Kind Creations

Pretty Palette #45

2012-01-29T00:53:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone! This week's Pretty Palette challenge colors came from the Plum Pretties digital paper pack from My Time Made Easy. Pretty colors!

The paper has an Asian theme and coordinates with the So Fortunate stamp set. It just so happens that the Chinese New Year was last week, so this is a nod to that. I printed out the plum paper and also the green polka dot paper from the Coffee Beans digital paper pack. I used the So Fortunate digital images and colored them in GIMP to match the papers. The zig-zag piece was cut using the Random Ribbons cut file.

The sketch is from this week's Card Patterns sketch. It is a great sketch and so easy to work with.

There is some great inspiration over on the MTME blog. Stop by these blogs to see for yourself.

My Time Made Easy blog

Charlene Cundy
Jacki Randolph

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Just Us Girls #121 - Template/3D Challenge

2012-01-28T00:00:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! We have a new challenge from Just Us Girls that the marvelous Maria has come up with....create a 3D project or template with a Valentine theme. Perfect for those gifts we love to give or display.

I'm using a box from My Time Made Easy called A Box is a Box. While I was cutting the top out on my Cricut, I added a heart cut-out on the side. Then I added some liquid pearls around the heart to hilite it a bit. The bow was cut using the Bow Tied cut file. On both the lid and bow, I used the Candy Kisses digital paper pack. With the leftover paper from the bow, I used the Martha Stewart heart border punch to adorn the bottom of the lid.

Here is a closeup of the bow. I just love this cut file! It makes making a bow super easy and they look so professional! I added a pretty Prima rose in the center.

Stop by the JUGs blog and the design team's blogs. Also we'd like to thank our featured designer, Kylie Kueter, for designing with us this month!

Just Us Girls blog

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Kylie Kueter, January Featured Designer

Thanks foir stopping by today!

Pretty Palette #44

2012-01-22T00:00:00.017-05:00

Hi everyone! Today the Pretty Palette challenge has lovely, soft colors for you. I saw these colors on this card by Andrea and fell in love with them!

This is my take on the colors. I used the Occasional Labels stamp set and stamped the gingham frame in Apricot Appeal on the Occasional Label cut file I cut with my Cricut. Then I stamped the outline on the inside with Melon Mambo ink. The flower, from Sensational Stems, was stamped in Wild Wasabi and Melon Mambo. The sentiment, from Sensational Sentiments, was stamped in Black Onyx Versafine ink. All stamps from My Time Made Easy, of course.

I loved this sketch from Deconstructed Sketches. I sort of followed it. Creative license, right?

The Pretty Palette design team has been busy making some beautiful cards for this challenge. Make sure you stop by the blogs below to see for yourself.

My Time Made Easy blog

Charlene Cundy
Jacki Randolph

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

Thanks so much for stopping in today!

Just Us Girls #120 - Color Challenge

2012-01-21T00:00:00.003-05:00

Hello friends! I'm sooo glad it's the weekend! My students have been trying my patience this week. I think we need another break from each other! Sigh...

Well, let's talk stamping and get our problems off our shoulders, shall we? It always relaxes me...especially when I'm coloring like I did today. Over at Just Us Girls, our challenge this week is a color challenge and our amazingly talented Vicki has chosen some Valentine colors. So I had to go with that theme!

OK, so is this not a cute image or what? I purchased it eons ago at my LSS, Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. It's from Inky Antics called Sniffing Treats. I love dogs, so all cute dog stamps like this one just jump into my basket when I'm shopping there! However, this is the first time this stamp has seen ink! Why is that? This dog just reminded me of our dog, Lizzie. (Sidebar here: As I was making this, she kept coming over to me in my stamp room. My stamp room is in the basement and on the other side of the wall is her bed. She is very tired tonight after a long day with her master (my hubby) and she wants me out of the basement so she can sleep! Her eyes are just pleading for me to turn off the radio and leave! Too funny!) Anyway, I colored the image with the red and pink colors (and brown for the dog). I added some glitter gel pen to the ribbon on the heart. The punched heart border was done with a Martha Stewart punch. I salvaged some of the hearts that where punched out of the border to place above the sentiment. The sentiment is from Love Everywhere by Taylored Expressions. Cute stamp set! I added a red velvet button tied with some pink floss.

I followed this sketch from {Freshly Made} Sketches. I just found their blog and am now following it! I love me some great sketches, and their's seem to be fresh and fun!

The JUGs DT have made some really pretty cards this week! The blog looks so pretty in all this red, pink, and white! Stop by these blogs to see more fabulous inspiration from the team and our Featured Designer.

Just Us Girls blog

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Kylie Kueter, January Featured Designer

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a great weekend. Stop by tomorrow for my Pretty Palette challenge card! See you then!

Pretty Palette #43

2012-01-15T00:00:00.024-05:00

Hello my friends! Today is Sunday which means we have another Pretty Palette challenge for you from My Time Made Easy. I just love the colors for this week...pink,white, and navy. Such a classy color palette!

My card for this palette began with the digi paper from My Time Made Easy. I used three different paper packs for this and did something I've never done before. I created my own striped pattern paper! The blue patterns are from Tea Parlor Plum's Silent Night pack, the pink gingham is from Ga Ga for Gingham, and the other pink one is from the new Candy Kisses pack. I inserted them into a Word document, cropped each one to 7"x1.5" and just stacked them next to each other. I wish my sewing machine worked better so I could have run a zig-zag stitch between each one, but it just isn't working properly.

The paper with the tea cups on it was the inspiration for my card. I love the A Spot of Tea stamp set and coordinating A Spot of Tea Pretty Pieces Cut file. I cut the tea cup using the cut file, then stamped the outline of the tea cup in Night of Navy ink. I then stamped the floral design in navy also, then inked the coordinating flowers and leaves in pink and green. The sentiment is from the same set and is also stamped in navy. I added the Martha Stewart flowers and a partial pearl flourish I had to mimic steam coming from the cup. The pink base was scalloped on the left side with a border punch and I added a pretty pink dotted ribbon to finish it off.

This sketch from Card Patterns was the inspiration for the four different pattern panels I created. What a lovely sketch!

Stop by the MTME blog to see what the Pretty Palette design team has created with these colors. We have a new member, Jacki Randolph, joining us! We are so happy to have her on board! Welcome Jacki! Here are links to their blogs.

My Time Made Easy blog

Charlene Cundy
Jacki Randolph

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

Thanks for stopping by! It's a longer weekend for me with Martin Luther King day tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Recipe
Stamps: A Spot of Tea (MTME)
Paper: Neenah white, pink pirouette, Tea Parlor Plum's Silent Night, Ga Ga for Gingham, Candy Kisses (all MTME)
Ink: Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink, Garden Green
Accessories: A Spot of Tea Pretty Pieces cut file (MTME), pearl flourish (Want 2 Scrap), roses (Martha Stewart), scallop border punch, dotted ribbon, dimensionals

Just Us Girls #119 - Technique Challenge

2012-01-14T00:00:00.001-05:00

Hi all! Did you all survive Friday the 13th? Up here in Buffalo, NY, we got hit with our first storm of the season. Yes, I said FIRST snow storm! We have not had any snow on the ground until yesterday. And it took me almost and hour and a half to get to work! There was a 10 car pile up on the Thruway which held things up for hours! It wasn't an enjoyable ride!

But today is better, it's Saturday and the long weekend is ahead, and we have a cool Just Us Girls technique challenge for you! Our newest JUGs member, and Moxie Fabber of the Week, Lynn Mangan, chose the collage technique. I had such fun with this one! You can find the instructions in the SCS Resources here.

I started with a stamp set I purchased at a stamp show from Darcie's booth (there's no name on the package and I couldn't find it online). I started with a piece of white cardstock and stamped it with SU's retired canvas background in Basic Gray. Then I stamped the other images in Basic Gray, Tempting turquoise, and the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black. The flourishes were stamped off before stamping on the cardstock. The edges were distressed and then I added more Basic Gray ink to define the edges more. The ribbon is Basic Gray taffeta. I had to add something else, so I just added some silver pearls to each side.

You have to stop by the JUGs blog and the girls' blogs to see their amazing collage stamped cards. They are listed below.

Just Us Girls blog

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Kylie Kueter, January Featured Designer

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

My Time Made Easy - Happy New Year (in review!)

2012-01-09T00:00:00.005-05:00

Hello friends! Have you seen the new products that were released yesterday from My Time Made Easy? It was one "sweet" release! Check them out here and see for yourself.

Today the entire design team is posting our monthly Year in Review post where we use previously released products. I'm also using the Pretty Palette colors for this week, which are based on the new digital paper pack called Island Love.

I chose to use the Creative Card Candy template for my project today. There are two sizes of boxes in this set, and I used the mini version. I also used the Creative Card/Envelope 1 cut file to make four mini cards and envelopes. The envelopes and floral paper are from the Island Love digital paper pack.

The mini cards were stamped with the Killer Curves Fancy Frames stamp set. I added my initial using the Monograms Defined stamp set.

The inside is lined with the floral paper. The front was decorated with a pearl flourish from Want 2 Scrap. The box is held shut with a ribbon belly band and bow.

I hope you enjoyed my project. I love the way it came out and the colors are so pretty! You can see more inspiration for the Pretty Palette color challenge by going to these blogs.

My Time Made Easy blog

Charlene Cundy

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

And you can see more Year in Review inspiration from the MTME DT by going to these blogs.

MTME store

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Thanks for stopping in today. I love to hear your comments! Have a great week!

My Time Made Easy Release Day - Something Sweet

2012-01-08T00:00:00.001-05:00

Today is Release Day at My Time Made Easy and we have a very sweet release for you this month! Sweet is the definitely theme here this month. You can see all the sweet new products here in the store.

The template I'm sharing today is called Sweet Treat Tote. LOVE this one! It is a very roomy template, and it has three different insert options. I'm using the bigger sized insert box, but there are two others: one is a lollipop insert and the other is a smaller box.

I coordinated the tote with this new digital paper pack designed by Kristin Eberline called Candy Kisses. I think this is such a fun paper! It coordinates with SU's Poppy Parade and Crumb Cake carstock, which is what I used here. The cut out on the front can be removed or changed to work with your design.

The sentiment is from the new digital stamp set called Sweet Sentiments. It was perfect for my candy gift. These are sponge candies. I don't know if you have them in your area, but they are very popular here in Western New York. They are my favorite candy! I purchased some at the candy store and packaged them in some clear candy bags and tied them off with some ribbon. The sentiment was cut out with a Spellbinder's tag and I tied it on with ribbon and added a red heart button. Since my sweetie doesn't like sweets, these are mine! LOL!!

The entire MTME design team is posting today. Stop by their blogs and see what "eye candy" they have for you. And don't forget to stop by the MTME store to purchase your new products and start crafting! Everything is digital, so you don't have to wait!

MTME store

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with our MTME Happy New Year in Review post. See you then!

Just Us Girls #118 - Sketch Challenge

2012-01-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday! Today is the first challenge for 2012 at Just Us Girls. The first challenge of the month is our sketch challenge, and our fabulously creative Pam has given us this great sketch to work with.

