My C.A.S.E. Studies

All you need is love...

2012-01-27T08:10:00.003-10:00

Today I have a super Clean & Simple card for you done (at the very last minute!) for the Timeless Twine Challenge - Krafty Valentine's:

The rules are that you have to have a kraft base, at least 1 scalloped shape and only Timeless Twine.

I used my Zing with Make the Cut to cut out the LVE using plain old Times New Roman at 1" tall and then the smallest Nesties scalloped heart. I added a button tied with Bubblegum Pink and White Timeless Twine. To finish off the card, I rounded 2 of the corners.

This is also for My Time To Craft - fave embellishment (mine is currently twine!). I hope you like it and TFL!

Fun Friday Fhinn

2012-01-26T22:00:00.005-10:00

Happy Fun Friday! I have a little YNS project to share with you today. It's a mini dry erase board:

Yes, I'm still trying to use up all of the coasters I bought years ago. :)

I cut the woodgrain patterned paper to size and stamped Little Helper Fhinn in dark chocolate ink. I used the computer to print the To Do at the top (although alphabet stamps would have been just as easy!) and then adhered the paper to the coaster, sanding off any extra bits. Next I covered it with clear adhesive laminate and trimmed to size. This makes it able to dry erase.

For the pen, I simply pierced a small hole in the board and strung some rustic twine through it. I put a strip of red liner tape on the cap of the pen and wound the twine around the cap, sticking it down as I went. After covering the whole strip, I tied a knot in the twine and cut off the excess. You can see it attached here:

The last thing I did was adhere 2 strips of magnet to the back so this can be hung on the refrigerator.

My tip is that almost any flat surface can be a dry erase board once covered in laminate! Look around and see what else you can find - get creative!

This is also for Simon Says Stamp - anything goes.

Be sure to check out the YNS blog for all the Fun Friday projects. TFL!

Manga Girl #2

2012-01-24T10:00:00.001-10:00

Today I have a card made for the Sugar Bowl Challenge which is to use their sketch:

I used Manga Girl #2 who, shamefully, has been sitting and waiting for years to be inked! I colored her with Copics entirely in the BV color family (except for her skin), the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and the baker's twine is from Timeless Twine.

This is also for the following:

iCopic - use BV color family (see below for color listing)
Kaboodle Doodles - Thank you
Challenge Up Your Life - Thank you

Copics used: E00, E01, RV10, BV0000, BV000, BV02, BV11, BV13, BV17, BV20, BV23, BV25, BV29 (the last 4 were used for the shoes and hair). I hope you like it and TFL!

Pixie Pets Birthday Bash

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000-10:00

Today's card was made for several challenges:

I used an image from the Pixie Pets Birthday Bash set (except I have the rubber version) and the January sketch from Sketches For You To Try. The image was colored with Copics and I did a little shading with colored pencils. Finally, the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

This is also for

ATS Wednesday Challenge - Blue, Brown & Tan
ABC Challenge - Happy Birthday
Stampin' for the Weekend - Out with the old (this stamp is really old!)

Hope you like it and TFL!

Love You

2012-01-19T10:45:00.000-10:00

Today I have a card made for several challenges, the first being the sketch challenge at Unscripted Sketches:

I cut the heart from red felt using a Nestabilities die and the U was die cut with a really old Quickutz die. I tied a little bow and glued it to the heart then drew the white frame all around it.

This is also for Truly Scrumptious - something old or forgotten (everything on this card is at least a couple years old!) and Charisma Cardz - Clean & Simple. I hope you like it and TFL!

Sweet Pea

2012-01-16T09:10:00.001-10:00

Today's card was made for the last Wee Memories challenge, which is a sketch challenge. Here's my card:

I used the Sweet Pea set from There She Goes and papers from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two (Blush) 6x6 paper pad.

I colored the flowers with Copics and did some straight stitching with my machine. Finally, I finished it off with some twill and a button tied with twine.

This is also for The Pink Elephant - fave color(s). I hope you like it and TFL!

Josie's Cupcake

2012-01-15T12:25:00.004-10:00

Today I have a shaped card that I made for the All That Scraps Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

I used the adorable digi image called Josie's Cupcake and formed the card shape in Make The Cut. I printed the image and sentiment (LD Little Piggy), then cut it with my Zing.

I colored her with Copics, paper pieced the cupcake liner, and then sewed beads on for the sprinkles. Lastly, I glittered up her wings. I hope you like it and TFL!

YNS New Release Hop!

2012-01-10T22:00:00.003-10:00

Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another fun and fabulous Your Next Stamp New Release Blog Hop! YNS just released a brand new line of stamps - Jenny Suchin Designs, so the DT (and our awesome guest designers!) have whipped up some eye candy using the 4 new sets.

If you came here by way of Diana's blog, then you're on the right track! If not, please go back and start at Jenny Suchin's blog because you won't want to miss a stop! The Hop starts January 11 @ 3 a.m. EST and ends on January 16 @ midnight EST.

And of course there is a prize to be won! One of the stops is the secret blogger and a winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on that stop to win a new set of their choice! So the more blogs you comment on, the more chance you have to win!

And finally, there is also a sale!! 15% off your entire order - just use the code YNSJAN2012.

*****And now on to the show!*****

I got to play with the incredibly cute and fun Basket Animals set (as you may have seen in my sneak peek post yesterday. I made another of my Gatefold cards with a gift card pull-out (you can find a tutorial I did HERE):

I paper pieced the balloons and basket and colored both animals with Copics. The cloud is from the Lettering Delights SVG set Balloon Craze and was cut with my Zing. I then stamped the sentiment from the set on the cloud.

You may also be able to see that I made my own strings for the balloons with white Waxy Flax. The brown twine is from Trendy Twine

Here's a shot so you can see the gift card pulled out and also that the right panel opens for you to write a message to the recipient:

I hope you liked my project and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented guest designer Veronica.

New Release Sneak Peek!

2012-01-09T22:00:00.002-10:00

Today I get to show you a sneak peek of one of the brand new Jenny Suchin Designs sets being released tomorrow:

I cut the base of the card with my Zing using Make The Cut software. I then stamped the basket image 3 times (once on white cardstock and twice on different patterned papers) and paper pieced the balloons and basket. Next, I cut out the image with a slight white margin, stamped the bunny and colored her with a Copic marker. Finally I stuck her onto the image with foam tape.

This is also for the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft - Something New (the stamp set!)
Lollipop Crafts - Anything New
There She Goes - Paper Piecing

I hope you like it and I hope I'll see you back here tomorrow for the full release! TFL!

Winter Fun Hop & YNSC #57

2011-12-06T22:00:00.004-10:00

Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another fun and fabulous Your Next Stamp Blog Hop! YNS just released a whole slew of awesome new stamps and dies so the DT (and our awesome guest designer!) have whipped up some eye candy using many of the new images and dies.

We are also combining this hop with our latest YNS Challenge, which is to make a holiday/winter themed project.

If you came here by way of Dana's blog, then you're on the right track! If not, please go back and start at Kerri's blog because you won't want to miss a stop!

