombe
Cathy Indelicato

This will be our last Throwdown for the year!  We'll be taking a little Christmas break, and the challenges will return on Wednesday, January 7, 2009!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy stamping!

 

Stamps:  sentiment (Floral Whimsy by Verve)
Cardstock:  Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss (Stampin' Up!), lined paper (Making Memories), floral designer paper (Sorbet collection from Paper Salon)
Ink:  Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  felt flower (Creative Impressions), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder (ProvoCraft), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Threading Water punch (Fiskars), button, hemp twine.

 

P.S.  Don't forget to stop by the Kitchen today for the Blue Plate Special!  Selected stamp sets are on sale!

Stamp Simply Celebrates Day 5, and Stamp Simply #64

It's Day #5 of the Stamp Simply Celebrates party!  Are you having fun?

 

 

There is some awesome blog candy available today from Barb Schram at Explore, Dream, Discover, and from Cathy Tidwell at Cat's Creations.

The Stamp Simply Celebrates Featured Project today is also being brought to you by Cat, and it's a sketch challenge!  It'll be super-easy to combine the sketch (see below) with today's Stamp Simply challenge, so why not do both, as I did!

Today’s Stamp Simply challenge is to make a Christmas card, but with a bit of a twist!!!  We can NOT use a traditional Christmas stamp or traditional Christmas DP – but aside from that, anything goes.  You MAY use:

Any stamp, OTHER THAN a traditional Christmas stamp

Any designer paper, OTHER THAN traditional Christmas designer paper

Any embellishments

Any colors

You MAY USE a Christmas sentiment          

If you upload to Papercraft Planet (or Splitcoaststampers, or any online gallery), please tag your photo for this challenge as SSC08, but please also, tag your photo for the Stamp Simply challenge as ssnotime64.  So if you play the Stamp Simply Challenge, you will use both tags!

My card for both challenges is a very simple design, and came together in about 15 minutes.  However, I had already been thinking about using a sentiment in the oval and did so without thinking about the space for a sentiment at the bottom as the sketch indicates. So my version is slightly altered.  I've been assured however, that the Challenge Police are not going to come after me, so it's all good!  My non-traditional paper comes from the Basic Grey Boxer collection, and I liked it for it's gorgeous green color, and also because the pattern reminds me of poinsettias.

As always, check out the designs from the other Stamp Simply Team members for further inspiration!  Also, with a new month we welcome a new Guest Designer!

LeAnne Pugliese, December Guest Designer
Sharon Johnson
Julie Koerber
Dee Jackson
Jennifer Buck
Janine Orchard
Becky Oehlers
AJ Otto

In addition, several of the Stamp Simply Celebrates team members have posted designs today using the sketch challenge and/or the Stamp Simply challenge!  Check them out, too!

Darlene Pavlick
Heather Telford
Susan Roberts
Leslie Miller

OK, that's it for today... in a really BIG nutshell!  So, go now... get entered for blog candy and then do some stamping!  Happy Friday, and thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Stamps:  sentiment (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock:  Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Natural Ivory (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Basic Grey)
Ink:  Momento Rhubarb Stalk (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  poinsettia and leaf (Creative Impressions), brads (Gary Burlin), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Stamp Simply Celebrates - Day 4

It's Day 4 of the Stamp Simply Celebrates party, and we're just rocking along with lots of fun challenges, featured projects and blog candy!  I hope you're enjoying the fun, too and getting lots of good ideas!

 

Blog Candy today is available from Dee Jackson at Stampin cuz I Luv 2, and from Sharon Johnson at No Time to Stamp?

And these fun little banners are compliments of Julie Koerber — how cool!!!  Thank you Julie!!! And please bear with us tonight as we are all uploading.  If some projects aren’t up yet, they will be by morning - thank you for your patience!

The Stamp Simply Challenge/Featured Project today is being hosted by Deb Saaranen at Dream in Color.  Deb's project for today was to create a great gift for anyone... teacher, co-worker, neighbor friend... of a set of notecards.  Well, somewhere along the way I was sleeping and missed the word notecards, and just created a general "gift" for anyone, but I hope you'll like it anyway!

