Thursday, June 30, 2011

My Time Made Easy Preview Day - Dazzling Ideas

Today is preview day for the My Time Made Easy July release and we have some DAZZLING ideas for you!  We are releasing one new digital set called Be Dazzled, two new templates, two new cut files, and some FABULOUS digital paper!  I've used the new Carry Clutch template for today's creation.
I started with this beautiful new paper called Crawling Vines from the Blooming with Elegance collection.  It pairs perfectly with SU's Tempting Turquoise.  I used the turquoise for the front, back and handles, and the dp for the sides and decorative panels.  I added silver brads to the decorative pieces on the handle and a pretty turquoise brad for the closure.

The label on the front was colored in GIMP and cut with the new Be Dazzled cut file.  I used Lauren's technique for using digis and cut files.  You can see her very helpful tutorial on that technique here.  The label, sentiment, and butterflies are all part of the Be Dazzled digital stamp set.  I added some silver pearls in each corner to sort of "tack" it down.

Here's a picture of the contents.  I purchased some glittery lip gloss for my dazzling niece, Maria.  She's going through a little rough patch right now with her parents' divorce, so I thought I'd give this to her to cheer her up a bit.

The entire MTME design team also has previews for you.  You can go to their blogs to see all their beautiful creations.  Here are links to their blogs.


Thanks for stopping by today!  Tomorrow is release day at MTME, so we'll have more to show you!  Please stop by again!

Photobucket

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Katie's Birthday Blog Hop and Pretty Palette #15

I was having issues with my computer at my cabin, but now that I'm home I can get my post up!

We are having a birthday blog hop for Katie Cotton, our sweetheart of a friend and owner of Paper Makeup Stamps!  You should have come here from Carma, her mom!  If not, you can go to the PMS blog to get the lineup.  I'm combining the card that I put in the mail yesterday with the Pretty Palette challenge.  Here are the colors for this week.
These colors were suggested to me by MTME and Pretty Patterns DT member Debbie Marcinkiewicz.  Great choice Debbie!  Here's my card for Katie.
I used the On Display 1 digital stamp set for this card and colored it in GIMP.   The dp is from two Basic Grey collections:  Lemonade and Nook & Pantry.  The colors were perfect for the color challenge.  I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch for my layout.

I also decorated the inside, this time using Paper Makeup Stamps.  I use the newer Build a Sentiment set and Birthday Cheer sentiment set.

Happy Birthday Katie!  Enjoy your hop and your birthday!

Now I'm going to send you to Elaine Hughes from Quixotic Cards.  Also stop by the Pretty Palette blog to see what the girls have done with these colors!

Photobucket


Saturday, June 25, 2011

Just Us Girls - 3/D Template Challenge

Happy Saturday!  It's 3/D Template week over at Just Us Girls, and Maria is challenging us to make a 3/D project or temple with a patriotic theme.  And if you are not from the USA (which will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday with our red, white, and blue), you can use your country's patriotic colors on your project.
I used a template from My Time Made Easy called Star of the Show.  The dp is from the Liberty Collection by Bo Bunny.  I paired it with real red, navy, and kraft cardstock.  The sentiment was a free digi by my Paper Makeup Stamps friend, Shaela Odd.  This was a freebie a while ago.  I colored the words "free" and "brave" and the stars in red and blue in GIMP.  I tied the sentiment tag with some twine.  Easy peasy!  Here's a closeup of the sentiment.
As hostess, Maria is giving away an {ippity}stamp set.  She's a Unity endorsed {ippity} chick and is gracious enough to give one away to one randomly chosen entry.  You can't win if you don't play, right?  So we hope to see your patriotic creation.  The JUGs DT has some fabulous inspiration for you as always!  You can see them on the JUGs blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!

Photobucket

Friday, June 24, 2011

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Be Inspired

Hi everyone!  Today is Friday, which means it's time for another Christmas Stampin' All Year Long challenge!  But first and foremost, it's my last day of school and summer vacation starts!  It's been a very long June and I'm ready for some rest, relaxation, and some stamping time!

This week's challenge is called Be Inspired.  MacKenzie has chosen a great picture for us to be inspired by.
The colors are fabulous, don't you think?  And you can take so much inspiration from it!  Here's what I did.