Because of this new release, Karen will have some bundle packs available plus an awesome variety of stamps in the YNS Bargain Bin and YNS Deal of the week so be sure to check out the store to take advantage of all the awesome deals! PLUS she’ll include a little something extra in every order from now until December 25th!!

Last, but certainly not least, there are 3 prizes hidden among all the DT blogs so the more you comment, the better your chance of winning. Karen will draw the winners' names from the comments on the secret prize bloggers posts and announce the prize winners and let people know who the secret bloggers are on the YNS Blog on Tuesday, December 13th

*****And now on to the show!*****

First up, I have a little tag meant to be tied to a Christmas present. I used the new Fancy Frame and Die set, and the To and From are both from the Holiday Snow Globe set.

The die in this set is super cool because it leaves a little bit of the center portion attached to make a little peek-a-boo door! Here's the view of the inside:

Isn't that fun?! I just hand cut another piece of white cardstock to serve as the backing for the tag and stamped the sentiment from the same set in the center. Lastly, I colored the little leaves with a green colored pencil.

For my next project, I have a shaker card (love making these!):

I used the super adorable Holiday Snow Globe set again, paper piecing the base from some wood-grained Basic Grey paper. The reindeer was colored with Copics and the shaker filling is faux Flower Soft and a little glitter. The sketch is from Sunday Sketch and Stamp.

I hope you liked my projects and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented Jenny P..

Your Next Stamp Challenge #56

2011-11-22T22:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Jenny P. and our theme is to use die cuts somewhere on your project. I made a little tag this time:

I used the Happy Holidays Stamp and Die set to make gingerbread trees! I die cut the trees twice from kraft cardstock, then stamped the tree image twice on white cardstock. I cut just the tree tops out inside of the stamped lines to show more of the kraft around the outside of the "frosting." Then I layered the little tree over the first die cut with foam boosters and attached it to the tag with foam also. The little red dots are confetti.

The tag base is from the Delilah Tags SVG set cut with my new ZING!!!!!

This machine is awesome and cuts SO much better than my old machine! I'm still testing it out, but I'm sure you'll see lots more Zing cuts on this blog!

We hope you'll play along with us and don't forget that you MUST use a YNS rubber or digi image on your card!

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Winter Scene Coaster Frame

2011-10-27T19:30:00.004-10:00

I have another non-card project for you today - a coaster picture frame using the new Winter Scene stamp from YNS.

Here's the outside front of the coaster - I cut the words using my Cricut and Make the Cut software:

And here's the inside:

The scene was watercolored with Tombows and the picture can actually be changed out (it's not glued in there).

Please stop by the YNS blog for more new release awesomeness and info! TFL!

YNS New Happy Holidays Stamp and Die Set!

2011-10-26T18:00:00.001-10:00

Hey everybody! Today I have a lot of stuff all rolled up into one post! First off is our current YNS Challenge #54 - ABC (Anything But a Card). Next is our new Happy Holidays Stamp and Die set release! I used 2 different stamps with matching dies on Part 4 of my little 3 chocolate challenge (here's Part 3 in case you missed it!).

Front:

Back:

And just to prove it really holds 3 Dove chocolates:

It's a little round top box (inspired by a template sold by Papertrey) that I shrunk down to just fit the 3 chocolates.

And finally, today is a prize day in our YNS 14 Day Release party - one lucky winner will get the new stamp and die set!! Please visit the YNS Blog for all the details. You only have 24 hours to enter, so hurry over now! :)

Your Next Stamp Challenge #53

2011-10-11T21:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Amy and the theme is "Trick or Treat" (Halloween themed projects).

Here's my card:

I used the new Poof! set and a sketch from Unscripted Sketches.

The little witch was watercolored with my Tombows, and then fussy cut. I added 2 different colors of Stickles for the sparks shooting from her wand and also yellow Stickles to all the moons and stars on her dress.

Since I don't have any purple and black twine, I hand dyed my own! I just added some purple ink and water to a length of black and white twine and got what you see here!

This is also for the following challenges:

Wee Memories - Halloween
Stamptacular - distressing
Cupcake Craft - Halloween

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win this fabulous stamp:

You MUST use a YNS rubber or digi image on your card! But if you don't have one, Karen is generously offering a free YNS Halloween digi to everyone who would like to participate in this week's challenge! All you need to do is email her [karen (at) yournextstamp (dot) com] to let her know you would like to participate in challenge #53 and she will send out the digi!! How awesome is that?!

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Pumpkin Emma

2011-10-08T07:15:00.000-10:00

Today's card was made for Show & Tell with C.C. Designs - use a C.C. Designs image with the colors black, burnt orange and tan:

I used Pumpkin Emma and this month's Sketch For You To Try. Emma was colored with Copics and the sentiment is from PTI.

This is also for the following challenges:

All That Scraps - Anything goes with a stamp that is sold in the ATS store
iCopic - Fall colors
Ribbon Carousel - Anything goes with a spooled item (I used twill)
Little Red Wagon - Thanks
For Fun challenges - project with leaves on it
Charisma Cardz - Black & Orange
PaperPlay - Autumnal colors
Stampin' For the Weekend - Colors of Autumn

I hope you like it and TFL!

CAS Holiday Lights

2011-10-06T09:25:00.000-10:00

Today's card was made for the Copic Creations - Saturated Colors challenge:

I used the Light Up the Holidays Die and Stamp set. I colored all the lights with Copics (12 different markers in all!) and then covered just the bulb portions with clear dimensional adhesive for shine. I added 2 tiny bows made of Twisted Lime Trendy Twine and then mounted the string onto the card with foam tape.

This card is also for the following challenges:

Ribbon Carousel - Anything goes (with a spooled item)
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
Fab 'n' Funky - die cuts or punches

I hope you like it and TFL!

Birthday Bunny

2011-10-05T07:52:00.000-10:00

Today I have a card made for TCP Tuesday #179 - "Hype the Type" using FTL #160 from Clean & Simple Stamping stretched vertically to fit my idea:

I don't have any big sentiments from The Cat's Pajamas, so I got creative and combined 2 sentiments from 2 different sets, plus a frame, line and die from My Favorite Things to make my focal sentiment. The Happy Birthday and bunny are from the Birthday Bunny set, the other part of the sentiment is from Forget About the Cake and the rest of it is all from the Die-namics Framed Greetings Die and Stamp set.

Even though we were supposed to focus on the sentiment, I just had to add the adorable bunny in so I stamped him in the same shade of green as the background paper, cut him out and stuck him on. He's there, but doesn't draw too much attention away from the bright pink sentiment label.

The button is from SEI and the twine is Strawberry Cupcake Trendy Twine.

This is also for the ABC Challenge - A is for Anything Goes. I hope you like it and TFL!

Tiny Tia

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

Today I have a card made for the Some Odd Girl Inspiration Challenge using a sketch from Mojo Monday:

I used Tiny Tia and some really old paper from Fancy Pants that matched the colors in the inspiration photo almost exactly!

Tia was colored with Copics, I did a bunch of stitching all over the card and the seam binding was tea-dyed. The sentiment is from the Mega Mixed Messages set from Papertrey. I hope you like it and TFL!