A few weeks ago, I found these cool tins at WalMart that contained Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint gum.  Well, neither is my favorite but my daughters love gum of any kind.  So I bought several of the tins knowing they would happily chew the gum, and I would have a cool, not-often-seen-shape tin to alter!  And alter those tins I did!

 

I covered these with Snowy Jo papers from Imaginisce, and filled them with yummy (only 60 calories each!) Hershey's sticks!  (Thanks Anita, for the suggestion!)  Each tin holds 8 of the sticks, and each one is tied with a little ribbon scrap to match the tin, plus one that has the "To/From" tag.  I used a few of my Kitchen Sink Stamps sets for these, along with these awesome felt snowflakes from Creative Impressions.  My new Spellbinders die created a nice wavy border for my sentiment, too.

 

 

Check out Deb's sweet notecards on her blog, and see what other members of the Stamp Simply Celebrates team have created!

Jennifer Buck
Julie Koerber
AJ Otto
Jerri Kay
Janine Orchard

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!  I appreciate all the sweet comments lately and all of you that participated in yesterday's Mass Production challenge!  I hope to have time to check them all out later today!  (Have had a sick kid home from school all week, so she's severely disrupting my schedule, but that's OK... she's feeling better, and I've enjoyed a little "down time" with being forced to stay home with her!)

 

 

Stamps:  Playful Christmas, Snow Flurry (Kitchen Sink Stamps)
Cardstock:  Pickle (Bazzill), Natural Ivory (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Imaginisce)
Ink:  Momento Rhubarb Stalk (Tsukineko)
Accessories: felt snowflakes, antique brads, glimmer brads (Creative Impressions), velvet ribbon (May Arts), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), pearl brads (K & Company).

The Papercraft Planet 12 Days of Christmas - day 1

Beginning today over at Papercraft Planet, and lasting for the next 12 days, we are celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas!  Each day has a different theme, pertaining to the days in the song and each day is being sponsored by a different stamp company!  Some that you know and love, and some that may be new to you!  Oh, and the best part..... you can win prizes from these awesome companies by joining in the fun!  So c'mon... head on over to the Planet and check it out on the home page!

I have always considered myself to be very lucky to be serving on one of the best design teams in the business!  Maria Colosimo from Kitchen Sink Stamps is so generous to her Crew members and a super-talented designer, and every person on the crew (past and present) is wonderful to know and work with!  And lucky for us that this 1st day of Christmas is being sponsored by none other than Kitchen Sink Stamps!  If you play along, upload your submission to Papercraft Planet by 1:00 a.m. Central time using the tag 12day1 (just like that... no spaces, lowercase letters) and you will be entered for the chance to win 3-Step Poinsettia and 3-Step Bells from Kitchen Sink Stamps!

OK, sing it with me.... "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... a partridge in a pear tree!"  So the theme for cards for the contest today is to have a tree and/or a bird on your card!  I have both!  I used 2 trees from my Playful Christmas stamp set from Kitchen Sink, and this awesome funky-bird paper from Pink Paislee!  I also used the sketch for this week from Card Positioning Systems for my layout.

So, if you're not out braving the Black Friday shopping crowds, I hope you'll make some time today to do some stamping!  Have a great day, whatever you do and thank you for stopping by!

 

 

 

Stamps:  Playful Christmas (Kitchen Sink Stamps)
Cardstock:  Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!), Pickle (Bazzill), designer paper (Pink Paislee)
Inks:  Versamagic Sage and Spanish Olive, Versamark (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  copper embossing powder (Stampin' Up!), clear embossing powder (Ranger), copper brads (Making Memories), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Houndstooth Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), ribbon (Creative Impressions).

Stamp Simply #62 - Let Your Ribbon Do the Talking!