I decided that I wanted to color because I haven't done a lot of that lately. These stamps have been sitting around for far too long. This image is Winter Marci from La-La Land Crafts. I picked it up at a stamp show over the summer. I must have used about 20 copic markers on this image! I haven't used that many in one sitting in a long time! The dp is from My Mind Eye's Lost and Found Madison Avenue. The flowers are Primas and the pearl flourish is from Want 2 Scrap (love those flourishes!). The sentiment is from Paper Makeup Stamps. It was part of a kit from last year, so I'm not sure if it's still available.

Wait until you see the cards the girls created with this sketch! They are all so different and so fabulous! We have a new featured designer this month, too. Here are the blogs you'll want to visit.

Just Us Girls blog

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Kylie Kueter, January Featured Designer

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

My Time Made Easy Preview Day 1 - Hey Cupcake!

2012-01-06T00:00:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! It's finally time for previews for the new release from My Time Made Easy. Lauren made our lives "easier" this month by delaying the release a week because of the holidays (thank you Lauren!). We have two new templates, two new digital stamp sets, two new cut files, and a bunch of new digital paper! These will all be released on Sunday, January 8th.

Today, we are previewing the Hey Cupcake template. As the name implies, its intended use is to hold two cupcakes. There is an insert that goes in the box that will house two cupcakes or even jar candles. I've chosen to do something a little different with it. When I looked at it (and when I saw this image/sentiment in the Sweet Sentiments digital stamp set), I thought treasure chest! I don't know if I've done a good job at making it look like a treasure chest, but I do like the way it looks.

I made the base of the template from Island Indigo cardstock and the top is from vanilla cardstock. I chose the Doilies paper from the new Minty Chocolate digital paper pack for the decorative panel on the lid of the box. I took some brown satin ribbon and put an aged copper slide on it to make it look like the closure. I filled it with these chocolate coins for my "treasure"!

This heart with sentiment image is what got me thinking of a treasure chest. I printed it out on vanilla cardstock, colored it with copics, cut it out, and added some Star Dust stickles around the edge. The heart paper is also from the new Minty Chocolate paper pack. I used the same Island Indigo cardstock and brown satin ribbon as the box. I also added some of the stickles to the one heart on the left side. It looks real sparkly in person.

The card uses the sketch from Card Positioning Systems.

Stop by the following DT blogs to see what they have created with the new products from MTME.

Lauren Meader

Katie Cotton

Tangii Crain

The January release will be on Sunday, January 8th. You'll have everything you'll need to create your own wonderful projects immediately...no waiting! Thanks for stopping by today!

January Calendar

2012-01-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

To see my Pretty Palette post, please click here.

Happy New Year once again! Since it's the first of the month, we all need new calendars, right? Well a few of my stamping friends have gotten together to create a calendar each month and post it to our blogs. I've been using Taylored Expressions 6x6 calendar pages. You can purchase and download them right away (which is what I did today!).

I decided to go with snowmen for my calendar page since January should have lots of snow. However, here in Buffalo, NY (snow capital as we call it), we have NO SNOW!! We are supposed to get some tonight into tomorrow. It was a weird Christmas with no snow.

Anyway, I digress. This snowmen scene was perfect for the top of my calendar and I love this image! It's from Impression Obsession's clear stamp set called Let It Snow. It's colored with copics and I added some sparkle with a clear gel pen. The snowflake is from Heidi Grace. The twine, added at the very last minute, was a gift from Jami Bova. My calendar stand is on my file cabinet at school, so I'll have to take it there on Tuesday when school starts again. :- (

Here are links to the other girls' blogs so you can see their fabulous calendars.

Christine

Julie

Tangii

Danni

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to be doing more stamping this week (fingers crossed!).

Pretty Palette #41 - Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Hard to believe it's already 2012! Remember when we were all worried about going from 1999 to 2000? Wow! Twelve years later and look how far we've come! I hope you have a fabulous 2012!

This week, the Pretty Palette challenge DT is celebrating the new year with some fun, bright colors. We hope you enjoy them!

I had so much fun putting this card together. I had been planning on using this Ring in the New Year cut file from My Time Made Easy for this challenge for a while! Using my Cricut and SCAL program, I cut the base of the bell in Marina Mist, then cut the other pieces in Concord Crush, Real Red, and Daffodil Delight cardstocks and assembled it all together. Love the outcome! I did not have a sentiment for the new year, so I created one in Word and printed it out on some bright yellow computer paper. The clock and ribbons are buttons I won at Buttons Galore & More. They were the perfect addition to my card! The papers are from Basic Grey's Junebug paper pack.

This sketch from Card Patterns worked wonderfully for my card.

For more inspiration and to link up your Pretty Palette creation, head on over to the following blogs.

My Time Made Easy blog

Charlene Cundy

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful 2012!

Just Us Girls #117 - Wild Card Challenge

2011-12-31T00:00:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! It's hard to believe another year has gone by! So much crafting! I should do a year in review like I did here last year. No time right now...maybe tomorrow or Monday. It's always fun to look back and reminisce.

Today I'm here with the last Just Us Girls challenge for 2011. It just so happens that it's the 5th week of the month (which means Wild Card challenge) and that I'm the hostess! So I've chosen to challenge everyone to use felt on their creations. I love felt and this is the perfect time of year to use it, too!

I'm so done with Christmas cards, so on to the next holiday...Valentine's Day. I was looking for a die to use and picked this one from My Favorite Things called Hearts a Plenty. Never been used, so perfect choice! I used PTI felt in red, pink, and white. The paper is from a Bo Bunny pack from last year. The sentiment is from Verve called Feeling Groovy.

Simple card using a FTL sketch that I just love to use! I altered it a bit, as you can see.

Check out what the girls have done. You can see their creations on the JUGs blog or at their personal blogs.

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fun and safe New Year's celebration!

Just Us Girls #116 - Technique Challenge

2011-12-24T08:20:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve! The Just Us Girls team has an easy challenge for you brought to us by our very talented Kathryn! Thank you Kathryn for this easy-peasy challenge! I did mine this morning in about 15 minutes! I was too exhausted after cooking and wrapping all day long to do it last night!

The challenge is to make a pillar sleeve for a candle. Such a great idea! It makes for nice last minute gifts!

I wasn't sure I'd be able to play as I don't have many candles in my home. I'm so afraid of burning the house down! Our house was totally destroyed by fire about 10 years before we purchased it, so I'm a little gun shy when it comes to fires in the house! But I did manage to find one (you can see it's never been lit!). And it took me all of 15 minutes this morning to decorate it! I used SU's Jolly Holiday paper, some velvet ribbon, silk poinsettias, a couple of gold glitter dots, some glue dots, and some Scor-Tape to pull this all together. All the materials right at hand! It's sitting on my china hutch in my dining room in all its glory right now!

Just remember to be careful when burning your holiday candles this holiday season or at any time of the year! We want you to all be safe!

Stop by the JUGs blog to see the lovely candles the girls created for this fun challenge!

I hope you have a Merry Christmas Eve! Santa is getting ready to fly his sleigh and deliver all those packages for all you good little crafters! Enjoy your time with your family and friends!

Some Final Christmas Cards!

2011-12-23T11:13:00.001-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Lots has been going on...Christmas shopping, work, my husband retired! Yippee!! Life has been good indeed!

I always leave my family's cards to the last. Why is that? I'm always scrambling to get them done! The first one is for my mom and in-laws. It follows the Pretty Palette colors (which I am a week late in posting!). Here are the colors we came up with...pretty predictable for this time of year!

And this is the cutie I made. It uses the Made of Snow digital stamp set from My Time Made Easy and the sentiment is from the Season's Greetings Holiday Sentiment set from Paper Makeup Stamps. My mother-in-law loves these easel cards because she says my cards are always top heavy (she's right!) and fall over! So these cards stay up nicely. I used Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler as my base colors and the bird dp is from Memory Box. The others are scraps from packs I've been using all season. I saw this card by Korin Sutherland in SCS and was blown away by it's beauty, so I cased the layout. I wish I had that paper she used!

Next up are cards that I've made before, but turned them into easel cards as well. These were made for my family that I just met this summer in Poland. I hope they enjoy them! The first one uses a stamp from JustRite Stampers. I love how the center image looks like a fancy ornament.

This last one uses an image from Inkadinkadoo. It's embossed with gold embossing powder and uses brushed gold paper from SU.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with those you love. I may be back with some templates I'm (hopefully) making for gift cards for my nieces. We'll see...it may be more like next week sometime! Merry Christmas!

Pretty Palette #39

2011-12-11T00:00:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! I'm putting up my tree today. Kevin, Lizzie (our Springer Spaniel), and I went to cut it down yesterday. As we pulled up, we saw some new signs..."No Dogs beyond this point"! Yikes! Lizzie was already crying to get out of the car! (Warning: Stop reading if you don't like dogs!) We took her anyway and met another couple with their Springer! Then as we were leaving, two other cars pulled up with their dogs! It's just part of the tradition taking the dog to cut down your tree! She had fun and so did we!

Well, today is another Pretty Palette challenge from My Time Made Easy. I love these colors!

I chose to make another Christmas card. I just can't seem to have enough of them. I chose this gift package from the Well Rounded digital stamp set and paper pieced it with the 12 Days of Snow Flakes digital paper in pink. The ribbon on the gift was colored with copic markers. I added the satin ribbon and topped it off with a paper snowflake and pink crystal. The sentiment is from Secret Santa stamp set.

I used this sketch from Stepping Stones. I liked the simplicity of it.

For more inspiration, stop by the MTME blog. The girls did a fabulous job with this color challenge! Thanks for stopping by!

Charlene Cundy

Lynn Mangan

Pattie Goldman

Romaine Rancier

2011-12-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Hi friends! Just Us Girls has a fantastic challenge for you this week! It's our technique challenge week and our lovely Kathryn chose the Center Step technique. What fun cards these are to create!

So here's what I did. I saw a card in the Center Step card gallery on SCS (sorry couldn't find it again) that created a door for the focal image. I thought it was a really cool idea and just had to create one as well1 I've had this die and Wreaths of Joy stamp set from Taylored Expressions for a while and it was screaming to be used. I created the base of the card using Riding Hood Red cardstock. The door was created using pieces of the cardstock which I ran through the woodgrain plate. The woodgrain was accentuated with some distress inks. The wreath was cut, stamped, and colored, then I added the ribbon. It was attached to the door with dimensionals. The dp is from SU's retired Holiday Treasures. The sentiment is from a PTI set.

Here's a side shot of the card so you can see the folds of this fun card. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this card was to create!

Stop by the JUGs blog for more inspiration from our fabulous JUGs design team. Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Makeup Stamps December Blog Hop

2011-12-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Today is our monthly Paper Makeup Stamps blog hop. We have a wintery theme going on here on the hop. You should have arrived from Janette's blog. If not, go to the PMS blog!

Before I continue, I wanted to let you know that PMS is discontinuing its rubber line of stamps and is going totally digital! So there is a huge rubber sale going on at a discounted price. You can read more about it in this post on the PMS blog.