So as you can see, I took the colors and wreath from the inspiration picture.  I found this wreath in an old SU set called Glorious Garlands.  It's colored with SU markers in Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, and Tempting Turquoise.  I stamped the bow in Tempting Turquoise, cut it out, and pasted it on the wreath.  The dp is from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses and I paired it with Always Artichoke paper.  The banner piece was run through an embossing folder.  I added three glitter dots and stamped the sentiment in artichoke three times.   The sketch is from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

The CSAYL team has once again done a fab job with this inspiration challenge, so I hope you stop by the CSAYL blog.  If you play along, you could be chosen for a guest DT spot in July!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Photobucket

Monday, June 20, 2011

Paper Makeup Stamps and Quixotic Paperie Blog Hop

Today some of the Paper Makeup Stamps Design Team are joining with the Quixotic Paperie Design Team to throw the spotlight on the Paper Makeup Stamps range as part of Quixotic Paperie's 2nd Anniversary celebrations (Quixotic Paperie are the UK online stockist for Paper Makeup Stamps)!

As you may be aware - Paper Makeup Stamps is owned by Katie Cotton and to give you a clue as to where the name of her company came from - Katie is a professional makeup artist. Katie has some fabulous artists contributing to her company including Steve Hammond with the Monsters range, Diem Pascarella's Beautiful Day Fairies, Moody Girls by Cynthia Liu and the Retro Cutie Critters by Diem Pascarella.

The Paper Makeup Stamps range is available in the UK/Europe at Quixotic Paperie.

If you're in the US then you can of course find the stamps at Paper Makeup Stamps direct!

As part of the celebrations and the spotlight today, we have a PRIZE GIVEAWAY!
Pop on over to the Quixotic Inspirations blog to get all the details and enter the draw to win some fantastic Paper Makeup Stamps and more!

Now for some more inspiration! Hop on over to each of the blogs below to see some fantastic Paper Makeup Stamps creations!

- Elaine - Judy - Kim Dellow - Mary - - Andrea - Tangii - Stephanie - Tina - Katie - Dawn - - Randee - Lisa K (you are here!) - Jami - Anita - Michelle - Shaela -

Thanks for joining us and we hope you are enjoying all the Paper Makeup Stamps loveliness.



Photobucket

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Pretty Palette #14

Happy Sunday and Happy Father's Day! I hope you are spending it with your loved ones! We have a new Pretty Palette color challenge from My Time Made Easy! Some of my favorite colors!
I love brown with any color, especially pink! I chose to use this week's Pretty Patterns sketch from MTME. It was a great one that allowed me to use these colors so nicely! I punched squares from dp in rose red, pink pirouette, and chocolate brown from SU (retired papers) with at 1 1/4" punch and layered them on a 3 3/4" piece of cardstock. Then I ran it through a SU embossing folder...love the look! Then I layered it on a piece of rose red dp and added the ribbon. The butterfly is from Bold Botanicals. I used the digi form and added the challenge colors in GIMP. I printed it twice, cut and embossed one with a nestie and cut the other and layered it on top for some dimension.
You can see that the butterfly looks like it's going to take flight! I added star dust stickles on the wings for some sparkle.

You can get more inspiration on the MTME blog. The girls did a fab job with the colors!



Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Sunday!


Photobucket

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Just Us Girls - Color Challenge #89

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. I had a virus on my computer last week and my wonderful nephew fixed it for me. However, I lost a LOT of files that I'm not too happy about! Plus he upgraded my software to Windows 7 and I'm finding some issues with it...just some fine-tuning I hope! Anyway, today is a color challenge at Just Us Girls and Elise is hostessing her first JUGs challenge! She chose some fab colors!

I chose to use a new stamp set from Ippity called New Season, New Wonder that I got from my fellow JUGs girl, Maria. I stamped the cherries in Riding Hood Red and used a marker for the stems and leaf. The red and green dp is from SU's retired Bella Rose and the saffron dp is also from SU. I used another retired cardstock from SU called Cool Caribbean. The sketch is the Fall to Layout from Clean & Simple.

Stop by the JUGs blog to see what the girls are up to.


  • Andrea


  • Dana


  • Elise


  • Maria



    • Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your weekend!



