Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Inspiration Challenge

Happy Christmas stamping everyone!  How are you doing with your Christmas card making?  If you play along with Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, you'll have a good head start on them!  This week, we have this yummy inspiration photo for you to work from.

Yummy indeed!  I love my sweets and these certainly are sweet and sugary!  I knew the exact stamp I was going to use when I saw this photo.

This is a stamp I purchased at a stamp show.  It's by Art Gone Wild called Jar of Sweets.  I used copics to color the candies in red, then I used some light blue copics (B00 and B0000) to shade the jars.  I then added Crystal Effects to make them look shiny like real jars. The label behind the image is from Labels 20.  I just cut it in half to make it fit behind the main panel.  I ran it through the Swiss Dots folder.  (I own so many embossing folders, but I always seem to reach for this one all the time.  Does that happen to you too?)  I added the baker's twine for more of the red and white. The sentiment is from My Time Made Easy called Sugar & Spice.  It was stamped in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.   I used the Fall to Layout #152 sketch below.

So what do you think you can do with this yummy photo?  If you play along, please link your post to the CSAYL blog.  One person will be chosen to be a guest designer in September!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paper Makeup Stamps - August Blog Hop!

Hi everyone!  It's the 7th of the month, which means it's time for another Paper Makeup Stamps blog hop!  This is our "off" month...one in which there are no new stamps being released, so we are having an Oldies but Goodies hop today.  The design team is using stamps released prior to 2011.

If you are hopping along with us, you should have come from Katie Cotton's blog.  Did you love her oldie but goodie?  I'm sure you did!  If you just happened to stop by and want to hop, please start at the PMS blog and get the lineup and enjoy the hop!

When I was perusing the Paper Makeup Stamps store for what I wanted to use today, I came across Jenny Fairy and she was perfect for my mood!

It seems it's a never ending battle to keep those extra pounds off (especially in the summer!) and Jenny just reached out to me!  The scale is my nemesis and it looks like it's Jenny's as well!  She's colored according to the dp which is Basic Grey's Life of the Party.  The measuring tape dp was so perfect I just had to use it!  The sketch is from last week's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge (I can never seem to enter a card for that challenge on time!).  Those stripes on the sketch were perfect for my measuring tape!  The sentiment actually comes with the fairy as a set.  Love that!

So now you are at the halfway point in the hop and I am going to send you to Lisa McKinney's blog for what I am sure is going to be a treat for you!  I hope you enjoy our Oldies but Goodies hop! 

Your comments make my day, so thanks in advance!  Have a great Sunday!

Just Us Girls #96 - Sketch Challenge

 

Happy Saturday!  Are you ready for a Just Us Girls sketch challenge?  These are my favorite challenges, and Pam has come up with a simple, but interesting sketch!

I started with this great stamp set from Paper Makeup Stamps called Color It Summer.  I stamped the flower on the larger circle and the leaves on the smaller ones.  They are colored with copic markers.  I swirled some ink on the background (I added too much on the flower!).  The butterfly was colored then hand cut and added with a dimensional.  There are star dust stickles on the butterfly and  the stamens of the flowers for some sparkle.  I cannot remember what the dp is right now, but it's in a stack and I love the bright but muted colors.  The decorative border punch is from Martha Stewart.  I added a sentiment in the upper right corner, but it's too faint to really see!

The girls have some great inspiration for you, so make sure you stop by their blogs and the JUGs blog.

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Kristin

Maria

Pam

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!

My Time Made Easy - A Year in Review

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

Today the My Time Made Easy design team are all posting A Year in Review...using products that were previously released.  Since this month was kind of a back to school theme, I stayed with that theme by using the Boxed Lunch template.

I made this for our friends' granddaughter, so I opted for pink and purple...what little girl doesn't like pink and purple AND flowers?  The patterned paper is Sugar and Spice digital paper from MTME.  The tag was made by using Sensational Staples digital paper.  I just cropped what I needed and personalized it on the computer.  It's cut with a Spellbinder's tag. 

I had some extra paper, so I decorated the sides of the lunch box as well.  I decided not to use the handle that comes with the template and made a ribbon handle instead.  It's tacked down with white brads.

A added a pretty white flower button as the closure.  There is a magnet keeping the lid closed.

The girls are all posting today, so please make your way to their blogs to see what they have created.