Back to the card. I chose to use this Oo La La for Santa set (which has never seen ink!). It's colored with copics, I added sparkle with silver and gold Spica pens, and liquid applique for the fur. There are also some Kaiser pearls added on the side to balance it out. The sentiment is part of the set and was punched out with an oval punch. It's attached to the kraft taffeta ribbon with some baker's twine.

I used this sketch from this week's Card Patterns sketch. I changed out the oval for a circle.

Your next stop is Dawn's blog. I have the list of participants listed below in case you get lost on the hop.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the hop!

Tim Holtz's 12 Days of Christmas Tags - Day 2

2011-12-05T00:00:00.038-05:00

Have you seen Tim Holtz's blog this week? He's started his annual 12 days of Christmas tags. I was very intrigued by Day 2's tag. You can find it here. He used his fabulous deer die on his tag. I used the Deer Trio die from Memory Box. I followed his steps but modified it a bit because I didn't have all the products he used. I was very pleased with the outcome. However, the back side is not so pretty! I guess I have to cover that with more dp or something!

Thanks for stopping in today!

Pretty Palette #38

2011-12-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday and time for another Pretty Palette color challenge from My Time Made Easy.

These colors are warm and fuzzy colors to me, so I used the new Winter Knits digital stamp set and Warm Sentiments digital stamp set. I printed it out the hat, colored it with copic markers, and cut it out. Then I printed out the sentiment and cut it out with a circle Nestie. The circle and hat were mounted on a piece of Cherry Cobbler that I ran through the snowflake embossing folder. That was then mounted on a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock. For some bling, I added the green and red crystals and some Star Dust Stickles on the pom and fringes of the hat.

The sketch is from this week's Clean and Simple Fall to Layout.

Check out the MTME blog for more inspiration from the design team. Thanks for stopping by!

Charlene Cundy

Lynn Mangan

Romaine Rancier

Just Us Girls #113 - Sketch Challenge

2011-12-03T00:00:00.002-05:00

It's Saturday and time for another challenge from Just Us Girls. It's the first Saturday of the month, which means it's sketch challenge week. Elise is our fabulous hostess this week, and she created a great sketch!

Here is a better view of the sketch.

And here's my interpretation of the sketch. I was feeling vintage-y today, so I used the Lost and Found Christmas dp from My Mind's Eye. The Santa image is from Impression Obsession. I colored the hat and face with prismacolor pencils and gamasol. The fur on the hat and the beard were covered in Martha Stewart fine glitter. I just got this Jingle Bell die from Memory Box and couldn't wait to use it. I cut it out of Cherry Cobbler paper and only used 5 of the bells on the side. The ribbon is some seam binding from Debbie Marcinkiewicz's Etsy store and the fern is a Martha Stewart punch.

Because it's the first Saturday of the month, we have a new Featured Designer...Lenet Mos. You can also stop by the JUGs blog for more inspiration. Here are the links to the girls' blogs too. Thanks for stopping by!

My Time Made Easy A Year in Review: A Box is a Box

2011-12-02T00:00:00.005-05:00

Happy Friday! Today I'm here with the My Time Made Easy Year in Review post. This is where we use the old with the new. I'm using the new A Box is a Box template with some products previously released.

This box comes with two design options for the top. Yesterday I used the petal-top option and today I'm using the traditional box top. I started by creating the bottom of the box with black cardstock. The top was created using the Buzz-y Blooms digital paper in the yellow honeycomb pattern. This template comes with four different cut-outs for the sides: a snowflake (which I used in yesterday's post), a tree, a leaf, and a flower. To change things up a bit and to match my theme, I cut the smaller bee from the My Bee Loved cut file on the front and back of the lid. I love how the bee cut-out is silhouetted against the black bottom of the box.

To top it off, I used the Abra-Bow-Dabra cut file to create the pretty bow. I cut it out twice with black cardstock to create the full bow. I also cut some 1" strips of black paper to run it around the top.

I filled the box (which is very big) with Burt's Bees products. I love how you can create a theme and run with it!

Here's the box full of all these products. See? I told you it was big! (I hate that white piece of filler that is hanging out of the box. I wish I would have noticed it and cut it off!)

Please stop by the design team's blogs to see what they have in store for you. Thanks for stopping by!

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

My Time Made Easy Release Day: A Box Just isn't a Box

2011-12-01T00:00:00.035-05:00

Today is December 1st already! Where has the time gone? Today is also release day at My Time Made Easy. The design team is all using the new template A Box is a Box. This is a HUGE box and has two design options. I'm using the petal top option here. I wanted an elegant-looking box, so I went in search of some ribbon. I found this ribbon I got at JoAnn's long ago and always loved it. So I decided to make the box out of brushed silver cardstock from SU to match the silver in the ribbon.

This box also comes with different cut-out options. There's a flower, a leaf, a tree, and a snowflake, which I chose to use here on the front (and back) of the box to match the snowflakes on the ribbon. I cut a piece of white cardstock the size of the side of the box and adhered it to the inside so that the contents (Hershey Kisses) wouldn't fall out and so that the snowflake cut-out showed up more.

I added ribbon around the box and tied a big double bow on top. Then I added some jingle bells and attached them with some silver and white string. I couldn't discard the snowflake cut-outs, so I strung one from the string and attached it to the ribbon. It can be used decoratively or as a tag. Mine is just decorative for the moment. By the way, only one bag of Kisses is not enough to fit into this box! To open the box, just take off the bow and the box opens. I forgot to take a picture of the box open.

You can see and purchase all the new products today on the My Time Made Easy store. We have two new templates, several new cut files and digital stamp sets, and some gorgeous digital paper being released. The design team has more inspiration to share with you. Stop by their blogs to see for yourself! Thanks for stopping in today. I'll be back tomorrow with another MTME post!

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

My Time Made Easy Preview: Insert Card Here

2011-11-30T00:00:00.067-05:00

Hi everyone! The My Time Made Easy design team is back in swing again previewing products from the new December release. There's tons to choose from, so you'll probably want it all! And you can have it all...tomorrow! Just select, pay, download, and start crafting!

Today we are all previewing the newest template called Insert Card Here. You'll see in the next photo how it got it's name. It's a nifty little box. I started with some new paper called Flakes and Fuzzies. There are three color versions of the same patterns. So many wonderful patterns and colors to choose from! I chose this Snowcomb pattern and cut my template from it. To make the fabby bow, I first printed another pattern from the same pack called Weave then used the new Bow-Tied cut file to cut it out. It's so easy to pull together and there are a couple of design options to this bow. Lastly, I cut a snowflake from the new It's Snowing cut file. I resized it a little smaller to fit in the middle of the bow. Then I covered it with some chunky glitter and adhered it to the bow.

Now for the inside. Here is where you will see where the template got its name. There's an insert that goes inside to hold a gift card! This is the way the box was intended to be used, but take out that insert, and you have a nice little box to hold all sorts of goodies! The sentiment is from the new Warm Sentiments digital stamp set. I sized it to fit within the lid and colored it in GIMP using the colors of the paper. And inside the box, I placed a gift card and a little Santa chocolate bar (which I am eating as I type this!).

If you want simple, you have it with this little box. It takes minutes to pull together and presents itself so nicely! For more inspiration from the design team, stop by their blogs. Thanks for stopping by! We'll be back tomorrow with the official release day group post! Hope to see you then!

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Pretty Palette #37

2011-11-27T16:23:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday! Today we have a new Pretty Palette color challenge from My Time Made Easy. Here are the colors.

I decided to make holiday gift tags with this color palette. I cut tags from kraft and ivory cardstock using two different Spellbinders dies. The dp is Jolly Holiday from SU and the stamps are from the Secret Santa stamp set from MTME. The ribbon is kraft taffeta ribbon and I added jingle bells with some baker's twine.

Here are some close-ups of the tags. I stamped the sentiments in Old Olive and the swirls in Sahara Sand and distressed the edges with Peeled Paint distress ink.

Stop by the MTME blog to see more inspiration from the design team and thanks for stopping by.

Just Us Girls #112 - 3D Challenge

2011-11-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Saturday! Did you survive Black Friday? I went out with my mom for a while in the afternoon, but didn't do any serious shopping. I did go to my LSS and bought a couple of stamps though!

I'm here today with a new challenge from Just Us Girls. This is our 3D/Template week, and our fabulous Andrea is challenging us to create a box and card.

My father-in-law celebrated his 80th birthday last week, and we gave him some gift certificates to some restaurants he likes. I needed something to package them in, so this is what I came up with.

The box called That's A Wrap from My Time Made Easy. I love this box! It's so roomy and I love the way it opens (I didn't take a picture of it opened). I used Creamy Caramel for the box and Cajun Craze for the base and wrap. The dp is from the Timepiece Collection by Bo Bunny. I love this paper for men. I tied it off with Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon from SU.

The card uses the same papers (minus the Creamy Caramel). The numbers were cut using By the Numbers die and Big Birthday Wishes stamp set from PTI. I used an old corner punch on the two corners.

I used the Card Positioning Systems sketch from last week.

Stop by the JUGs blog to see more inspiration from the girls. Fabby stuff to see! Here are links to their blogs. Stop by and leave some love!

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lynn

Maria

Pam

Vicki

Kim O'Connell, featured designer

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T14:01:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm just popping in to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and followers! I hope you have a fabulous day with your family and friends!

Pretty Palette #36

2011-11-20T11:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday! It's time for another Pretty Palette challenge! These colors (very fall-ish) were taken from a fabric on a chair that was featured in a JoAnn's ad a while back.

Here's a shot of the fabric from the chair. It looked fabulous on the chair!

So here is my interpretation of the colors. I used the Basic Grey paper pack Max and Whiskers and the Up in the Air cut file from My Time Made Easy. I've been wanting to use this cut file for a while. It makes a very cute shape card for a birthday or congratulations for a promotion or something like that.

Here's the card open with the sentiment inside. The "soar" sentiment is from On Display 1 stamp set and the "Happy Birthday" is from So Sentimental stamp set.

I took a picture of what my Cricut mat looked like after I cut out the cut file. (I did change my base colors up a bit after I took this picture because I wasn't happy with the mustard base, so I changed it to cajun craze.) Great way to use up scraps too! You can see how easy it is to cut and assemble this card when you have the right tools!

I'm also entering this in the Moxie Fab's Trigger Tuesday: Fall is in the Bag challenge. The colors are the same as the inspiration photo! Score for me!

You can see more inspiration using these colors over on the MTME blog. I've listed the girls' blogs below, too. Hope to see you creating something fabulous over there! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Final Challenge for 2011

2011-11-18T00:00:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! Well, for the last nine months the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long design team has been bringing you inspiration for those Christmas cards that we love to make every year.

This week, we have a beautiful inspiration photo to help your creative juices flow in whatever direction you choose.

We are sponsored this week by KennyK designs. They have some great digi images!

I chose this image called Boy Gift. What a fun, cute image indeed! And I took the silver and green from the inspiration photo along with the shimmer and shine to create my card.