Vintage Circles Tag

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-10:00

I made this little tag for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge:

I used a circle and the leaves from the Vintage Circles, Small set, and the "to:" and "from:" are from the Fancy Phrases set.

I die cut a Cuttlebug flower from felt and added a button with a twine bow. I also used twine for the hanging string at the top. The leaves were stamped, cut out, and then just the outer ends popped up with little bits of foam tape. The patterned papers are all from the Basic Grey Lily Kate collection.

This is also for Wee Memories - your fave technique (I love stitching on my projects!). I hope you like it and TFL!

Pressie Mae

2011-09-30T07:45:00.001-10:00

Today I've got a card that I did for the Some Odd Girl Flickr 12 Weeks of Christmas Holiday Challenge - Week 2 - non-traditional colors. I dug through my stash and came across these really old papers from KI Memories that were perfect:

I used Pressie Mae and a sketch from Sketchy Thursday.

This is also for Fab 'n' Funky - recipe (1 ribbon, 2 patterned papers and 3 brads, buttons or gems). I hope you like it and TFL!

Tombows used:
Hair: 977, 969
Skin: 942, 850, 772
Dress and shoes: 723
Present: 673, 679
Eyes and shadow around Mae: 312

Fairy Tink

2011-09-29T00:01:00.001-10:00

Today I have a card made for the iCopic Weekly Challenge - red hair. I've never done red hair with Copics before, so this really was a challenge for me. Luckily I got a nice color combo off the internet and was able to do my first auburn/red hair coloring:

I used Fairy Tink from The Greeting Farm. I bought her as a rubber single, but it appears she's now only available as part of the Fairy Princess clear set. The sketch is from Sketch Saturday and the patterned papers are all from the Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends Mini Deck.

I paper pieced her dress and used some old Stickles on her wings. The sentiment is from a·muse|studio and the bracket edger and doily dies are from My Favorite Things.

The colors I used for her hair were E13, E17, E18 and E19.

This is also for the following challenges:

Stampin' for the Weekend - What a Cutie!
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - It's a Girl Thing
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Belli Challenge - Paper Piecing
Flutter By Wednesday - open theme (with fairy, angel or butterfly)

I hope you like it and TFL!

YNS Challenge #52

2011-09-27T21:00:00.004-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time we have a fun sketch challenge from Kerri:

And here's my card:

I used Fall Fun Bear and some old Basic Grey Mellow papers. As you can see, I didn't do any coloring on this card except for a light copic shadow under the bear. The falling leaf is paper pieced and all the leaves for the garland were punched out. For a bit of fun and texture, I did a tea-dyed twill ruffle for the scallop border part of the sketch.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win the Light Up the Holidays Die and Stamp Set!!:

**Please don't forget our new rule: You MUST use a YNS rubber or digi image on your card!**

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog.

This is also for PaperPlay - Autumn Leaves, and Ribbon Carousel - Alter your spooled item (I dyed my twill and made it into a ruffle). I hope you like it and TFL!

More a|s

2011-09-27T15:42:00.002-10:00

I decided to take another stab at the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 6 and here's what I came up with:

Instead of a flat background, I made a medallion to represent the sky and grass. I added a paper pieced tree and sentiment from Sampler Set One and a little bird from Sampler Set Three. BTW - the tree can be found in the "woodland friends" set, the sentiment is from "vintage a muse" and the bird is from "avian notes."

This is also for Simon Says Stamp - use dies and/or punches (I used a Fiskars punch to make my medallion), and Pile It On - Fancy Folds. I hope you like it and TFL!

a|s!!

2011-09-27T11:45:00.004-10:00

It's official! I am now a consultant for a·muse|studio!! If you're not familiar with a·muse|studio, you can check out the regular 2011 catty and the Holiday 2011 catty online!

Here's my first card made almost entirely with my starter kit:

The only things I added were thread for machine stitching and a few foam boosters. The clouds, kite and sentiment are all from the Sample Set One and all the cardstock, ink and ribbon came from my deluxe kit.

I made this for the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 6: Fun with paper! We're supposed to use paper in a new or unexpected way. Hmmm... I think I've seen just about everything that can be done with paper, so I just did my best here! I paper pieced *everything* on this card (even those itty bitty kite tails) and I fringed and smushed up the gingham paper to make the grass.

This is also for Truly Scrumptious - Clean and Simple. I hope you like it and TFL!

Thanks to You

2011-09-25T11:00:00.001-10:00

Today I have a card done for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge:

I printed out 2 Iralamija papers from the Chic Backgrounds Collage and cut them using a circle Nestie. I stamped it with the largest dotted circle from the Vintage Circles, Small set and pierced every dot. Next, I did a zigzag stitch where the 2 papers met. Then I stamped a small design from Fancy Phrases all over the edges of the scalloped green piece and stamped a sentiment from the same set onto a scrap of the polka dot paper and cut one end to make a flag.

I finished the whole thing off with some tea dyed twill, pink baker's twine (also tea dyed) and a pink button.

This is also for Stamp with Fun - Anything Goes. I hope you like it and TFL!

Go Forth & Eat Cake!

2011-09-23T07:30:00.001-10:00

Today I have a card made for TCP Tuesday - make a seam binding rose and put it on your project. Here's what I came up with:

I used the adorable set Forget About the Cake and a sketch from Dutch Dare (turned from a square into a rectangle to fit my image).

I watercolored the image with my Tombows and hand dyed my own seam binding. After I made the rose, I stitched a pearl in the center to hopefully hold it together a little better!

This is also for The Pink Elephant and Cupcake Inspiration - both had inspiration pics with pink and green and the cuppy had roses on it too! I hope you like it and TFL!

Tombows used:
Plate and shadows: N95
Candle flames: 55
Candles and middle frosting layers: 158
Pink frosting and bunny nose: 703
Cake layers: 020

Surprise! YNS Dies!!

2011-09-22T03:00:00.004-10:00

Yes, that's right - YNS now has its own custom dies available!! Our first die matches the large string of lights in the Light Up the Holidays set and it's so cool!! For all the details about the product, please visit the YNS Blog.

Many of the DT have made projects using the new die, so if you'd like a chance to win the fabulous prize pictured below (the stamp set and matching die), please visit and comment on all the participating blogs (the full list is on the YNS Blog).

For my project, I decided to continue on with my 3 Chocolate Challenge (in case you missed them, here are Part 1 and Part 2).

For this box, I simply took the bag from Part 2, and extended the ends to turn it from a bag into a box. Of course I did this in Make the Cut. After cutting, I printed the sentiment on both sides of the box, then folded it up and stuck in the 3 chocolates.

I stamped the holiday lights, colored them with Copics (I hope you get that I was trying to simulate white lights - I didn't just forget to color the bottoms!) and then die cut the string. Since I only needed 4 lights, I simply snipped the fifth light off then I attached the string with foam tape. I hope you like my project and TFL!

Birgitta Bookmark

2011-09-19T08:45:00.000-10:00

Today I have a simple little bookmark made for the All That Scraps Fall challenge:

I watercolored Birgitta with my Tombows and used some Basic Grey paper to make the base of the bookmark.

