My Favorite Challenge

Now that the My Favorite Idol contest is over, let's first say congrats to Mrs. Mac for winning the $250 in MFT money!! Can you say shopping!!! Yippee!! Everyone had so much fun with the Idol contest, including the judges, that Kim & the DT didn't want it to end so they have created the weekly My Favorite Challenge to take over here on SCS for everyone to enter and win more MFT prizes. Kim, you're the bestest ever!!

This week's challenge is to use the new Chalk Board Easel template that you can download for free here. Once I downloaded my template, I got started. A lot of the MFT Junkies were teasing fellow Junkie KelliJo about making a tent out of her template, so I figured I couldn't join the teasing if I didn't at least try the same thing. I traced my template onto creamy caramel cardstock since the last tent my family and I had gone camping in was a dirty kind of brown, stippled some caramel & artichoke ink on it and then assembled it. Once that was done, it was time to start stamping the images.

I stamped several of the trees from MFT's Nature Calls set in Papertrey's dark chocolate and new leaf inks, colored the trunks with a prismacolor marker, and then flipped them over recolored the trunk on the backside and stippled Stampin Up! always artichoke on the back of the tree. This way no matter what side of the tent you looked on you saw an evergreen tree; front & back. Once I had all of my images colored and cut out it was time to start adhering them to the tent.

First, I decided there needed to a "forest background" for my camper. Now what forest doesn't have a squirrel, so I added a ground squirrel.

Next, I added the moose so he wasn't running around loose somewhere. :)

On the other side, is my fox and raccoon with another tree. (Side note: no matter how many times I tried the freakin pic would not upload to the blog correctly. Don't we just love technology. *rolls eyes*)

Finally, I needed to add my camper and another tree. However, there was still something missing. Oh, I know....smores!!! You can't have a camp out without smores. There was only one problem though. MFT's Nature Calls set doesn't have a campfire, so I had to cheat and pull out my retired Stampin Up! set Happy Camper so I could have my campfire for my smores. I popped up the campfire on All Night Media pop dots and dimensionals as well as MFT's Who's That Girl. The bottom picture shows the dimension.

Looks like Who's That Girl is being a bad camper and is leaving a campfire unattended. Hopefully, there was someone inside that tent minding the fire. Don't tell my step-dad please. After 45yrs with the State of California's Cal Fire and playing Smokey Bear at several county fairs he'd have my hide for an unattended campfire. However, I got my smores. :)

Stamps: MFT: Nature Calls, Stampin Up! Happy Camper

Ink: Memento Black, Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate, New Leaf, Stampin Up! Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Stipple Brushes, Dimensionals, Pop Dots, MFT Chalk Board Template, Glue Dots

Sunflowers, Butterfly and Blog Hopping!!

I decided to really step outside my comfort zone and participate in Papertrey's blog hop this month. Since I'm fairly new to blogging, I hope I'm doing this right.

When I saw what this month's project theme was, I almost backed out since yellow is not one of my favorite colors. Now if it was blue or purple, I'm all over it; especially the blue. :) Now being the adventurous troublemaker I am (shoot, I'm being a full time nurse right now for my husband's broken ankle) I attacked my project late last night with gusto and didn't stop until I was happy with it.

First I printed off one of Lauren's My Timeless Templates I had purchased but hadn't tried yet. Sorry Lauren! *ducks* Once I had my Perfect Match Box cut out, stamped and assembled, I continued to do things backwards by designing my card around the idea I had for my box before I finished embellishing my box. Fortunately, the card turned out pretty good.





Using Garden of Life, I stamped a sunflower background in Summer Sunrise allowing room at the bottom for the saying from Handwritten Notes. My sunflower layers were stamped in Lemon Tart & Summer Sunrise with Dark Chocolate edging the sunflowers. I had found these really cool gem stickers at Michaels and added those to the centers. Now with my card done, I finally had to finish embellishing my Perfect Match Box.

There are some wild sunflowers growing nearby my house and during the summer there are butterflies always around them so I wanted to try and create the same feel on top of my box. I colored some Michaels confetti flowers with Prismacolor markers two different colors of yellow, trying to match my cardstock as much as possible, since I already had a bucket of the green ones. (Note to self: next time buy the yellow bucket too) Once the flowers were dry, I adhered everything with mini glue dots to make my little flower garden. Then I stamped my butterfly from Butterfly Kisses in Lavender Moon and Plum Pudding, cut it out and adhered with glue dots it was time to add all the gem stickers to finish embellishing.