I had this glittery green cardstock that I knew would be perfect for this card. I paired it with the Christmas tree paper from The Merry Days of Christmas by My Mind's Eye. The shimmery silver ribbon is something I've had for a while and it was perfect for this inspiration. I added the pretty snowflake button in the center of the bow to spiff it up a bit! I used a glitter pen for more shimmer on the package's ribbon. The Sweet Sunday Sketch was perfect to display this image! This card is just so much prettier in person than in this picture! I also entered this in the Buttons Galore and More challenge.

Thanks so much for hanging with me through these last nine months of Friday Christmas Stampin' All Year Long challenges! It was so much fun and very productive...I have so many great cards to send to family and friends! And I just may be back again next year with more creative Christmas cards! Make sure you stop by the CSAYL blog to see the fabulous creations from the design team.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Pretty Palette #35

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday! We have a new Pretty Palette color challenge this week and I love these colors!

I'm so into Christmas cards lately! I have so many made or this year! I used the Secret Santa set for this card. That bell is just so pretty! And did you notice my real bell in the picture? Could it be more exact? LOL!! I stamped the bell in Riding Hood Red ink and then overstamped it with Versamark so I could emboss it with clear embossing powder. That's a new technique for me! It looks so shiny in person.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. I used the Sweet Stop sketch challenge. Loved this one when I saw it!

You should see what the Pretty Palette design team did with these colors! Amazingly beautiful! Stop by the MTME blog to see for yourself. Thanks for stopping in to see what I was up to and I hope to see you soon!

Just Us Girls #110- Ghosting Technique

2011-11-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday! I'm the hostess this week over at Just Us Girls, and this is our technique challenge week. I chose a technique I learned at a Wendy Vecchi technique class at my LSS, Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. I'm so in love with this technique!

Splitcoast Stampers has a tutorial in their Resources section here on the technique. However, Wendy used white pigment ink instead of Versamark ink. I like the "ghost" look you get with the white ink. Here's what I did this week.

I used an old but loved stamp set from SU called Autumn Fest. I wanted a fall card and you need a stamp that has a lot of surface on it to do this technique justice. I inked it up in the white pigment ink then stamped it onto a manilla tag from Ranger. I then used a few distress inks to achieve this color. I first sponged Wild Honey all over it. The image does not pop very well with lighter colors. Then I sponged Spiced Marmalade next, and finished with Gathered Twigs. The image really popped when I sponged the last two inks on it. The sentiment is Autumn Foliage by Inkadinkadoo, and it's stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink. The paper is Blink of an Eye by MME. I finished it off with some light blue ribbon. I used this week's Clean & Simple FTL166. Love those CAS sketches!

Stop by the JUGS blog to see what the girls have done and to enter the challenge! I can't wait to see what you all create! Thanks for coming by today, and have a great weekend!

Paper Makeup Stamps - November Review

2011-11-11T07:00:00.012-05:00

Happy 11/11/11!!! I hope this is good luck! What do you think? Also Happy Veteran's Day! I am so appreciative of all veterans and active duty soldiers protecting us! Thank you and enjoy your special day!

I'm back today with the last day of reviews for the Paper Makeup Stamps November release. This is a new image from the Color Kids line called Color Kids Gift Wrapper. She is just too cute, and I wanted to do something a little different. I just got this paper pack from Basic Grey called Little Black Dress and I'm in love with each and every pattern in there. And I love paper piecing, so I ran with it.

I used the newest sketch from Pretty Patterns. I don't usually like circles, but there was something about this sketch that I really liked and I love the way the circles look in this fabby paper! There is a sentiment that comes with the image that says "Wrapped with Love" (it's actually a heart, not the word love), but I chose not to use it because this is going to be my niece's birthday card.

I hope you stop by the PMS blog to see the rest of the creations from the PMS design team. They have some great stuff to share! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Never Seen Ink

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is the second to last challenge for Christmas Stampin' All Year Long 2011. And I think this is my favorite week yet...use a new or old stamp that has never seen ink! Boy do I have a LOT of those! LOL!! So today I used a new stamp that has not seen ink. I'm pretty sure my friend Cheryl Rowley bought this for me. She's always so sweet like that. This stamp is called Comfort Cocoa from Impression Obsession. I love their stamps!

I love this sketch! It's from SCS a while ago. I searched for the perfect one and this seemed to fit the bill. I used Jovial paper pack from Basic Grey and colored the image accordingly. I've been having fun using these flourishes from Want 2 Scrap. I purchased these at my LSS, but I have an order coming my way from W2S any day now with more! I love bling and these flourishes are very good quality and easy to use. For more bling, I used Star Dust stickles on the cream. This card is going to have to go to someone who appreciates home made cards!

Stop by the CSAYL blog and play along! There's not much time left before that big day rolls around! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Paper Makeup Stamps - November Review

2011-11-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! Today the Paper Makeup Stamps design team is reviewing the new release for November. If you haven't seen the release, you can see it in the PMS store here.

I'm using a new winter fairy called Hayden. She is so pretty!

The paper I used is Jovial from Basic Grey, and I took the colors from it to color the image. The image was cut out and placed on a small tag that was altered with some distress inks. The sentiment, which comes with the stamp, was stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink. The sketch is from My Favorite Things.

Stop by the PMS blog to see more of the new release by the PMS design team. Thanks for stopping in today!

Paper Makeup Stamps Release Party Challenge

2011-11-08T00:00:00.002-05:00

Last night at the Paper Makeup Stamps Release Party, Dawn's challenge was to make a thank you card. Here's what I did very quickly last night. I tried to upload it to the PMS forum, but could not figure out how to do that! Bummer! But you should see it and the other girls' cards on the PMS blog.

I used this fabulous Color It Autumn set that Katie designed last release. Just love this set! And the fall colors are so pretty, don't you think? I used a CAS sketch because I had to create something quickly without much fussing. Love these sketches too!

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you stop by the PMS blog to see the other Thank You cards! See you soon!

Paper Makeup Stamps Release Day Blog Hop

2011-11-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Are you ready to begin hopping with Paper Makeup Stamps? We have a great release this month (you can see the sneak posts on the PMS blog). We have the whole PMS design team as well as the Digi Makeover design team hopping today. I'm first on the hop and you can see the hopping lineup at the bottom of my post in case you get lost.

I'm using two new images from this month's release on my card today....the sentiment from the Handmade set and the Color Kids: Snowflake image. I just thought this sentiment went perfectly with this image. I always have my students make these snowflakes during the holidays. We put silver glitter on them and hang them from the ceiling in my classroom. This sentiment reminded me of my students making them!

I colored the Snowflake girl with copics and cut it out. Since she is cutting out a snowflake, I wanted to mount her on one. I googled snowflake cut files and found this one for free. I downloaded it and cut it out with my Cricut. Then I put a thin layer of Monoadhesive glue over it and glittered it up. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it's glittery! I also glittered the girl's snowflake. I glued the snowflake to the base (the paper is The Merry Days of Christmas from My Mind's Eye) and put the girl on top with dimensionals. I had this banner cut out and sitting on my table, so I stamped the sentiment from the new Handmade set onto it. I added the ribbon and bow last.

Don't forget about our Release Party tonight. It starts at 9:00 pm EST in the PMS forum. We'll have fun, challenges, and prizes! We'd love for you to join us...tell a friend or two!

Your next stop on the hop is Ginger. You can see the rest of the hoppers in the list below. Thanks for stopping by!

1. Paper Makeup Stamps Company Blog
2. Lisa Kind
3. Ginger Schwerin
4. Randee Elsing
5. Jenn Cochran
6. Tangii Crain
7. Michelle Van Patten
8. Andrea Vernagus

9. Lisa McKinney
10. Janette Garcia
11. Kristie Wilson
12. Katie Cotton
13. Anita Hovey
14. Tina Hale
15. Jackie Rakoski
16. Dawn Mercedes

17. Jami Bova
18. Anne Temple
19. Britt Bass
20. Danni Bindel
21. Ivette Aviles
22. Jenn Scull
23. Melissa Shultz
24. Velta Wesson

Pretty Palette #34 - My Time Made Easy

2011-11-06T00:00:00.001-04:00

It's time for another Pretty Palette color challenge from My Time Made Easy. I happen to love this particular color combination!

It seems like all I'm making lately are Christmas cards! I can't seem to get out of that mode! I need to make some Thanksgiving cards, but these colors fit so nicely with Christmas. I used the Beautiful Baubles cut file to cut out these pretty ornaments. The paper is one of the originals from MTME called That Hit the Spot. It had all three colors in this pack, so I printed them out and had my Cricut cut out the ornaments. I added pink ribbons for their hangers.

The layout is from the Fall to Layouts. I placed my ornaments on the card according to the sketch. The pink cardstock was put through a SU embossing folder and I used a Martha Stewart punch for the chocolate border. The sentiment is from the Secret Santa stamp set.

On a design team note, we had to say goodbye to Jami Bova as she has stepped down from the team. But we were lucky to add Charlene Cundy to the team. Welcome Charlene! You can see Charlene's card and the design team's cards on the MTME blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!

PMS Sneak Peeks - Color It Winter Tag Set

2011-11-05T07:00:00.002-04:00

We are sneaking a new release from Paper Makeup Stamps for the next few days. The sneaks actually started yesterday. You can see the sneaks on the PMS blog.

Today we are showing you a set which is a continuation of seasonal stamp sets that Katie has been designing. We currently have a Color It Summer and Color it Autumn set, and this one is called Color It Winter Tag set.

The set, of course, has a cool tag that in digital form you can resize to any shape you desire. There are several different images to put on the tag...this snowman, a cardinal, a stocking, holly, a mitten, a snowflake, and this sentiment and a to/from sentiment. I love snowmen, so I had to use this little guy. I printed the tag and sentiment onto this red paper from Nordic Holiday from Basic Grey. Then I paper pieced the snowman onto the tag. He's colored up a little with copic markers. I added some ribbons and pearl flourish from Want to Scrap and was done. The sketch is October's Sketch for You to Try.

Stop by the PMS blog for some more fabulous sneaks! Our release day is Monday, November 7th. We'll have our blog hop all day and Release Party at 9:00 pm EST in the PMS forum. Lots of prizes and fun to be had! We hope to see you there! Have a great weekend!

Just Us Girls - Sketch Challenge

2011-11-05T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm so glad it's Saturday for a couple of reasons. I'm going to our cabin to see my hubby who has been hunting for the past few weeks. I'm going with my friend Eileen whose hubby is also hunting with my hubby. It should be a nice day! And, of course, I'm glad it's Saturday because it's time for another Just Us Girls challenge. The first Saturday of the month always starts with a sketch, and Dana has a cool one for us...a triangle shaped card based on this sketch.

So I had to put on my geometry hat (I hated geometry in school because my teacher was a not very nice and we sort of "clashed"!) to configure this triangular shaped card. Here's what the outcome was.