This is also for the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Things with Wings
Flutterby Wednesday - anything goes with a butterfly, fairy or angel
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
Paperplay - Punches and Dies (I used Nesties dies for the plain and scalloped rectangles)

I hope you like it and TFL!

YNS Blog Hop & Challenge #51

2011-09-13T21:00:00.002-10:00

Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another fun and fabulous Your Next Stamp Blog Hop! YNS just released a whole bunch of new stamps so the DT (and our awesome guest designers!) have whipped up some eye candy using many of the new images. Plus, since it's also a challenge week, we've combined our current challenge of "paper piecing" with some of our Hop projects.

If you came here by way of Jen R.'s blog, then you're on the right track! If not, please go back and start at Kerri's blog because you won't want to miss a stop! This Hop starts on Wednesday, September 14th at 3:00AM (EST), and ends on Saturday, September 17th at midnight (EST).

And of course it just wouldn't be a YNS Hop without some specials and a prize, right?! Well, here's the awesome prize for one lucky winner - some of the brand new release stamps!

For the Specials part, Karen has some stamp bundles plus a free YNS stamp (of her choice) will be included for every $30 spent – so if you spend $30, you’ll get 1 free stamp, $60 you'll get 2 free stamps, etc… What an awesome deal!!

*****And now on to the show!*****

I had hoped to have more than 1 project to share with you today but I've been sick for a very loooong time now and it's been difficult to get too much done. I do hope the one project I made is to your liking though - it's a super fun spinner card using the new set Spooktacular:

You can see that I paper pieced the ghost and I even decorated the inside with the matching sentiment:

But that's not so impressive so I put together a little animated gif to give you an idea of how much fun this card is to play with!!

I hope you liked my project and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented and super awesome Carole.

Just For You!

2011-09-11T09:45:00.002-10:00

Today I have another Sugar Bowl card for you:

I have a lot of Sugar Nellie stamps that have never seen ink so I'm trying to use them and what better way than to play in the Sugar Bowl? :)

I used Bumble Bee and paper from Iralamija's Elegance Papers Collage. She was watercolored with my Tombows and the ticket die from MFT was printed with a computer generated sentiment.

Tombows used:
Hair - N25
Skin - 990, 850, 772
Wings - 772
Dress - 91, 373, 772, 856

This card is also for the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes (with something that comes on a spool - I sewed a straight stitch around my whole card with thread from a spool)
Little Red Wagon - Use a die cut (I used 2 different Nesties and also the mini ticket die)
Stamp Something - Anything Goes
Ping Gem - colour inspiration challenge

I hope you like it and TFL!

TSGBDAY5

2011-09-10T11:22:00.000-10:00

For Day 5, There She Goes wanted to see our paper dolls partying. I was pretty stumped for a while, but then as I watched my 2 young boys playing with their plastic food and dishes, I was struck by inspiration!

They had laid out a whole bunch of food on a box like a big buffet, so I managed to get penguin an invitation and he had a blast!

I hope you've enjoyed these past few days of puppet fun as much as I have and tomorrow we'll be back to our regularly scheduled stamping program! TFL!

TSGBDAY2, 3 & 4

2011-09-08T18:40:00.000-10:00

Today I'm combining several days' worth of TSG birthday puppet posts:

Day 2's assignment was take our paper dolls out on the town. It was actually my birthday, so I took little penguin with me to eat sushi for my birthday lunch!

Here he is perusing the menu:

Grabbing some wasabi from the conveyor belt:

And finally chowing down on his fresh salmon sushi:

BTW - I know we were only supposed to take one picture, but I was having too much fun to stop at just one! :)

On Day 3, they wanted us to take our dolls into the Great Outdoors. Here's Penguin with our newest plant called "Hearts and Flowers":

He had to put on his shades because it was really sunny out there!

And finally, for Day 4 they wanted to see our dolls "in the spotlight." The interpretation of what that means is up to us and I went pretty literal - Penguin starring in his own puppet theater play!

The little theater is from Lettering Delights and instead of cutting out and assembling all the pieces, I just printed the whole theater (after adding the Penguin title) and then cut it out by hand.

Isn't this fun?! I'm going to try really hard to play in all the challenges this week! TFL!

TSGBDAY1

2011-09-06T21:43:00.000-10:00

There She Goes is celebrating their third birthday with a week full of challenges and the first one from Monday was a Paper Doll Challenge. I went through all my sets and came across Penguin Love, which is one of my faves so I decided to use it. Here's my paper doll and I also made a tree to shade him from the hot Hawaii sun :)

The next challenge is to photograph your paper doll out on the town so I hope to get some good shots of him tomorrow! TFL!

Mini Dry Erase Boards

2011-09-04T06:50:00.000-10:00

Today I have a fun little altered project for you - Mini Dry Erase Boards that you can sit on your desk to take down notes:

If you don't like the dry erase aspect, you can easily stick a Post-It pad on the bottom instead!

I used 2 acrylic 4x6" picture frames and added Iralamija papers and some stash trims to make them both - super easy!!

These are also for the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft - Alter It
Top Tip Tuesday - Shabby Chic
My Time to Craft - "In Full Bloom"
Ribbon Carousel - use at least 2 spooled items (they both use twine and twill)

I hope you like them and TFL!

Manga Girl #1

2011-09-03T20:00:00.001-10:00

Today I have a card using The Sugar Bowl sketch (optional theme is "one for the girls"):

I used Manga Girl #1, which I've had forever but didn't ink up until now!
She was watercolored with my Tombows and the papers are from the Happy Go Lucky 6x6 paper pad from My Mind's Eye. The die behind her is the smaller of the Dizzy Doily Duo Die-Namics set.

Tombows used:
Hair: N25
Skin: 990, 772
Dress and hair bows:757
Shirt: 126, 158
Shadow around her: 312

This card is also for Creative Card Crew - anything goes, and Charisma Cardz which is also anything goes! I hope you like my card and TFL!

Fall Birgitta

2011-08-29T07:50:00.001-10:00

I have another watercolored card for you today because I just cannot stop playing with my Tombows! :)

I used the digi Fall Birgitta and a sketch from Cute Card Thursday.

The buttons are from Papertrey and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up!

Tombows used:
Hair: 969, 977
Face: 942, 772
Dress: 526, 177, 98
Flowers: 977, 55, 25
Grass: 177, 98
Fence: 977, 969
Shadow around Birgitta: 992

This card is also for the following challenges:

All That Scraps - use brown, blue and moss green
Flutter By Wednesday - anything goes with a butterfly, fairy or angel
Pile It On - "Girls just wanna have fun"

I hope you like it and TFL!

Fancy Phrases

2011-08-28T09:25:00.000-10:00

I have a card today for a few challenges:

I used Fancy Phrases from Waltzingmouse Stamps and sketches from Waltzingmouse (the tag portion) and Unscripted (the background portion).

The papers are from the Echo Park Victoria Gardens 6x6 paper pad and the felt rose was made using the smaller of the Mini Rolled Roses dies.