      Photobucket

      Sunday, June 12, 2011

      Pretty Palette #13

      Happy Sunday everyone! Today is lucky #13 Pretty Palette challenge from My Time Made Easy. I love this week's colors.These colors were taken from the MTME digital paper pack Citrus Peel. Here my card. I started with the new digital stamp set Timed Write for the base of the tag. I used GIMP to "color" the stripes using the colors from Citrus Peel, then I added the tulip from Bee-Loved (I LOVE this set!), also colored in GIMP using the same colors. Lastly, I added the sentiments from Timed Write. After printing it out, I trimmed it on my paper cutter and corner rounded the corners. I printed out the stripe patterned paper and added it to the bottom of a piece of white cardstock that I embossed with Swiss Dots folder on the top. I added these little discs on the side for extra color and dimension. The dotted ribbon is a perfect match!

      The Pretty Palette design team has some wonderful creations with this color challenge. You can see them on the MTME blog or visit theri personal blogs.






      I hope you enjoy what you've seen! I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks for stopping by!



      Photobucket

      Saturday, June 11, 2011

      Just Us Girls - Technique Challenge


      Hi everyone! I'm on the computer today catching up on posts and commenting! I've been so bad lately and I apologize for that. Too little time to get everything done at this time of the year!This week over at Just Us Girls, we have a great technique challenge that made my jaw drop when I first saw it a while ago! I have always wanted to try it! Pam is our fabulous hostess, and she has chosen the woodgrain technique that Gina K illustrates on her Stamp TV video. It's a super easy technique that gives you that instant "wow" factor! I did the technique as Gina illustrates using More Mustard cardstock, however I used Adirondack's Snow Cap white pigment ink and a cheap $1 chocolate brown dye based ink pad. (I didn't want to ruin a good brown ink pad!) While I chose to use a brown ink pad, some of the girls chose different colors, like blue, to get a white washed wood feel. The image is from SU's retired For Father stamp set, and the sentiment is one I've had forever from Stacy's Stamps (I purchased it at a stamp show). I used a decorative corner punch and added brown brads. I wanted to keep it simple so you could get the full view of the woodgrain effect I created (plus I stink at making masculine cards cause you can't add ribbons and flowers!).

      I hope you can stop by the Just Us Girls blog and see what the girls have created. You can also see what our guest designer Rosemary Dennis has created!

      Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!


      Photobucket

      Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Babes in Toyland

      Hi everyone! I'm a day late in posting this card! It's been a very busy week for me...I'm winding down my classroom and still packing to move to the Middle School from the elementary school. So I have to admit that I am re-posting a card I did almost 3 years ago! But a lot of you haven't seen it, so it will be new to you! :-)

      The challenge this week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long is to make a card you'd give to a little one. Here's the one I chose to share.I loved this card when I made and I still do! The colors are so vivid...this is SU's Pacific Point papers that I remember drooling over when I first got them. The adorable image is from the Got Snow set from Gina K Designs. I love these little guys making that cute snowman! The snowflake was made using a punch and some chunky glitter to it to make it sparkle.

      The CSYAL girls did a fabulous job with this challenge. Make sure you stop by the CSAYL blog to see for yourself. And how are you doing with your Christmas card making? If you play in our challenge, you will have the chance to be chosen as a guest designer for July! How fun is that?

      Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day!

      Photobucket

      Tuesday, June 7, 2011

      Paper Makeup Stamps June Blog Hop!

      Hi everyone! Welcome to the Paper Makeup Stamps June blog hop! You should have arrived here from Randee's fabulous blog. If not, please start at the PMS blog to see all the fun stuff you have missed!

      We don't have a release this month, but we are reviewing all the fabulous images PMS has released over the past two years. Our theme this month is summer, and boy am I ready for summer! I chose the Freckled Lemonade stamp set for this card.I just love this set! I chose this pitcher because it just looked so refreshing, and what better way to spend a summer afternoon sipping lemonade (maybe mixed with some other libation!). I colored it with copics and then added crystal stickles to make it look more refreshing and icy! The paper is Lemonade from Basic Grey (appropriately chosen!). I added a pretty yellow ribbon and the sentiment on a flag. There are dew drops in the corner for more color.

      The next stop on our PMS blog hop is Jami's blog. She always has some fantastic eye candy for you! If you get lost, you can start at the PMS blog and also read about the prize package Katie is giving away worth over $40!!! You don't want to miss out on that! Thanks for stopping in and have a great day!