I must say it turned out better than I had anticipated. To make the triangle so that the fold was on the left side like a regular card, I used my Cricut. I pulled up two triangles and welded them together. It took about 30 minutes to figure that one out to perfection, but I was proud that I was able to do it! The paper is from My Mind's Eye called The Merry Days of Christmas. One of the designs has the Santa face all over it. I punched out one with a 1" punch and matted it with other papers from the pack. I cut and embossed the Spellbinder's banner and stamped the sentiment from My Time Made Easy called Secret Santa. The star was punched from a scrap from the paper pack, and I added the pearl flourish from Want to Scrap. Love this little card! It actually stands about 6" high, but looks so much smaller.

Stop by the JUGs blog for more inspiration. We also are welcoming a new guest this week...Kim O'Connell so make sure you stop by and see the triangle cards the girls whipped up!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Time Made Easy - Holiday Year in Review

2011-11-04T00:02:00.002-04:00

***Please click here to see my Christmas Stampin' All Year Long post.***

Today is the last day of design team posting for the November release from My Time Made Easy. Have you seen any of it? I hope so. If not, head on over to Lauren's blog to see what she has posted and the links to the blogs of the design team.

Today is our "Year in Review" post, except that we are calling it our "Holiday Year in Review". We are mixing the old products with products from the new release.

I've used the new template To the Point/ Dreidle Box stamped with the peppermint candy stamp from Sugar and Spice stamp set (this was released last year). I used Real Red ink for a vibrant red. It's tied together with white and red sheer ribbons. I filled the template with some real peppermint candies. I need more because this really is bigger than I anticipated! You can fit lots of goodies in here!

The card was created using the new Candy Striper cut file. I cut two candy canes and assembled them. The red base was run through an embossing folder and the candy canes were adhered to it. I added a bow made from white sheer ribbon where the two meet. The sentiment, also from the Sugar and Spice stamp set, was stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. Pretty simple card that really packs a punch! It sort of reminds me of a door with the candy canes hanging on it.

I hope you enjoyed all the new products we revealed this month. You can see it all in the My Time Made Easy Gallery. Just click on the "What's New?" tab. And below are links to the design team's blogs...they are all posting today. Thanks for stopping by today!

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - It's My Fave!

2011-11-04T00:00:00.040-04:00

Hi everyone! I cannot believe we are getting so close to ending our Christmas Stampin' All Year Long challenges! After today, we only have two more challenges! I was looking through my box of cards I've done because of this challenge, and I breathed a sigh of relief! I have so many cards done and I have some great packages to give as well!

Today we are sponsored once again by Pink Cat Studios. They have been so generous this year with their prizes and images for the CSAYL design team to work with...thanks so much PCS! The winner of this week's challenge will receive 5 free digital images of their choice.

The challenge this week is "It's My Fave". We are to use our favorite sketch challenge. I chose Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I use her sketches quite often and I love them. I'm using her current sketch for my card today.

I chose Birds Make a Giant Cupcake from PCS. I just realized that this really isn't a holiday image, but it looks good as one, doesn't it? The paper is The Merry Days of Christmas from My Mind's Eye. I just love this paper pack...so many pretty patterns in it! The sentiment is from Holiday Button Bits from PTI and I cut it out using a nestie. I finished the card, took the picture, and then thought the upper left corner of the image looked bare. So I pulled out a bow die and red felt from PTI and added the bow and glitter dot. Much better!

To see more inspiration, hop over to the CSAYL blog and see what the design team has created. I hope to see you there! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year - My Time Made Easy Style!

2011-11-02T00:00:00.013-04:00

Happy New Year...two months in advance! But we have to plan ahead, right? This new template from My Time Made Easy called Tri-it reminded me of a party hat for New Year's Eve that you could use as party favors. Or it could be a really cute and festive centerpiece for your New Year's table.

I cut the base of the template from Brushed Gold cardstock. The star paper is from Star Student digital paper pack. This particular print is a transparent image that you can print on any color paper. I chose to just print it on white paper. There is shimmery gold ribbon at the base of the template. The stars coming out of the top of the hat are actually from one of those balloon weights that I purchased at the dollar store. I just cut them off and taped them inside.

You can see more inspiration for this template and others in the My Time Made Easy Gallery. We also have these talented girls posting something amazing for your to see.

Lauren Meader

Katie Cotton

Tangii Crain

Oh, and the holiday cheer in the champagne flute? Sipped up as soon as the picture was taken! ;-) Thanks for stopping in today!

Holiday Hop-Along with My Time Made Easy!

2011-11-01T00:00:00.007-04:00

Today is release day at My Time Made Easy and you will see all the new templates (4 of them!) that are being released today along with new cut files, digital images, and digital paper. And the best thing is that you can purchase, download, and start crafting with all the new goodies today! We are having a Holiday Hop-Along, so make sure you hop to each of the DT's blogs to get some inspiration!

I am using the new Sleigh Ride template today. This one is a stunner and super easy to put together (really!)! I cut the base and sides of the template in Real Red cardstock. The rails (aren't they fabulous?) and trim were cut from Brushed Gold cardstock.

I googled sleighs and found one that was decorated with some brocade trim. I found I had some pretty ribbon in red and gold in my ribbon box and trimmed out the bottom of the sleigh. Then, of course, I had to add sleigh bells! "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?" Now I'm going to be singing that song all day! I strung them on some sheer gold ribbon and hot glued them to the side of the sleigh. I covered up the glue with some bows.

The inside of the sleigh is where the real gift is! I have a jewelry box decorated with gold ribbon and a velvet bag (from some piece of jewelry I purchased before) which contains some Reese's peanut butter cups (they were gold and matched my sleigh!). What a cute presentation, huh?

Now you can hop along on to the other DT blogs to see their creations.

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to see you back tomorrow with more of the MTME release!

My Time Made Easy - November Sneak Peek!

2011-10-31T00:00:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween! I hope the ghosts and goblins don't play too many tricks on you this evening!

With Halloween brings the beginning of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and gift giving ideas to think about. I hope over the next few days you'll gather some great ideas from the My Time Made Easy design team.

Today I'm peeking the new Cover-Alls template. Lauren peeked it yesterday on her blog. I used the same paper in a different color...the new Farm Fresh digital paper in Sunrise. I paired it with red to make it holiday festive! I filled it with Deedee Desserts No Bake Cheesecake Mix in raspberry. All you do is add cream cheese and Cool Whip to the package and put that in a graham cracker crust pie pan and refrigerate. I received this as a gift once and thought it was a great idea. So that's what I did here.

I added lace and gingham ribbon to make it look like an apron. The pockets even got a little bit of lace added to them as well. This is a super easy template to create! The template comes with other ideas to create your own Cover-Alls to fit your crafting needs, too!

Lauren, Kathryn, and Monique are posting some fabulous creations with more of the new templates being released this month (there are 4 of them!), so make sure you swing by their blogs to see! Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Haunting!

Pretty Palette #33

2011-10-30T09:14:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! This is going to be a quick post! I'm here with another Pretty Palette challenge from My Time Made Easy. Here are this week's colors.

These colors were taken from the Chocolate Halloween digital paper pack. I thought some of you may need to make another Halloween card and would want different colors to use.

I had to made a baby card and it turns out the gift I bought was in these colors! I used the Bringing Back Baby digital stamp set for the buggy, and printed it off on the Chocolate Halloween paper so I could paper piece it. Then I just colored the rest with copics. The sentiment is from Tending the Garden stamp set.

I used this week's Pretty Pattern sketch from MTME and turned it on its side.

You can see more information on the MTME blog. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Sunday!

Just Us Girls Wild Card Challenge #108 - Alter and Decorate a Frame

2011-10-29T00:00:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! Are you ready for a Wild Card challenge from Just Us Girls? We have a really fun one this week brought to us by our very talented and out-of-the-box crafter Elise! I didn't think I would be up for this one, but it was so easy, I'm so glad I took on the challenge!

The challenge is to alter and decorate a frame. I already had a frame in my possession that I purchased a long time ago (I got it for $.97!). However, I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I made a visit to one of my favorite stores I go to for inspiration...JoAnn's. While I was ambling around, I found this picture frame in the Christmas section (yes, they are featuring Christmas decorations already!).

It caught my eye and I took a picture of it for inspiration. I often do that while I'm in stores and see something that I can recreate or use for inspiration. I went to the button section of the store and found some amazing buttons. I bought some snowflake buttons and some crystal poinsettia buttons. Then I purchased some green glitter paper. When I got home, this is what I created with my new and old supplies.

I arranged the poinsettia buttons in a tree formation, added the crystal star on top, and some glitter dots for the trunk. The ribbon treatment was created from ribbon I've had for a long time. The sentiment is from the Secret Santa stamp set by My Time Made Easy and it's stamped in Riding Hood Red ink. This will look very pretty on my shelf in the living room for the holidays (if I don't give it away as a gift first). I can see me altering another frame in the future. This was such a cool project! And wait until you see the other girls' projects! You can see them on the JUGs blog and at their own blogs.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Jingle All the Way!

2011-10-28T00:00:00.008-04:00

Hi all! Happy Friday! I had the day off today because I had to take my mom to the doctor for a follow-up from her stay in the hospital a few weeks ago. She's doing really well. We went for breakfast because the appointment was at 7:30 am! Quite early to get up on my day off, but it was a nice day.

Today starts a new challenge over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, and we have a new sponsor....Creations by AR. They have some fun templates to choose from! The challenge this week is called Jingle All the Way...use bells on your project.

I chose this Brownie Box. It's just a cute little template that only takes one piece of paper to make. A few score lines, and it was done! I used a pattern paper from Jillibean called Christmas Chestnut Soup. I love it because it's sturdy and wonderful to use for a template. I tied the box closed with Riding Hood Red tafetta ribbon. I strung five bells onto red and white baker's twine and tied it to the bow.

This box will fit a lot of different small items, but I found that these pocket-size antibacterial containers from Bath & Body Works fit perfectly inside. I was lucky that they had Christmas ones out already!

Here's another shot of the box. I just love this cute little thing!

How are you doing on your Christmas cards and projects? Why not stop by the CSAYL blog and play along this week? We don't have many challenges left this year! If you play along with us this week, you could win two templates from AR Creations! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

Pretty Palette #32

2011-10-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! We have new colors over at the Pretty Palette challenge from My Time Made Easy. They are Halloween inspired!

These colors were taken from the Traditional Halloween digital paper pack.

Yesterday I made some Halloween treat boxes for my nephews (you can see them here), and today I thought I'd make a different one for my niece. I made Halloween cards for all of them (you can see them here), so I thought I'd take the image from the card I made for Ava and put it on this Cutesy Cover template (which is free!). I printed the image out and mounted it on the Cornice Trimmed Circle cut file using Marigold Morning and black cardstock. I tied it closed with some black twine.

Our design team made some fabulous creations with these colors.

Stop by the MTME blog to play along! Thanks for stopping by today!

Just Us Girls #107 - 3-D Halloween Theme

2011-10-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

Saturday! What a great day! No getting up at 5:00 am, fighting the traffic on the thruway, dealing with challenging kids....whoever thought of Saturday was a genius! And whoever thought of having a Just Us Girls challenge on Saturday was also a genius! LOL!!