This card is also for Pixie Dust Studio - add a tag or create a tag, and Creative Card Crew - handmade flowers. I hope you like it and TFL!

Cupcake Leslie 2

2011-08-27T06:30:00.001-10:00

I have another watercolored digi for you today for the Karber Challenge - use your fave embellishment (currently a tie between twill and twine) and a Karber image and the KB Challenge - use twine:

I used Cupcake Leslie and a sketch from Sketchy Thursday.

Tombow colors used (in case anybody wants to know, I'll try to keep track): N25, 942, 800, 772, 757, 373

The papers are from the Happy Go Lucky 6x6 paper pad from My Mind's Eye, the twine is from Timeless Twine and the rub-on is from Stampin' Up!

This card is also for:

Pile It On - Sweet Treats & combine with at least 1 other challenge
Digi Tuesday - Cute & Girly
My Time to Craft - "Here Come the Girls"
Totally Gorjuss - "As you like it"

I hope you like it and TFL!

Balloon Kaylee

2011-08-26T07:45:00.002-10:00

Before I get started with today's post, I thought I'd mention something. You may have noticed a couple of watercolored projects recently and I said I used Tombow markers. Well, I just have to tell you that I got the full set as an early birthday present from my hubby!! :) He got them from Amazon and I really don't think you can beat that price! I'm having a ball playing with them so you should be seeing a lot more watercolored images from me!

Also, I got a new printer and even though it's an inkjet, the ink is water resistant! It's an Epson Workforce 840 and works with watercolors, Copics and colored pencils with OMS!! All this awesome new stuff has definitely helped to bring my mojo back!

Anyway, on to today's card:

I used Balloon Kaylee, a sketch from Mojo Monday, and the Shabby Backgrounds digi papers from Iralamija.

I watercolored Kaylee with my Tombows and paper pieced the balloons. The die cut behind Kaylee is from My Favorite Things and I finished it all off with some twill tape (tea-dyed), pink Timeless Twine (also tea-dyed), a little silk flower that I glittered and a button from my stash.

This card is also for the following challenges:

Some Odd Challenge - paper piecing
Charisma Cardz - glitter
Delightful Challenges - must use digi paper
Papertake - Dies
Cardmadfairy - buttons and a digi
Bee Crafty - cropping and chopping an image (I cut off Kaylee's legs)

I hope you like it and TFL!

3 Chocolate Challenge Part 2

2011-08-25T08:45:00.000-10:00

As you can see from the title, this is the second part of my personal 3 Dove chocolate challenge. (Here's Part 1.)

I made this for the Simply Betty Challenge - make a Halloween treat container:

I already had a bag template that I designed in Make the Cut from this project, so I just made it really tall and skinny to perfectly fit the 3 chocolates. I sized down digi Betty so she would also fit on the little bag and printed her on both sides after it was cut out. The final touches are some die cut grass and Halloween Timeless Twine.

This is also for Dutch Dare - Anything but a card. Hope you like it and TFL!

Marci & Luka Birthday Blog Hop!

2011-08-23T23:00:00.005-10:00

HIP, HIP, HOORAY, Marci and Luka had a BIRTHDAY!
On August 1st Marci and Luka finally turned ONE and we're having a blog hop to celebrate! Even though I'm no longer on the LLLC DT, I (along with other alumni and friends) was invited back to join in the celebration! If you came from Leanne's blog, then you're on the right track. However, if you just came across my blog, you'll want to start at Becca's blog because all this awesome eye candy is not to be missed!

On top of the special guest bloggers, LLLC is offering up a HUGE BLOG CANDY for this exciting event - Take a look at this prize package:

Customize your own photo collage

This Blog Candy contains the following:
~ Set of 12 Copic Markers in NEW 2011 colors
~ Set of Spica Pens
~ Pack of X-Press Blending Cardstock
~ New Scor-pal and pack of Scor-Tape
~ 3 sets of 12x12 Basic Grey Collections paper packs
~ $20 gift certificate to the La-La Land Crafts Store

To be eligible for this FABULOUS blog prize, you must follow 3 easy rules that are explained on the La-La Land Crafts Blog. You have until August 31st to enter and the winner’s name will be drawn on September 3rd.

*****And now on to the show!*****

As soon as I saw Buccaneer Marci, I immediately thought of a birthday project with a pirate-y saying and here it is (you can click for a larger picture):

This is a 5" tall clear pail that I got from my local craft store. I used Make the Cut to design a divider for the pail and even printed the sentiments through MTC! In case you can't quite see it, the bottom says "It's y-arrr birthday!"

I watercolored Marci with just brown Tombow markers then cut her out and popped her up with foam boosters. I inked and crumpled the divider before I stuck her on to look like something old (like a treasure map).

Here's the back of the pail:

The top says "Enjoy your booty!" I filled this section with some chocolate coins and some cash with iridescent filler.

I hope you liked my project and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented Pops.

Big Pressie Tia

2011-08-22T06:20:00.002-10:00

I finally have a stamped card for you! I decided to play in the current Some Odd Girl challenge - use complimentary colors. I chose blue and orange and here's what I came up with:

I printed Big Pressie Tia onto watercolor paper and colored her with my Tombow markers. The celebrate die cut is from Quickutz.

This is also for Charisma Cardz - Negative Space, and A Spoon Full of Sugar - Happy Birthday. Hope you like it and TFL!

3 Chocolate Challenge Part 1

2011-08-20T11:42:00.000-10:00

When I saw the current Tiddly Inks Challenge - make a wee little project, I was immediately inspired. Well... that first try didn't turn out, but I took another stab at it and came up with this little treat box:

I used Send Me a Sign Bugg (one of my faves!) and the Cosmo Cricket Social Club Mini Deck. I designed the little box and the cutting file for the Bugg in Make The Cut and printed the Bugg onto the cut out through MTC. Finally, I also printed the scraps for the paper piecing and added the text to the sign using MTC. The box is just under 1.5" wide, 1.25" tall and 1.25" deep and holds 3 Dove chocolates.

You can see from this back shot that the back of the Bugg is covered (to hide the Copic bleed-through and just make it look a little nicer) and is tucked into the back of the box (which would normally be the front opening):

And here's a shot to show the 3 chocolates inside and the Bugg pulled out:

After I showed my hubby the project, he said I should challenge myself to make as many projects as I could that hold 3 Dove chocolates (a nice little favor size) and I took him up on the challenge! So watch this space for more installments of the "3 Chocolate Challenge." :)

Thank You & Hello

2011-08-18T08:24:00.001-10:00

Hi everybody! I finally have a couple projects today with some stamping on them (but just a very little)!

One of my fave blogs to look at is Iralamija by Beatriz Jennings. Everything she creates is so elegant and gorgeous! The other day I gave in to temptation and bought some of her digi files so I can try to create projects a little more in her style. Here's my first card:

I used her Bella Rose Backgrounds (background and butterfly layers) and Floral Postcards (label layer under butterfly) digital collages, a sketch from Card Positioning Systems and the sentiment stamped on the twill is from the Elegant Greetings set from Your Next Stamp.