      Photobucket

      Sunday, June 5, 2011

      My Time Made Easy - A Year in Review and Pretty Palette #12

      Hi everyone! Today I have a My Time Made Easy two-fer for you! We have our June group post and a new Pretty Palette color challenge. Here are the colors.And I chose a cute, simple little MTME template called Under Cover.
      I printed two sheets of paper using the Fanciful Flourishes digi paper in the saffron and melon colors, then cut out the template. The label was printed using the Sentimental Occasions Labels digi stamps. I colored them in GIMP to get the exact challenge colors. The ribbon was added to tie it all together.

      For the Year in Review group post, stop by the MTME DT:
      Lauren Meader
      Debbie Marcinkiewicz
      Kathryn Berthiaume
      Katie Cotton
      Monique Hansen
      Tangii Crain
        For the Pretty Palette challenge, stop by the MTME blog and the DT blogs:
        Laurel Seabrook
        Lori Kalus
        Lynn Mangan
        Romaine Rancier
        Sharon Gregory
          Thanks for stopping in today! Enjoy your day!

          Photobucket

          Saturday, June 4, 2011

          Just Us Girls - Sketch Challenge

          It's Saturyday! Thank goodness it's a nice day and I can FINALLY plant my flowers! And we have a great new Just Us Girls sketch challenge from the very talented Kathryn! And speaking of flowers....I have a very bright and flowery card using this sketch! I went through a bevvy of stamps trying to decide what to use for this sketch. Then I found these extra flowers from the Flutters and Flowers cut file from My Time Made Easy that I cut for this project. I thought they'd look kind of cool with this sketch. I punched circles from Daffodil Delight cardstock (I'm lovin' this color!) and ran it through the Swiss Dots folder. I pierced the sides of the cardstock and stamped the sentiment from Scattered Showers in Versafine black ink.

          The JUGS design team has some amazing samples for you. Stop by the JUGS blog to see more. We also have a new guest designer for June...Rosemary. Please stop by her blog as well!

          Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

          Photobucket

          Friday, June 3, 2011

          My Time Made Easy - "Disc-Covered"

          ***If you are looking for my Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Post, click here***

          Hey there everyone! Have you seen the new release from My Time Made Easy? There's some fantastic and fun new digi images, templates, and paper! Great theme, too...movies and games! Today, I've created a cute little gift that would be great to give to a girl or boy using the new Disc-Covered template. It's a two-for-one...there is one template sized for CDs and one for DVDs. I'm using the larger DVD size today.I cut the template base out of soft suede cardstock to coordinate with this pattern from the new Movie Tickets digital paper pack. Then I used the new Got Game? digital stamp set for all the images on the front. All the images were colored in GIMP.

          Now when the box is opened, it reveals the gift. I just went to the dollar store and picked up this domino set and basketball peg game. They fit perfectly side-by-side with a little wiggle room. This is such a simple temple to put together too! So you don't have to use it to package up a CD or DVD. There are a variety of items that would fit in this box because of the two different sizes! And at only $5 for two templates...what a bargain!

          Lauren and Monique are posting projects today too, so make sure you stop by their blogs! Thanks for stopping by!

          Photobucket

          Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - A Little Something from Me to You

          ***I have another post today from My Time Made Easy...click here***

          Today is Friday, so that means another Christmas Stampin' All Year Long challenge. We are sponsored by Pink Cat Studios once again, and the challenge is to make a gift card holder. I went to the SCS resource section to look for a tutorial for one and found this Beanie Cap gift card holder tutorial. I remembered seeing these a few years ago and thought they were just so adorable, so I used it for this week's challenge. I followed the tutorial almost exactly, except I left off the pom-pom. I printed out a small version of the Polar Bear Present digital image and colored it with copic markers. This next picture reveals the gift card inside. And this gift card was actually a gift given to me this past Christmas from my best friend, Maria. It's a great spa...so serene and pretty too!

          So what kind of gift card holder can you come up with? I can't wait to see so I can gather more ideas to package these very popular gifts! Stop by the CSAYL blog to see more inpiration from the DT as well as our guest designer this week, Lori.

          Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

          Photobucket

          LinkWithin

          Blog Widget by LinkWithin