It's getting close to Halloween, and this week the JUGs challenge is a 3-D/Template challenge. So, Maria challenged us to create a Halloween themed template or 3-D item.

I have tons of templates from My Time Made Easy (maybe it's because I'm on the design team?) and decided to use one of them...the Freshed Popped template.

This template's intended use is as a popcorn container. I chose to make two Halloween boxes out of them...one for each of my nephews, Ethan and Kristoff. This paper is from a K&Company Halloween pack. I just cut them out on my Cricut and put it together...easy peasy! The tags are also from MTME...a cut file called Frame Me. The stamp set I used is another MTME product...A Spooky Surprise. I stamped over the sentiment with the spider web stamp and attached the tag to the box with brads. I decided to have them hanging off the edge so it didn't cover up the design of the paper. Inside are some fruit roll-ups and Sour Patch candies. They'll get more...this is just the beginning!

The JUGs design team did a fabulous creating some Halloween themed projects. Stop by the JUGs blog to see the and to play along. Here are the links to their blogs and our guest designer's blog.

Maureen Plut, guest designer

I hope you have an enjoyable Saturday! Thanks for stopping in today and I hope to see you playing with Just Us Girls!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Spar-ka-lay!!

2011-10-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday! Boy, am I glad to see this day get here! I'm very stressed work lately and it's really dragging me down. Wine and chocolate are my best friends lately! Sigh!

But what keeps me going is my stamping. I'm really happy to go into my basement and do some crafting. Today over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, we've been challenged to create something "SPAR-KA-LAY" using Bugaboo stamps. I love snowmen, and I chose Bobble Head Christmas Snowman to work with. I just love this little guy!

I started with this great sketch from Deconstructed Sketches and used Basic Grey's Jovial paper pack. To make it "SPAR-KA-LAY", I used some chunky glitter on the wooden Maya Road snowflakes and the snow the snowman is standing on. I also used it on the falling snowflakes and a little on his hat. I colored him (or tried to!) according to an article I saw in Cardmaker magazine. It was all about shadows. I think I need a little more practice, but I do like it.

Are you ready for more inspiration from the CSAYL design team? Stop by the CSAYL blog to see for yourself! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a GREAT weekend!

Pretty Palette #31

2011-10-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday! It's pretty dreary here in Buffalo, NY today...rainy, windy, gloomy. Great day to stay home and craft, but I'm going out for lunch with my mom and aunt. That will make this day better!

We have new colors over at the Pretty Palette challenge. I chose some bolder colors, and I love this combo! What do you think of them? Here's what I thought of them.

I chose this Perky Lil' Penguin digital image from My Time Made Easy to work with today. He was so fun to color. I kept it simple by using this sketch from Clean and Simple. The white panel was run through a snowflake embossing folder, I added a horizontal Pacific Point panel punched with a Martha Stewart punch, and tied a white sheer ribbon around it. The tag was created using sentiments from the Secret Santa stamp set and a Spellbinders tag die. Love the outcome of this card!

Stop by the MTME blog to see what the girls have created. You'll also want to stop by their blogs to leave some love!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a great Sunday!

Just Us Girls #106 - Color Challenge

2011-10-15T00:04:00.001-04:00

Happy Saturday! I'm so happy to be back with my JUGs girls! I've missed last week, and it seems forever since I've been playing there! We welcomed Lynn Mangan and Vicki Dutcher last week as our newest members! I'm so happy to have them join our team!

This week is a color challenge hosted by Pam, and what GREAT colors she has chosen! Isn't that a fun graphic too? So Halloween-ish, but you'll see some of the girls used them in a non-Halloween way...me included. I needed a birthday card for a friend of mine. (Her name is Robin...I just realized I used a bird on her card!) We are going to her house for a get-together tonight, so I worked these colors into a birthday card. I also just got this stamp set and die from My Favorite Things called Contempo Cage. Love this one! Here's what I came up with.

I actually did something I have not done in a long time....I CASED a card! I was looking through the MFT SCS gallery and came across this card by Michele Boyer and fell in love with it. I started with the text paper from Halloween in Wonderland paper pack by Graphic 45 and paired it with the polka dot paper from Basic Grey's Eerie paper pack. The flourish and bird's wing were die cut from the same paper. The bird was die cut from the Graphic 45 paper. I added a purple crystal for his eye. The ribbon is a sheer dotted one from Michael's. I used the Bow Easy for the double bow. The sentiment is from the Contempo Cage set and it's punched out with SU's word window punch. That's it! Love how this turned out. I do have to finish off the inside before I give it to Robin.

The girls have some great inspiration for you over on the JUGs blog. Here are links to their blogs too.

Vicki Dutcher
Maureen Plut, Guest Designer

I hope you can join us this week! We'd love to see what you do with these colors! Thanks for stopping in today...enjoy your weekend!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Seeing Spots

2011-10-14T00:00:00.002-04:00

I have to interrupt this blogpost to ask you if you saw my cousin Caitlin Koch's performance last night on the X-Factor? She performed at Simon Cowell's home in FRANCE!! She was AMAZING and I'm hoping she makes it to the next round. We'll find out on Sunday night! I hope you are watching too!

Happy Friday everyone! This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long we are being sponsored by one of my favorite stamp companies...Paper Makeup Stamps! I might be a little biased because I'm on their design team, but I've been on it almost since the beginning, and I've seen them grow into a wonderful company with many versatile stamps! And they are offering a $15 shopping spree to their store for our winner this week at CSAYL!

Our challenge this week is called Seeing Spots....you must use polka dots on your holiday creation. Here is my card for this challenge.

I love this Snow Happy set from PMS! It's been used quite a bit by myself the PMS design team! It's got a homespun feel to it, so I went that route with my card. I started with this great sketch from Card Patterns. It gave me the opportunity to use four different patterns (two of them polka dots). I stamped the snowman in Memento Tuxedo black, colored it with copics, and cut it out. It's mounted on a base made from Vintage Cream cardstock and Bravo Burgundy cardstock, which was run through the Swiss dots folder. I added some vintage seam binding (from Debbie Marcinkiewicz's Etsy store) and a tag made using the Little Moments PMS stamp set. The wooden heart button is from Prima and the other from PTI.

Are you ready to see more inspiration from the CSAYL team? Stop by the CSAYL blog and enter your creation there too. Thanks for stopping by today!

My Cousin's Bootcamp Audition on X-Factor

2011-10-10T10:06:00.002-04:00

Here is my cousin Caitlin Koch's bootcamp audition on X-Factor. She made it to the first 8 finalists in the girls' group and went to Simon's house to work with him. I don't know the outcome, but I'm hoping for the best. They seem to really like her! You can watch it on Fox this Wednesday and Thursday. Here's a link to the video. It's not on Youtube, so I didn't know how to link it as a video, so here's a link to the video

Caitlin Koch bootcamp audition on X-Factor

I hope you enjoy it!

Pretty Palette #30

2011-10-09T11:05:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Happy Columbus Day weekend to my US friends and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! It's an absolutely gorgeous weekend here in Western New York! I was supposed to go to the Buffalo Bills game, but gave my ticket to my nephew Mark. He was home from college this weekend and I think he really wanted to go. Nice aunt, I know! (But really, I would rather watch it on TV!)

My hubby and I were at our cabin Friday and Saturday, and I forgot to do my Pretty Palette post! So here are this week's colors. I was going for fall colors with a bit of a pop, therefore I added the melon. I like this combination. Here's what I came up with.

I always start color challenges by finding pattern paper to match the colors. I found this one in SU's retired Raspberry Tart paper pack. Love that damask design and the color was perfect. Then I went in search of a stamp set. I wanted a fall theme, so I grabbed the Thankful stamp set from My Time Made Easy and went from there. First, I cut the label using A Secret Surprise cut file. Then I stamped the outline and sentiment from A Secret Surprise stamp set in Always Artichoke ink. The leaves and acorns image from Thankful stamp set was stamped three times and colored with copics, then cut out. I stamped the large pumpkin from the same set and colored and cut it out as well. The smaller pumpkins are from A Spooky Surprise stamp set and were stamped directly on the label and colored. I layered the larger pumpkin in the middle of the smaller ones on dimensionals. The leaves and acorn images were attached with adhesive. I added some Star Dust Stickles. to the pumpkins and acorns.

The pattern paper was layered onto a white layer and then the ribbon was added. The label was adhered with dimensionals. It looked a little bare, so I add a pearl flourish from Zva. I cut it down to fit in that upper corner.

What do you think you can do with these colors? I hope you try them and add your photo to the MTME blog. You can see some fabulous inspiration there too from our design team.

Thanks for stopping in today and have a fabulous weekend!

A Paper Makeup Stamps Monster of a Hop!

2011-10-07T07:00:00.009-04:00

***I have another post today, so please scroll down!***

Welcome to our monthly Paper Makeup Stamps hop! This month we are having a Monster of a Hop...everyone is using one of the many PMS monsters!

We have several guests joining us on this hop. You can find the linky list at the end of my post. You can hop along with us!

The monster I chose to use today is Spike. I've used him several times before and just love him. I made this a Halloween card, using the colors of the holiday.

The dp is from a Halloween K&Company paper pack. I paired it with this retired green from SU. I love this sketch from this month's Sketch for You to Try. This is the second time using it today! The sentiment is from the Witch fairy set. I added a spider button in the upper corner (I got a whole bag of different size spider and bat buttons for $2.50 at JoAnn's!) and put crystals in place of the button holes.

We have a great deal for you for this week only! All the PMS monsters are 15% off! Just use the code MONSTERHOP at checkout for you discount. So if you see one on the hop that you like, now is the time to get it!

Below are the hoppers....stop by to see what they've created! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Stamping' All Year Long - A Purple Challenge

2011-10-07T00:00:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday! We are at the beginning of a long weekend for the US and Canada! What a lovely time of year! And we are on the heels of the Christmas holidays, so here I am again with another Christmas card challenge from Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

This week we are sponsored once again by Pink Cat Studios. The challenge that we have for you is to use purple on your card. I almost fell off my chair with this one because I don't do purple very often! But I trudged on through and came up with one that I really like!

I searched my paper stash for something with the color purple and came across this paper from Pink Paislee Pop Fashion Collection. Love the plaid and text superimposed on it. SU's new in color Wisteria Wonder matched perfectly with the dp. The sketch is this month's Sketch for You to Try. I ran the small piece of Wisteria Wonder through the Swiss Dots folder, added the white satin ribbon, and a pearl flourish by Zva. The sentiment is from PTI's Holiday Button Bits. I stamped it and used a nestie to cut it out. The image is colored with copics and shaded around the image with Vintage Photo distress ink. There are some star dust stickles on the image too for some sparkle.

Think you don't know what to do with purple? Then stop by the CSAYL blog for some inspiration. If you play along, you could win 5 free digis! Can't win if you don't play! Thanks for stopping by today!