The butterfly and label dies are from Spellbinders, the pearls are all from the Mimi Lo Lo Etsy shop, and the twine is from Timeless Twine. I tea dyed it just a bit to make the white strands a little less stark white.

This card is also for the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - My BINGO is Free (glitter), pearls and blooms (I hope flower paper counts!)
The Shabby Tea Room - Polka Dots
Flutter By Wednesdays - punches and/or die cuts with your butterfly, fairy or angel
Fab 'n' Funky - "A Stitch in Time"
Truly Scrumptious - use lace
The Pink Elephant - stitching

And a little tag:

I used the sketch from Waltzingmouse, Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and Fancy Phrases.

The 2 background papers on the tag are from her Shabby Backgrounds and the little bit on the heart chipboard is from Bella Rose Backgrounds.

Again, I used a little Timeless Twine, also tea dyed.

I know they're nowhere near the beautiful creations that Bety makes, but I'm happy with both and I hope you like them too! TFL!

I Heart Twine!

2011-08-17T08:00:00.000-10:00

I have a couple of Timeless Twine projects to share with you today (sorry - no stamping!). For both projects, I designed them using Make the Cut and cut with my Cricut E (only in use until I get my Zing!).

The first is a little tag/card to attach to a thank you gift:

The spool is from the Seamstress Cut It Simple Shapes set from Lettering Delights. I created a little card and also an extra spool to wrap the twine around, then glued the extra spool to the front of the card. The hanging loop is attached to the back panel of the card. I used Pumpkin Orange and White Timeless Twine.

And here's a full size card using Krazy for Kraft Timeless Twine:

Just like the tag, I created a base layer and also cut an extra spool to wrap the Kraft twine around. I also tied a bit of the twine around the twill bow to bring it all together.

I hope you like them and another big thanks to Stacy for this fabulous twine!!

Here's a hug!

2011-08-15T16:00:00.002-10:00

*ETA: I used my Cricut Expression to cut the shaped card first. Next, I printed the image onto plain printer paper and taped the cut image over the printed image, using my light box to line it up properly. Finally, I printed again to get the image onto the cutout. I did not do an actual "Print and Cut" with this as I have a hard time lining things up just right on my E. Hope this helps!

Hi everybody! I have another non-stamped card for you today. Lettering Delights introduced "Cut It Tiles" last week and wants to see projects using them for a chance to win an LD gift certificate. Well, since I *love* LD, I just had to try!

The cat image is from the No Rhyme SVG set (but in this case, the cat is printed, not actually cut out), the font is LD Little Piggy and for the tiles, I used the Matryoska Tiles.

Unfortunately, you can't see the texture of the tiles too well in this picture, but I can tell you that I tiled every layer of the cat except for the yellow shadow and his beige face. I set the tile size really small so it would just add a subtle texture, but not draw too much attention to itself. The whole thing was designed, printed and cut using Make The Cut software (LOVE this program!!).

I punched 2 little holes on either side of the beginning of his tail and tied 2 strands of Krazy for Kraft Timeless Twine into a bow around it. I hope you like my card and TFL!

YNS' 2nd Birthday Blog Hop

2011-08-10T02:00:00.002-10:00

Hey everyone and welcome to YNS' 2nd Birthday Blog Hop - we are so happy you are here celebrating with us and our wonderful guest designers! If you have been hopping along and are arriving from Diana's blog then you are right on track! But if you just happened across my blog and want to join in all the fun and games, then you can go to the start at Peggy's blog.

What is a birthday party without games and some AMAZING prizes? Well we have a fun little puzzle for you to solve along the hop and when you do you will be entered into the draw for one of TWO amazing YNS prizes:

Not everyone has a puzzle piece so you need to pay attention, and click on the puzzle pieces, and follow the directions as you find them along the way (3rd party cookies must be enabled to do the puzzle). When you are done put them all together at the end of the hop for your chance to win! You have until Monday, August 15th, at Midnight EST.

*****And now on to the show!*****

Today I have 2 projects (because it's YNS' 2nd birthday!) to share with you. The first uses the new set Yummy in My Tummy (isn't that such a fun name?):

I used the August Sketch For You To Try and some adorable papers from the My Mind's Eye Life of the Party 6x6 paper pad.

The image was stamped and colored with Copics, then I added an extra popped up spoon, clear dimensional adhesive all over the glass, and custom dyed bugle beads for the chocolate sprinkles (I just put them on a little disposable plate and dripped brown Copic reinker on them). The sentiment is cut from one of the papers in the pad.

My second project is just a bit more complicated. Here's the outside shot:

And here's the inside:

You can see that the candle flames' "halos" are attached to the front and back layers so they pop out when you open the card! I used the Make A Wish set (one of my fave YNS sets!), Eat Cake and Be Merry (inside sentiment), the MME True Blue 6x6 paper pad and Make the Cut. I can't take all the credit though - the idea came from an old book I was looking through called "Making Great Handmade Cards" from Hot Off the Press. The card in the book had hand-cut layers and I knew I could do it more easily with MTC and my Cricut!

The whole card is cut through MTC except for the individual candles. For those, I stamped the flames on white and colored with Copics, then paper pieced the bottoms. Even the sentiment banners were cut through MTC! Finally, I finished the card off with some pumpkin orange and white Timeless Twine.

There are also lots of amazing deals right now in the YNS store to celebrate and you don't need any code! The next stop on the hop is the totally fabulous Carole! Good luck and happy hopping! ~Maureen

YNS Birthday Puzzle Piece

Share the YNS Birthday Badge Contest!

2011-08-06T08:15:00.002-10:00

Can you believe that YNS is turning 2?! We're going to celebrate on August 10th and would like as many of you to join us as possible!

Our talented DT member Jenny made this adorable birthday badge for us to post on our blogs so we're asking you to please grab this badge and post it on your blog plus tell all your friends to do the same!

Please check out Karen's Blog Post for all the details on how you can enter to win this adorable new release stamp:

TFL and I hope to see you all back for our big 2nd Birthday Celebration!

Happy Halloween!?

2011-08-05T12:10:00.001-10:00

Yes, even though it's only the beginning of August, I have a couple of Halloween projects to share with you today! I wanted to play with the Orange Licorice Twist Timeless Twine from Stacy so I came up with a couple of fun pails using clear minis I got from my local craft store. The first one is meant to hold Halloween candy (I don't currently have any so I just stuffed some little bags of fruit snacks in there):

I designed the whole thing in Make the Cut and cut with my Cricut (in use only until I get my KNK Zing - I can't wait!!!).

For the bat, I used Lettering Delights' DB Boo Ya and the sentiment was done with LD Little Piggy.

For the candy pail, the bat is actually cut out of the black layer so you can see what's inside, and then the letters were cut out separately of orange patterned cardstock and glued on the black layer. I then tied 2 strands of twine on each side of the handle into bows:

My second project is meant to hold a battery powered tealight candle:

I used basically the same design as the candy pail, but this time I also cut out the letters from the black layer so the light would show through them. I glued a piece of orange vellum to the back of the black layer so you can't see the actual tealight candle through the bat cutout.