Today's Stamp Simply challenge from the fabulous Sharon Johnson is to let your ribbon do the talking!  Try stamping your sentiment on your ribbon, or use pre-printed ribbon if you have it!

It's been a really bad night in my household.... too much parent/teenager disagreement tonight, and I hadn't even gotten started on my card for the challenge!  I finally stomped downstairs to my studio at 11:00 and quickly just grabbed for this purple pre-printed ribbon that I knew I had, and set out to create a very similar card to one I did years ago using the same ribbon.  But I felt like I was cheating.  First by almost completely CASE'ing myself, and second by using pre-printed ribbon.  I had told myself that stamping on ribbon has never worked for me in the past.  I'll just make a mess, it'll never look right, whatever!  But I thought as a member of this team, I ought to at least give it a try!  So after this card was completed, I grabbed some 3/8" wide pink grosgrain, my Sassy Sayings stamp set from My Favorite Things, and some Versafine Onyx Black ink.  And.... ta-dah!

 

In the words of Jennifer Buck.... that's EPLS!  (Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!)  I love it!  So c'mon... give it a try today!  If I can do it, you can do it!

Check out Sharon's blog for her fabulous creation, and the other team members for further inspiration!  (Some are running behind tonight, and links will be updated as they are posted!)

Julie Koerber
Dee Jackson
Jennifer Buck
Janine Orchard
Becky Oehlers
AJ Otto
Cathy Tidwell, November Guest Designer

Remember to leave a comment back on Sharon's blog with a direct link to your card!  Also, go upload your card to Papercraft Planet, and use ssnotime62 in your photo tag!  Not a member of the Planet yet?  Well, why not???  Go, get signed up now!

That's all!  Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Stamps:  flowers (Hero Arts), sentiment on pink ribbon (Sassy Sayings from My Favorite Things)
Cardstock:  Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, designer paper (Stampin' Up!), Green Tea (Bazzill), white (Georgia Pacific)
Inks:  Old Olive, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  purple printed ribbon (Creative Impressions), silver brads (Making Memories), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Itsy Bitsy Thanks

It's Monday, and another Kitchen Sink Stamps day!  For my card today, I pulled out an oldie but goodie, the Thanks with Style stamp set.  This was one of the first sets from KSS I owned, and it is well-loved!

If you have this set, it'd be the perfect set to use and enter the What's Cookin' with Your Kitchen Sink Stamps contest this month!  The theme is Attitude of Gratitude, so anything made using this set would be very fitting!

The whole team has some great designs for you to see today, so be sure to check them out!  You'll especially want to see Julie Masse's awesome design as she has the Kitchen Sink November Project of the Month!  Also, please pay a visit to Dee Jackson's blog.  She won't have a new KSS project for you today as she is having some health concerns (and had better be resting!)  Leave a "thinking of you" message if you have time!  She'll love it!

Julie Masse
Angela Knopf
Lynn McAuley
Nicole Cooke
Lori Tecler
Dee Jackson
Maria Colosimo, owner

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

 

Stamps:  Thanks with Style (Kitchen Sink Stamps)
Cardstock:  black/white duplex (The Paper Cut), white (Georgia Pacific), designer paper (Itsy Bitsy Spider by Piggy Tales)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories:  petite oval Nestabilities, ribbon slider tag (Spellbinders), ribbon (Creative Impressions).

Thoughts of You

Just a quick post this morning!  Here's a card I made earlier this week using Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try on her blog.  I just love to be able to use a little variety of matching designer papers, so this sketch layout worked well for that!  If you find yourself in need of inspriration, try the sketch!

Hope you have a great day!  The craziness in my life is leveling off, so I'm hoping to get back to a little routine soon!  Yay!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Stamps:  Nature Silhouettes (Kim Hughes collection for Cornish Heritage Farms), sentiment (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock:  Pickle, Mocha Divine (Bazzill), Confetti White (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Basic Grey)
Inks:  Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), markers (Tombow)
Accessories:  flowers and brad (Creative Impressions), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Basic Grey).