Holiday Year in Review - My Time Made Easy Group Post

2011-10-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

Today the My Time Made Easy team is doing their monthly year in review. This month we are calling it a holiday year in review. It's hard to believe the holidays are less than three months away! Time to start thinking about all those wonderful people in our lives that we love to remember, and the handmade gifts we love to make and they love to receive.

I've chosen one of my favorite templates from MTME...the In Suspense template.

Even though this is an older template, I've paired it with some newer products. The pattern paper is from this month's Mrs. Candy Claus digital paper pack. I just love the red, pink, and brown palette.

The snowman is Made in the Snow digital image. It comes with the snowman, the string of lights, and a stocking for different pairings. He's colored with copics and I added star dust stickles to the snowflakes and snow under him.

And finally, I added the bauble from the chocolate grosgrain ribbon. The bauble is from the new Beautiful Baubles digital stamp set, and the sentiment is from the new Well Rounded digital stamp set. I changed the color to red in the GIMP software. I swirled some pink ink inside the ornament and colored the hanger with a silver pen.

The sweet treats inside are caramel apple candy corn. I know they are usually for Halloween, but the colors looked Christmas-y to me! They are delish too!

If you'd like to see more holiday in review, stop by the MTME DT blogs.

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

I hope you have enjoyed the MTME posts over the last few days! Thanks for stopping in today!

October Calendar

2011-10-02T20:34:00.000-04:00

***Please click here to see my Pretty Palette post.***

Hi again everyone! I'm posting my calendar page late, but it's only a day late. I love fall and was trying to find just the right images for my October page. I found this unused Heartfelt Creations pumpkin and vine set that coordinates with the Spellbinders pumpkin nesties and knew it was the perfect choice.

I stamped the pumpkin in Memento tuxedo black and die cut it with the nestie. Then I set out to color. I love orange and used some Y and YR copic markers. Such pretty colors! I stamped the vines and leaves and colored them with YG markers. The pumpkin was placed on top of the vines with dimensionals and I added the ribbon. When I was ready to photograph it, I thought it needed something, so I added Star Dust Stickles to the vines and leaves. The calendar page (from Taylored Expressions) is mounted on dp from a K&Company fall paper pack. I left my stand for the calendar in my classroom, so this will be going to school with me tomorrow!

There are several other girls creating calendars that you'd might like to see.

Christine

Kathryn

Julie

Tangii

Monique

Thanks for stopping by! Happy October!

Pretty Palette #29

2011-10-02T00:00:00.006-04:00

Happy Sunday! I'm posting a two-fer of sorts today. Today is my day to post a My Time Made Easy project and time for another MTME Pretty Palette color challenge. This week's colors are.....

The colors sort of looked Christmas-y to me, so I created a gift set for my niece. When I went to Poland this summer, I bought my niece an amber charm in the shape of a music note (she's in band at school and loves to play my keyboard...she's actually good!), and I thought I'd give it to her for Christmas. Here's the set.

I used the Topped Off template and the Frost Bitten cut file for this project.

I created this mitten card by welding two mittens together in my SCAL program. The cut file comes with the cuff and the holly and berries. I used olive and red for for the holly and ran the white cuff through a Swiss Dots embossing folder. I used a SU marker to do some faux stictching around the perimeter of the mitten. The paper is the FREE 12 Days of Snowflakes paper. I altered the color in GIMP to match the aqua color.

Here's the template in a plain white. I prettied it up by running it through a snowflake folder. The Frost Bitten cut file was reduced to 50% to create the mittens so they would fit on top of the box. I added bling for the berries.

And here's the inside showing the box with its lid off and the amber music charm that fits perfectly inside. I think this is such a cute little project!

You can see more inspiration from the MTME DT also.

Lauren Meader

Katie Cotton

Tangii Crain

Also, don't forget to stop by the MTME blog to see the Pretty Palette challenge! We hope you can play along. Thanks for stopping by!

My Time Made Easy - The Happiest of Holidays!

2011-10-01T00:12:00.002-04:00

***Please see my Just Us Girls 2nd Anniversary post here!***

Today is October 1st and it's time for the new release from My Time Made Easy. Hopefully you've seen the previews we've done the last two days. If not, you can head on over to Lauren's blog to see her posts and the links to the design team's blogs for their posts.

We have two templates being released this month. I showed you the Topped Off template here, and today I'm using That's a Wrap template. Such a cool template and there are so many uses for it! Here it is all wrapped up and decorated. I used the new digital paper pack called Candy Claus.

Have you ever been sick around the holidays? I have and it's not fun! Everyone is partying and having fun while you are stuck at home wrapped in a blanket feeling miserable. So I how about giving a gift to someone that might help make them feel better? Inside my gift, I put a package of chicken noodle soup and a fun little package of holiday tissues. Wouldn't that cheer you up or at least make you smile a little?

Here's a close up of the tag. It's a new digital stamp set and cut file called Well Rounded. The digital stamp set has some really cool sentiments and other elements in it. The "Packaged with Care" seemed appropriate for my gift. The tag was put together digitally in my editing software and colored in GIMP to match the pattern paper. I tied it to the box with some baker's twine.

You can see more of the release by visiting the girls' blogs.

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Kathryn Berthiaume

Katie Cotton

Monique Hansen

Tangii Crain

Hope you enjoy the release! Thanks for stopping by!

Just Us Girls - Our 2nd Anniversary!!

2011-10-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

Happy fall y'all! It's October 1st...lots of fun stuff going on at Just Us Girls! It's our 2nd anniversary! What a momentous day! This team is such a great team to be on because of these wonderful crafters I'm so proud to call my friends! We have so much fun behind the scenes, let me tell you! So happy anniversary to my fellow "Jugheads" (as Elise would say!)!

This week is a sketch...and it was created by our new Guest Designer for October Maureen Plut.

What a lovely sketch it is! I just wish I could sew on my cards, but I'm always getting the bobbin messed up! So I skipped that part of the sketch. Here's what I did with it.

I love fall, so I wanted to do a fall-themed card. I was dying to use this new set from Paper Makeup Stamps called Color It Autumn. I pulled out this dp from K&Company that I purchased last year and chose three different patterns. The large leaf was stamped right on the dp so I didn't have to do any coloring. The little leaves and acorn are the negatives from a Martha Stewart border punch. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

You can see more inspiration on the JUGs blog. Please stop by the girls' blog and wish them a happy anniversary, too!

Maureen Plut, Guest Designer

I have another post for the My Time Made Easy October release that you can see here. I'd love for you to take a peek at that one too! Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

Resist the Temptation

2011-09-30T00:00:00.002-04:00

My niece posted on Facebook last Sunday that it is just three months until Christmas. It is going to fly by, just like this month did! But I'm ahead of the game this year because of the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long challenges. I have so many cards/3-D items in my stash that weren't there this time last year! Yeah me!

This week we are sponsored once again by Perfect Presentation. The challenge is called "Resist the Temptation"....no stamping! With all the embellishments and beautiful papers out there, this was an easy one.

The template I chose to use is called Perfect Parcel. This is the cutest little template! I thought it was going to be bigger, but it's the perfect size for some candies inside. I recently saw these candy corn candies in a caramel apple flavor and bought them because I thought I could use them for one of my Christmas projects. This little template was the perfect one for it. You can fit a nice bag of these in the box. The colors inspired me to use this retired dp from SU called Holiday Treasures. I can't get enough of this paper...LOVE it! All I did was cut the template on my Circut with the red cardstock and the panels from the dp. I then tied it up with this beautiful chocolate satin ribbon (also SU, retired I think). I was going to put the poinsettia flower on the front of the box, but it didn't look right. So I added it on top covering the knot. The front then looked so plain, so I added crystals to the chocolate designs on the dp. That's it! Sooo simple and stunning!

If you want to see more inspiration from the CSAYL girls, stop by the CSAYL blog. They never disappoint! And if you play along with us, you will have a chance to win a template of your choice from Perfect Presentation! Thanks for stopping by and I love your comments! Have a great Friday!

My Time Made Easy October Preview

2011-09-29T00:00:00.065-04:00

Hello friends! Gosh, it's the end of September....seriously, where has this month gone? I don't ever think a month has passed me by so quickly! I guess it's because it was such a busy month for me!

Anyway, one good reason to get September out of the way is to make room for the new release from My Time Made Easy, which is anxiously waiting in the wings for you! The new release is chock full of gift giving goodness! I'm here today with the first preview day. I've used the new template called Topped Off. What a cute little template this is...and Lauren has given you all sorts of options to "top it off" with!

This is what the template looks like with the top on. The lid is actually just a little square that fits into the top of the box (I didn't take a picture of it...but Lauren has one that you can see on her blog). I've used the previously released Perfect Poinsettia cut file to "top off" my box. There are three other options to top it off that comes with the template. So versatile!

Here's the box open. I used a new pattern paper from the new Mrs. Candy Claus digital paper pack. (We have three new digital paper packs being released this month too!) I added some pink Perfect Pearls around the perimeter of the decorative mats on all sides, and the poinsettia has been edged with Star Dust Stickles for some sparkle.

I thought this would make a cute hostess gift to give to that perfect hostess. It's filled with Godiva strawberry truffles. I loved how the pink wrapper matched the paper! Now if I could only keep away from those delicious little buggers! ;-)

Now you really need to stop by the other girls' blogs to see what they have up their holiday sleeves!

Lauren Meader

Katie Cotton

Tangii Crain

There's another preview day tomorrow, so check out Lauren's blog for details. And all the new products will be ready for purchase on Saturday, October 1st! It's all digital, so you can click and craft immediately! Thanks for stopping by!

PS...Did you see my cousin's audition for the X-Factor? She's made it to the LA stage! You can see her audition in this post. Enjoy!

My First Submissions (and Rejects!)

2011-09-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I finally broke down earlier this month and submitted some cards to Paper Crafts Magazine. They had a call for baby silhouettes, and Paper Makeup Stamps was releasing some baby silhouettes that same month! Serendipity...or so I thought!

So a-crafting I went and submitted two cards. I used the newly released Shelby Fairy Silhouette. This first one was created and sent off without even thinking about it! It was like pulling the bandaid off quickly! When I took another look at it a little later on, I thought that this one would not be picked up. While I really like it, I thought it was a little blah...I could have added more black layers to make the dp pop a little more. I do like the ribbon treatment, though.

But the with the next one, I took more time and thought this one just might get picked up. Alas, it wasn't! But I really like this black, hot pink, and kraft combo! I think this is Graphic 45 paper (I didn't write it down cause I listed all my supplies when I submitted it.) I thought the text printed on the flower was a nice match to the print on the dp.

So I guess I was a little naive, but I think I'll try again when the next call suits my crafting style. What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!

My Cousin Auditioned on X-Factor!

2011-09-26T00:00:00.038-04:00

***This is not stamping related, but it is entertaining nonetheless!***

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd share this here on my blog. My cousin Cathy's daughter, Caitlin Koch, auditioned for X-Factor in front of Simon, Paula, Nicole, and L.A. and got rave reviews! She is off to Los Angeles! She has always been very talented and has sung at various family occasions. It's so amazing to see her in front of these judges! Watch the video and see for yourself!