Here's a shot of what it looks like in MTC:

To finish it off, I glued twine all around the metal handle.

BTW, if you haven't already "liked" the Timeless Twine Facebook page, go ahead and do it now - ‎if Timeless Twine reaches 300 Page likes they will be giving away 3 Spools of Classic Timeless Twine colors! For extra entries, be sure to share and refer your friends and have them mention that you sent them.

I hope you like my projects and TFL!

Got Lunch?

2011-07-27T16:00:00.001-10:00

I have completely lost my stamping mojo (hence the lack of posts on my blog lately), but I have felt like making something....

Today my hubby forgot to take his lunch to work with him. It happens so often that he asked me to make a little sign for him to leave on his wallet to remind him to grab his lunch from the fridge before he leaves. I played with a few ideas, then remembered a super cute SVG set from Lettering Delights that I bought a while ago, but haven't actually used yet and came up with this:

The set is called Stuck On You and has a bunch of peanut butter and jelly images/sentiments. One of hubby's fave foods is peanut butter sandwiches, so I knew this image would be perfect for his reminder!

And it was so easy - ALL done in Make The Cut! I'm using the new version 3.3.2 and was able to bring the SVG image right in through the program (LOVING this new feature!!). And since it came in colored, I didn't have to do anything, but add my sentiment using the font LD Little Piggy, a tag border and a tiny circle so I'd know where to punch a perfectly centered hole to add my Krazy for Kraft Timeless Twine (thanks Stacy!!).

Then instead of cutting everything out, I just printed it! I did this because I wanted it flat so I could cover the tag with clear Contact Paper to protect it. I punched the hole and tied 2 strands of twine into a bow at the top. Finally, I added a little piece of sheet magnet on the back so it can stick to the fridge when not in use.

I hope you like the project and the idea of a lunch reminder and don't mind non-stamping projects on my blog, because I have a couple more to share later! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #45

2011-06-21T21:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our theme is "B&W +1" - Use black and white plus one other color (skin and hair tones do not count).

Here's my card:

I picked Snorkel Fun Penguin and then realized his beak and feet should probably be orange, so my +1 color was chosen for me! I used FTL #145 from Clean & Simple Stamping and a computer generated sentiment using my fave font - SNF Goody.

Did you see that Bella Creationz released some fun new colors of Timeless Twine? Stacy sent me the new spools to play with and I *lovey* them all! Today I used Pumpkin Pie, which went perfectly with the oranges that I chose for my card!

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win the fun Celebrate set:

You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

New YNS Stamps Released Today!

2011-06-14T12:55:00.003-10:00

Surprise! This is the first time Your Next Stamp has ever released new stamps without prewarning you with a blog post, new release blinkie or something that says new stamps are on the way!

11 new stamps were released today and they're all super fun! There are 6 new Fhiona Designs including a new mini - Fhiona and her Pony, 3 new Franfou Designs including a new jumbo stamp - Ginger the Giraffe and 2 new fabulous Dale Designs including a Cottage Box Scene! YAY!

Please stop by Karen's blog to see all the fabulous DT projects featuring some of the new stamps, and then run off to the YNS store to shop (there's a 10% sale right now with the code YNSJUNENR).

I got to play with the super fun and cute Runaway Cake. As soon as I saw the image I thought it would be perfect for last minute/late birthday cards so that's what I have for you today:

Because it's meant as a last minute card, I kept it super simple - it's just the card base with a computer generated sentiment printed right on it, and then the image stamped above that and colored really quickly with colored pencils. It doesn't get much easier than that! I hope you like it and all the rest of our new releases! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #44

2011-06-07T21:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time I'm your hostess and since I love shaped cards, that's our challenge - no plain square or rectangle shaped cards!

Here's mine:

I just love the Make a Wish set and have wanted to make a cupcake shaped card ever since I saw this post by Jin (one of my card making idols!!). I've had the Build a Cupcake graphic set for a long time and have been meaning to play with it, but couldn't think what I wanted to do. After I saw Jin's post, I found my inspiration!

I basically followed Jin's instructions and added one little twist: since I wanted to incorporate the Make a Wish stamp set, I traced the candle image into Make The Cut, set it the same size as the stamp, and made a shadow layer off of the traced image. I welded that onto the card base and that's how I got the candle shape to cut out on the top!

To finish off the card, I added the sentiment from the set on a tag, tied with some hand dyed seam binding. All the paper is from the old Basic Grey Two Scoops paper pad.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win this stamp: Rock Star Fhinn

You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, I'll choose my favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #43

2011-05-24T21:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Kerri and she created a really fun sketch for us:

Here's my take on it:

If you saw my May Blog Hop post, you know that I was playing with the idea of only using part of an image on my card. I kept playing with the idea for this card because it worked with the sketch! I used just the pretty flower from the Flower Pot Fairies set. I paper pieced it with 3 different patterns, and layered them all onto a base image cut out of cardstock for a little stability since it's popped up on foam boosters.

You see the little 'bellies on the top left corner? Those are the new Chocolate Glittered Skittles that YNS is carrying! They already have glitter in them for some extra pizazz! I used the smaller 3mm size on my card.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win this adorable stamp, Fairy Fhiona:

You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

YNS May New Releases Blog Hop!

2011-05-23T02:00:00.001-10:00

Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another fun and fabulous Your Next Stamp Blog Hop! YNS just released a whole slew of great new stamps so the DT (and our awesome guest designer!) have whipped up some eye candy using many of the new images.

If you came here by way of Jenny's blog, then you're on the right track! If not, please go back and start at Kerri's blog because you won't want to miss a stop! If you post a comment on every stop on the hop, you can enter your name into the nlinkz at the end to win a new release prize package! Plus, 2 of the stops will have prizes, but I can't tell you which blogs they are so comment on every one to increase your chances of winning one of these secret prizes!

Here's the full list (just in case!):

Kerri Michaud
Beth Ranney-Thomas
Dana Joy
Cindy Haffner {Guest DT}
Crystal Irwin
Diana Genario
Jenny Suchin
YOU ARE HERE ---> Maureen Wong <--- YOU ARE HERE
Peggy Toole
Wendy Ramlakhan
Karen Dedman

One last thing: Karen is having a new release sale - 10% off your entire order! Just use the coupon code YNSMAYNR when checking out.

*****And now on to the show!*****

For my projects today, I decided to play with the concept of not using the whole stamp. Yes, it's a really simple idea, but something I don't always think about when stamping. Sometimes I'll look at a stamp and think it's the wrong size for a sketch (because I'm all about using sketches!), when it could be perfect if I only use a portion of it!

My first example isn't incredibly creative, but I just love it anyway!

I used the You're Always On My Mind set (which includes this sentiment and a couple others) and a sketch from Card Patterns. I paper pieced the ewe using 2 different patterns and added a Prima flower with half pearl over the drawn flower in the image. I cut out just the ewe (leaving off the bird on her head and patch of grass she was sitting on) so that she'd really be the focal point of the card. She's popped up over the sentiment banner with foam boosters and I did a little coloring on the PP with colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits.