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Kathryn Berthiaume

Katie Cotton

Monique Hansen

Tangii Crain

Thanks for stopping in today!  Have a great day!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - "Gimme the Bird"

Pretty shocking title, huh?  Well, it's not as bad as it seems!  At Christmas Stampin' All Year Long this week, we are challenging you to use a bird on your Christmas card!  We are sponsored by Pink Cat Studio this week.  If you play along, you could win 5 free digi images from PCS! 

I've chosen the Christmas Chicks to use on my card!  It just made me smile when I saw these cheerful little chicks!

This is a digi image, so I was able to color it in GIMP.  Then I took a copic marker in a darker yellow and just hilighted the yellow a bit.  I sponged in some clouds and added Star Dust Stickles for some "snow".  The patterned paper is from an old DCWV Christmas Stack.  The satin ribbon is from Offray.  I made it into a double bow (free-handed) and added a button tied with floss.  I stamped a small sentiment on the bottom.

The sketch is from this week's Card Patterns.  I'm also entering this into the Buffalo Stamps and Stuff challenge Monday Idea Challenge to Mix It Up - mix different patterns and colors, which I think I've done here!                                         Stop by the CSAYL blog and see what the girls have done with their bird cards!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!

Back to School Backpacks - My Time Made Easy Style

Hi everyone!  I'm here to post another project using the new template from My Time Made Easy called It's in the Bag.  Did you happen to see what Lauren, Katie, and Tangii did with this template yesterday?  They made and owl, a vase with paper flowers, and a clutch purse from it!  Amazing!  Well, mine was not that clever because I wanted to use it as it was intended for a reason.

I have two nephews who will both be in school this year.  Ethan is 7 and will be going into 2nd grade, and Kristoff is 4 and will be going to preschool.  So the It's in the Bag template is the perfect little template to fill with treats to give to these two little cuties from their adoring aunt!  So here they are.

I made both of them from Night of Navy cardstock which matched perfectly with these two papers from the new Academic Hodge Podge digital paper.  Kristoff's uses the Stars of the School design.  I added silver stars on the flaps of the bag and the little pocket (which will probably hold a dollar bill for snacks at school).

I made tags to go with each bag.  I colored them on the computer and personalized them as well.  The backpack, pencil,  and the words "this bag belongs to:" are from the new Back to School digital stamp set.  I added his name in my photo editing program.  Love the way this turned out!

 Here is the back of the pack.  I made the straps out of coordinating Riding Hood Red cardstock.

Now for Ethan's, I used the paper called Collegiate from the Academic Hodge Podge digital paper pack.  It's made in the same fashion as Kristoff's.

On Ethan's tag, I used the ruler image on the backpack from the Back to School digital stamp set.  Again, I personalized it with his name.  Too cute!

I used Certainly Celery cardstock for the straps on the back to coordinate with the paper.

What do you think?  I didn't have anything at home to fill it with, but I think some fun, healthy snacks will make their way into the bag!

Do you want to see more inspiration?  Lauren and Debbie are also posting projects and when those girls create, you are always in for a treat!

Thanks for stopping by today!

My Time Made Easy Release Day - Back to School

Hi everyone!  It's August 1st (wow!) and it's Release Day at My Time Made Easy!  We are doing a group post and calling it "Back to School" because we are using the new digital stamp set called Back to School. 

We all made four cards using this (I know, you only see three, but I couldn't fit my fourth one in the picture.  You'll see it below.  I chose to make the same card with different buttons and ribbons.   Each card is a

4 1/4" square card....I like this little note size...it's nice to give these little note cards instead of a full-size card sometimes.  In fact, I'm going to put these in the mailboxes of my teacher colleagues on the first day of school.  A nice way to start off the new year!

On each card, I used the Best Teacher sentiment and the apple.  I colored the apple and a couple of the words on my computer.  The paper is from the new digital paper pack called Academic Hodge Podge.  The actual paper that is in the pack is a tan color.  I changed the color (using the GIMP software) to the same red as I used on the apple.  It took about 10 minutes to change the color because I had to change all the little nooks and crannies in the letters.  Easy, but a little time consuming.  But I love the red, ivory, and black together! 

To change it up a bit, I used different ribbons.  Here I used a pretty apple ribbon and on the previous one I just used red grosgrain.  I used red buttons on two and ivory buttons on the other two.  I tired all of them up a little differently.  Oh, and I used the Labels 7 die to cut and emboss the sentiment.  This die looks like a book so I thought it was a good choice.

To see more inspiration, stop by the girls' blogs.  They always have something fabulous to share!

Lauren Meader

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Kathryn Berthiaume

Katie Cotton

Monique Hansen

Tangii Crain

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great week!