If you like her and watch the show, consider voting for her. It would mean a lot to her and our family! Thanks for watching!

Just Us Girls - 3-D/Template Challenge

2011-09-24T00:00:00.015-04:00

Happy Saturday everyone! I've been so waiting for this day! I need a restful weekend! It's been a crazy couple of weeks! Anyway, I'm finally back with my beloved JUGs girls! This week Maria has a great challenge for all of us. She loves fall, as do I. It is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler temperatures, the colors, and my comfy sweaters! So the challenge is to take a box you have around the house (think recycling) and alter it with a fall theme. My friend Diane Zechman created a great tutorial for a tissue box cover which she posted on Splitcoaststampers in the resources section here. So I used her tutorial and created this fall-themed tissue box cover.

I created the base of the box from crumb cake cardstock according to the instructions. Then I used this paper from PTI called Fall Prints and Patterns to decorate it with. I added the ivory scalloped crocheted trim around the lid of the box. The leaves were cut with Cuttlebug dies and the pumpkin in the middle is a button. I just cut the shank off of it so it would sit flat. I then added some scrapper's floss that I curled. This was a super easy project to create. I think I'm going to make these for the secretaries at school because they've been so helpful to all of us 5th grade teachers that are new to the Middle School. They really are the heart of the building!

Stop by the JUGs blog to see the fabulous fall-themed creations the girls created. Don't forget that our JUGs team is looking for a new member! You can see the details here.

Monique Hansen, Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Clean and Simple

2011-09-23T00:00:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! I haven't been posting much because my mom has not been feeling well and I was tending to her, but I did find time to create this week. This week over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, we are being sponsored by Karber Digital Images.

We were all given this cute Rudolph image to work with. The challenge this week at CSAYL is to create a clean and simple card. So I headed right to the Clean and Simple challenge blog for a sketch and went creating. Here's what I did.

I started with a Crumb Cake base and ran the front of it through the linen impression plate from PTI. Then I chose this paper from Eskimo Kisses by Basic Grey. It matched nicely with the image. The scalloped border is Purely Pomegrante and was punched with an SU punch. The image was sized to fit into this nestie, printed on my computer, and colored with copics. I added some Star Dust Stickles for some sparkle. The sentiment is from PTI (I wrote down the set, but misplaced the piece of paper I wrote it on!), and was stamped in the Purely Pomegrante ink. Easy peasy and clean and simple!

If you play along with us this week, you could have the chance to win two digital images from Karber Digital Images. Stop by the CSAYL blog to get more details and see more inspiration from the team!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm hoping to have more crafty days coming up! See you soon!

Pretty Palette #27

2011-09-18T00:00:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone! It's Sunday and time for another Pretty Palette color challenge from My Time Made Easy. The girls were a little stumped by these colors this week and quite frankly so was I! I cannot remember where I got the inspiration for them either! But I managed to pull something together.

I had a difficult time taking the photo for some reason. My battery was low...maybe that was the problem! I started with a chocolate brown mat that I ran through a Sizzix folder in a circle pattern. I topped that with some green dotted ribbon and the dp from Delovely by Cosmo Cricket. The image and sentiment are from MTME set called On Display 1. I used the digi set so I could easily add the gumballs inside the gumball machine. Then I colored it with copic markers and cut and embossed it with a rectangular nestie. The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. I randomly added some crystals...don't know if I like that, but it needed something. Lastly, I added Crystal Effects to the gumball machine to look like glass. I used this week's Clean & Simple sketch (love those).

Stop by the MTME blog to see more inspiration. I said the girls were stumped, but they really did a fabulous job with these colors! We'd love to see what you can do with them! Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Makeup Stamps - September Release in Review

2011-09-11T07:00:00.002-04:00

***To see my Pretty Palette post, please click here.***

Did you see all the fun stuff released this week from Paper Makeup Stamps? You can see them all here in the PMS store. Today is the last day of reviews for this release, and I have this cute image called Beyond Measure. It's from a NEW line called Color Kids. We released three of them this month and they are so adorable and fun to color!

I started with a sketch from Card Positioning Systems and a new paper pack from Authentique called Blissful. I picked this up at a stamp show I went to a couple of weeks ago. I love the yellows, grays, and black in this dp. I colored the image to match the dp. I used the X-Press It Blending paper for the image. I usually use PTI's white paper, but I thought I'd give this another try. It worked fine for my image.

Stop by the PMS blog to see more of the new release and creations from the PMS team.

Lisa McKinney

Tina Hale

Randee Elsing

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week!

Pretty Palette #26 - Time to Remember

2011-09-11T00:00:00.007-04:00

Hello everyone! Do you remember where you were on this day 10 years ago? I was in my classroom watching both World Trade Center towers fall (without kiddos there of course!) on the television. Such an unbelievably emotional day. Even today, it still seems like it was just yesterday. But life goes on and we do what we can to remember those who lost their lives unnecessarily. So the Pretty Palette girls decided to use the red, white, and blue colors again (we used them for the Fourth of July week) out of respect and to show our patriotism. I added this iconic picture to the graphic. I think it shows how resilient we are.

I also decided to use it on my card. I chose to use the Round Up digital stamp set. I just changed the colors to red and blue using the free GIMP software. I added the sentiment from Bold Botanicals...a fitting sentiment, I think. Then I cropped the picture into a circle and added it to the tag. The tag was then cut using the Round Up cut file and my Cricut (with the SCAL software). The white panel was run through the stars embossing folder and the strip on the side is from the Bo Bunny Liberty Collection paper pack. I added some star bling for some sparkle.

I loosely used the Fall to Layout sketch from Clean & Simple, but the Pretty Pattern sketch this week resembles the US flag, so you may want to check that out here.

Please check out the MTME blog for more inspiration. The girls did a wonderful job with these colors again! Thanks for stopping by!

Just Us Girls #101 and Blog Candy Winner

2011-09-10T00:54:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments and congratulations on our 100th JUGs challenge! It's so nice to know you like our little challenges we put out here! We all had blog candy to give out and using Random.org I chose #10 comment Carla Suto to win mine! Congratulations Carla! Please contact me at lakind@roadrunner.com with your address so I can get your goodies to you!

Our challenge this week is brought to us by Dana and she's asked us to use multiple text/sentiments to make a background or focal point. As you can see, I don't have a sample for you. I've had such a trying week. School started and my 5th grade team was moved to the Middle School and my head is spinning. It's so different from our elementary school! So I'm not playing this week. But head on over to the JUGs blog and see what the girls have created!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Makeup Stamps Release Day Blog Hop!

2011-09-07T07:00:00.022-04:00

We are finally here! Release day at Paper Makeup Stamps! We've been sneaking fabulous images for the past four days, and now is the day you can actualy purchase them! We are starting today with our blog hop. So if you just stopped in, please go to the PMS blog to get all the details about the hop. If you came here from Janette's blog, you are in the right place!

I'm using one of the new wordart singles. I love this sentiment! So "colorful"!!

I was searching for sketches and came upon this one from Taylored Expressions. I'm not a fan of banners, but I really liked this one because of the bigger banner. I like Basic Grey's Junebug dp because of all the fun colors in it, so I chose five different patterns and went a-cutting! After I cut the banners, I ran the white piece through PTI's linen impression plate. I can't see to leave a blank space blank...I either need some texture with an embossing folder/impression plate or some sort of embellishment! I adhered the banners to the textured white piece, then stamped the sentiment. I masked off the word "color" and inked the rest in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I colored each of the remaining letters with a different color SU marker. Lastly, I adhered the Mandarin Orange baker's twine and bows with monoadhesive glue. The base of the card is SU's new Lucky Limeade cardstock. That is fast becoming a fav of mine!

So now I have to send you off to the next blog. But before you go, my letter for you is S. Don't forget that we are partying tonight in the PMS forum! Lots of fun and prizes! Invite some friends...we are giving away extra prizes for those who bring friends! The more the merrier!

Now, off you go to Andrea's blog! She's going to have something fabulous I just know it! Thanks for stopping by today! See you later at the party!

Paper Makeup Stamps Sneak Peek Day 4 - Word Art

2011-09-06T07:00:00.088-04:00

Hi everyone! Today is Day 4 of sneaks from the Paper Makeup Stamps September release. Did you see days 1-3? If not, hop over to the PMS blog (after you leave here of course!) to see what you've missed! Today is all about the wordart. PMS has some fabulous wordart in their store. Every occasion is recognized with some fabulous phrase.

My project for today was just a happy accident! As I sat down to creat a card last week, I debated on how to use this wordart. Then the light bulb went off over my head! I was going to be watching my 7 and 4 year old nephews, Ethan and Kristoff, the next day and remembered that Ethan had his two front teeth missing! Bingo! So the next day I took this picture of Ethan in my backyard and edited it by using an antique option on my editing software. Just too cute (IMHO)! My mom didn't like this picture of Ethan because his eyes were squinting. The sun was in his eyes no mattter which angle I shot the picture from (it was around 1:00 in the afternoon).

I used old olive cardstock for my 6"x6" base, then added a dp from Basic Grey's Offbeat paper pack. The striped paper is from SU's retired Fall Flowers and matched perfectly.

The paper the tag (cut with a nestie) was cut from is from the Basics Manila paper pack, also by Basic Grey. The super cute sentiment was stamped in old olive ink and stamped right on the manila dp. All I had to do to finish it off was add a button tied with SU twine. Super easy and something for my niece to cherish! (She loved it!)

Now we have a bevvy of PMS Makeup Artists posting today. You can see their creations on the PMS blog and on their personal blogs.

Katie

Tangii

Tina

Dawn

Jami

Anita

Andrea

Ginger

Janette

Michelle

Shana

Tomorrow is our Release Day Blog Hop all day and Release Party at 9:00 pm EST in the PMS forum. We hope to see you there! See you tomorrow!

My Time Made Easy - A Year in Review

2011-09-05T00:00:00.015-04:00

Happy Labor Day to all of our US friends! I'm spending the day with friends and family at our cabin. In fact, we've been there all weekend. It's a bittersweet weekend for me...back to work tomorrow! I can't complain, though. I've had a splendid summer, the highlight of which was my trip to Poland to visit relatives.

So, did you enjoy this month's My Time Made Easy release and do some shopping? I hope so! Today the design team is reviewing products previously released. The template I'm using is the SK8 Board Box. It was a middle of the month release, so I never got a chance to use it. When I first saw it, I immediately thought that it looked like a tombstone. (Apparently Monique thought the same thing. We revealed these to each other within a few hours of each other and were definitely on the same wave length! You have to see hers here.) I cut it out of black cardstock and added the decorative layer which is from SU's retired Night and Day dp (I think that's the name of it). I stamped the spider web and spiders from A Spooky Surprise.

The label is the new Pretty Pieces cut file Frame Me and the sentiment is also from A Spooky Surprise. I added the black satin bow and was done! The box opens from the bottom and is really spacious. Pencils, pretzel logs or anything in that size could fit in there.

Stop by the MTME design team blogs to see what they have as their year in review projects.

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Thanks for swinging by my blog today! I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day with family and friends and of course lots of good food!