After that, it was time to figure out how to open the box. Problem solved. One more flower colored and adhered with a brad makes a great box opener, don't you think?

Thank you for stopping by. I hope I've helped provide some inspiration for you.

Stamps: Butterfly Kisses, Handwritten Notes, Garden of Life

Ink: Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding, Dark Chocolate, Memento Black

Accessories: Brad, Prismacolor Markers, Confetti Flowers, Mini Glue Dots, Gem Stickers, My Timeless Template Perfect Match Box

It's MFT Idol!!!

Just a quickie post today. Remember to vote for your favorite MFT Idol here since the contestants are down to the final four now! You will have until 7:00pm PST Wednesday to vote.

Celebrating Flopsy

This week's MFT's Judges challenge is to take any Flopsy stamp image and do our best with it. Well, I decided to take a set that needed some love and run with it. I remember growing up with the Peter Cottontail story, and wanted to use some vintage looking Prima designer paper I had found on clearance at Michaels, I kept everything on the card looking "dusty" like old books.



I started by stamping Reading Flopsy in memento tuxedo black and then coloring him with Prismacolor markers then stippling Stampin Up! creamy caramel and really rust over the image and layers. I also found some Prima flowers on clearance at Michaels and added them with a gem sticker, some brads and ribbon to finish it off.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out especially since I've been dealing with a continuous migraine for the last 3 months and haven't been able to participate much in the challenges the last couple of weeks.

Stamps: MFT Reading Flopsy
Ink: Memento Black, SU Creamy Caramel, Really Rust
Accessories: Stipple Brushes, Ribbon, Prima Flowers, Glue Dots, Brads, Prismacolor Markers

My Time To Inspire MTTI01

This is post number three today even with a migraine, although my left eye doesn't like me. If I begin to ramble, please excuse me.

This week's inspiration piece was a beautiful dress and the colors were just so simple and easy to work with; they just screamed flowers to me.

I pulled out my Papertrey Wishing You set and again used the keep it simple stamper method thanks to my head. Stamped the tulips in spring moss and lavender moon with the tops being stamped twice so I could cut them out and pop up on dimensionals. Using a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, I punched some scrap lavender moon cardstock and picked the smaller butterflies to become "faux" brads in the top corners only. Using Handwritten Notes, I overstamped the saying in memento tuxedo black. Very simple and pretty just like the inspiration piece.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Wishing You, Handwritten Notes

Ink: Spring Moss, Lavender Moon, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Dimensionals, MS Butterfly Punch, MS Glue Pen

Raspberry Suite Week 5

This week's Raspberry Suite color challenge was an easy one: pink, gray and white. Dawn had taken a picture while in Hawaii and wanted to see how we would incorporate it into our stamping. Easy peasy!

I chose to pull out her Scattered Showers set and use the keep it simple stamper method since I'm still dealing with my 3month migraine. The less work I have to do, the less my head is going to hurt. :)

I started by stamping the umbrella in Stampin Up! pixie pink twice and set one aside to cut out later to pop up on a dimensional. The umbrella handle & saying were stamped in basic gray with Stampin Up! felt fusion flowers added in the lower corner with Stampendous Class-A-Peel stickers. After stippling some pretty in pink ink around the edges and layering, my card was completely done; 15-20min tops even on migraine meds.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Scattered Showers

Ink: Stampin Up! Pixie Pink, Pretty In Pink, Basic Gray

Accessories: Stipple Brush, SU Felt Fusion, Stampendous Class-A-Peel Stickers, Brads

Reflections

This was my PTI Guest Star Stamper Mother's Day entry for April. The picture is one of my favorite of my mother. She looks young and healthy with no hint of the breast cancer battle to come.

Growing up, I helped raise my brother while mom worked nights trying to make ends meet. She had made mistakes in her life; three marriages with two ending in divorce. During one of the divorces, we had to hide out because of the violence we were escaping from. During that time, mom never let my brother or myself suffer any bitterness from her, she always had a smile for us and plenty of love.

Mom was an excellent crafter; painting, ceramics, needlepoint, making afghans, decorating cakes; you name it, if she put her mind to it there was nothing stopping her from getting it done. She was also the best teacher when it came to painting and the ceramics and this is where I got my love of painting and talent from. God gave me the talent, my mom helped me channel it and refine it. When she became disabled from a snow trip accident while preventing another child from being seriously hurt, and took up babysitting as her income, she discovered a lump in her breast after one of those kids accidentally hit her in that same breast. At first the doctors thought it was just a cyst, but biopsies proved otherwise, and my mom began the fight of her life. For four years she fought that battle, with being declared clean for one of them. Radiation, chemo, surgery, positive thinking; you name it, everything couldn't save her.

On May 19th, 1991, my mother, my mentor, my best friend lost her battle with the ugliest disease in the world one week after Mother's Day. I missed saying goodbye by 5 minutes.

Today she still is cancer free in Heaven with our Lord and Savior, and yet the pain here is still there although somewhat diminished. My kids understand why I don't like mother's day a lot since it brings back bad memories.

Cherish your own mother more each day since you don't know when she'll be gone.


Stamps: PTI Friends Till The End
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Frame, Dimensionals, Prismacolor Markers, Stampendous Class A Peel Stickers

An Evening With Kim Hughes

I've had these Kim Hughes stamp sets sitting on my stamp table for some time now and I finally figured it was time to ink them up. I'm so glad I did! Wow! Kim Hughes created some awesome sets with her last release.

I started with Forest Friendzy and the gnome that's in there and some Die Cuts With A View paper I found a Joann's a few weeks ago. Stamped my gnome in memento tuxedo black in and colored him with prismacolor markers then stippled Stampin Up! soft sky ink around the edges to soften my image up a bit before layering and adding vintage brads. Doesn't he look cute?

My next gnome's background paper came from the same Die Cuts With A View mat stack and again I stamped him in memento tuxedo black (my new favorite ink for coloring with prismacolor markers), colored him up, then stippled Stampin Up! soft sky ink around the edges again before layering and adding brads. I then stippled Stampin Up! real red ink around the edges of the entire card before adding a red prima flower, layering a white one and then adding a blue robin's nest dew drop to the center.

My last card of the night was made with the Zooper Fun set and I had a blast with that one too! I decided to use the peacock since it was late at night and who could mess up a peacock card? Using some designer paper from a Die Cuts With A View safari mat stack as a background, I stamped my peacock in memento tuxedo black and colored with prismacolor markers. Once I was done coloring, I then took the bush stamp and repeated stamped it in two different memento green inks for depth and did the same thing again with a fern/leaf stamp for "overhanging" branches. I then lightly stippled Stampin Up! soft sky ink to soften the image up a bit before layering and adding brads. I added a couple of prima flowers, bling and a ribbon to the card before stamping the inside saying and diamond ice stickles to the peacock's tail feathers to finish it off.

Gnome & His Flower Card

Stamp: Forest Friendzy

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Soft Sky

Card Stock: White, SU Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, DCWV Green Mat Stack

Accessories: Brads, Stipple Brush, Prismacolor Markers

Whimiscal Gnome

Stamp: Forest Friendzy

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Soft Sky, Real Red

Card Stock: White, Green Galore, DCWV Green Mat Stack

Accessories: Stipple Brush, Primas, Glue Dots, Dew Drops, Prismacolor Markers

Peacock Card

Stamp: Zooper Fun

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves, Pear Tart, SU Soft Sky

Card Stock: White, SU Bashful Blue, Gable Green, Taken In Teal, DCWV Safari Mat Stack

Accessories: Primas, Glue Dots, Gem Stickers, Prismacolor Markers, Stipples, Brads, Diamond Ice Stickles

Rasberry Suite Color Challenge 04

Time for another Raspberry Suite color challenge. This time Dawn only gave us three colors to use with the challenge and that's what I found challenge at first! Guess that's why they call it a challenge. :)

I had found this really cool paper by My Minds Eye from their Bohemian line at Michaels and wanted to use it somehow for the challenge, so I pulled it out to see if by change the colors matched, so I could pair it up with Dawn's PTI Damask Designs stamp set. Lucky for me, the colors worked out perfectly with just a little bit of green tinting in the aqua coloring, but I took it as "artistic liberty" and used it anyways.

I'm really happy with the results (below), especially with adding the flowers from Stampin Up!'s pretties kit with bling added to the center.

Stamps: PTI Damask Designs

Card Stock: PTI Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, White, My Mind's Eye Bohemian Designer Paper

Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist

Accessories: SU Pretties Kit Flowers, Glue Dots, Gem Sticker, Dimensionals