This next card was an attempt at thinking a little more creatively about using only part of an image:

I really liked FTL #141, but had to make a card with the new Flower Pot Fairies set. So I got the idea to just use one of the fairies in the circular portion of the sketch! I masked off a bit of the flower with clear tape so it wouldn't get inked, then stamped just the portion with this fairy on white cardstock. She's mostly colored with colored pencils (no OMS this time), except I used Copics on her skin and a faint yellow outline that doesn't show up in the pics. Finally, I Stickled her wings. Here's a close shot so you can see how adorable she is:

I hope you liked my projects and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented Peggy.

Wishing You Wonderful

2011-05-14T21:00:00.001-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Blog and here's what I came up with:

I used the new Wishing You Wonderful set and FTL #140 from Clean & Simple Stamping. I paper pieced the whole tree and added a little heart button tied with thread (inspired by the stamp Natasha used on her FTL sample). I did some simple straight stitching and added the sentiment from the set. The whole tree is popped up on foam boosters so it qualifies for YNS Challenge #42 - Pop It Up!

I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #42

2011-05-10T21:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Jenny and she wants us to "Pop It Up!" - use foam or pop dots to pop up your image. I do this with most of my creations so this was a great challenge for me! Here's what I came up with:

I used FTL #139 and 2 sets: Chocoholic (strawberries) and Double Chocolate Cake (sentiment).

I paper pieced every part of the strawberries on patterned paper, and popped up some extra parts on the top strawberry for dimension. You can see that here:

I also did some shading and highlighting with colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits. As a final touch, I brushed some clear dimensional adhesive over the chocolate to make it just a little shiny.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win this adorable stamp Fetch:

You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog.

But wait - there's more! Since I forgot to post this card on Saturday, you get 2 for the price of 1 today! :)

This month, YNS is sponsoring the Sketch For You To Try!

Jen gave us this fun sketch:

And here's my take on it:

I used the same 2 sets as the card above and paper pieced most of the image as well (except the heart on top which was just cut from the patterned paper). I also popped up the whole cupcake on foam boosters, so it works for our current YNS challenge as well!

We hope you'll play along with us! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #41

2011-04-26T21:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Crystal and our challenge is "So Charming" - use a charm on your creation.

Here's my card:

This card may look a little familiar because I did one very similar using the same rose and sentiment from the Garden Greetings set, and also using Copics on Kraft cardstock. I really loved that look so I decided to try it again using a range of 4 pink and 4 green markers. The charm is one I got a while back from eBay and I tied a tiny silk ribbon bow for the top.

The sketch is from Card Positioning Systems.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win this fun rubber stamp: Skateboard Dude

You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

YNS April New Releases!

2011-04-18T21:00:00.000-10:00

Hi everybody! I have a bunch of Your Next Stamp news to share with you, so I hope you'll settle in and stay with me for the whole post!

First up, we have a bunch of new releases for April! Please head over to the YNS blog to check out all the new release creations and enter the contest (but come back here if you'd like the details of my card)! Enter your name into the Linky there for a chance to win a YNS new release prize pack!

There's also a new release sale going on now - you can get 10% off your order until April 22 at midnight, just use the code YNSAPRIL10.

And speaking of sales... Karen has started something new over at the YNS Store: Weekly Specials! Every Sunday she’ll post a new stamp or stamp set in the weekly special section. This stamp or stamp set will be offered at a special price PLUS she's removed the shipping charges on this stamp or stamp set. The offer will be available all week or while quantities last and all the details are available on the YNS website. The special this week is the Good Morning Fhiona set (formerly known as Bad Hair Day Fhiona).

My final bit of news - you can now get Sampler Packs from YNS! There are sampler packs of paper, buttons, brads as well as a variety pack of gems! This is a great way to get more variety for less money! What a great new addition to the YNS store!!

Whew! Are you still with me? Great! How about I show you my new release card:

I used the pretty new Hummingbird Beauty set, a couple patterned papers from an SEI paper pad and FTL #136 from Clean & Simple Stamping.

I took a clean and simple approach with this delicate set, stamping the sentiment first in black, and then positioning the hummingbird and flower around the sentiment and stamping in Avocado ink. Here's a close shot of the sentiment panel:

I hope you like it and don't forget to swing by the YNS blog so you can drool over all the other fab new release creations! TFL!

Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-16T21:00:00.002-10:00

I switched my day to post on the YNS Blog from Thursday to Sunday (late night on Saturday in Hawaii) so that's why this post is showing up today! A bit of news: YNS is sponsoring the Scrappy Saturday Challenge and the theme is "All things adorable." Please play along - you could win a stamp set from YNS!

Here's my card:

Since it's almost Easter, I decided to use Easter Bunny Fhiona, this time actually leaving her as a bunny. But I did have to have some fun, so I made her dressed as a chocolate bunny!

I stamped Fhiona on a white cardstock circle and colored her face and basket with Copics and colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits. Then I paper pieced the bunny outfit on some (fittingly) Bo Bunny patterned paper and cut the pieces out, gluing them over the stamped image. BTW, the outfit was shaded with colored pencils and OMS also.

Finally I added a sentiment that comes with Fhiona, a couple little heart eggs from the Hoppy Easter Accessories set, and some Bubblegum Pink Timeless Twine

This card is also for the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday - sketch (I left the 5 circles on the top off because they just wouldn't fit on my card!)
Secret Crafter - Stitching
Little Red Wagon - Easter
ABC Challenge - Sugar and Spice
Crafty Creations - Paper Piecing

I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #40

2011-04-12T21:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Chris and she wants to see texture on our projects - "Use at least 1 texture (eg stitching / dry embossing / heat embossing / ribbon / raffia / hemp / felt etc.)." Here's what I came up with:

I used the new A Good Friend set and FTL #135 from Clean & Simple Stamping. I didn't realize these colors would be so hard to photograph - please excuse how weird they look!

I tried to use a bunch of different textures: heat embossing for the bag, dry embossing on the pink background cardstock, Strawberry Cupcake Trendy Twine for the bag handles, tissue paper in the bag, a rose I handmade from Prima flowers and a pearl on the bag center, distressing on the piece edges, and a bunch of machine stitching. Whew! That's a lot of texture!

And because the sentiment has a second part, I had to decorate the inside as well:

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will win this fun set: Football Dude

YNS Surprise Release Blog Hop!

2011-04-08T02:00:00.000-10:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp Surprise Release Blog Hop! If you didn't arrive here from Diana's blog, please CLICK HERE to go to Karen's blog and begin hopping! The hop starts today (Friday, April 8th at 8:00 EDT) and ends on Sunday, April 10th at midnight (EDT).

So what's this surprise hop about? You may remember that last year Karen was approached by Lisa (owner of ScrapFest in Ontario) to design an exclusive stamp for ScrapFest October 2010. Well, Karen was asked to design another exclusive YNS stamp for this weekend's Kitchener ScrapFest so we're having a hop to celebrate! Woohoo!!

Both of the exclusive ScrapFest stamps will be available to buy at the YNS booth at ScrapFest or online from the YNS store for the duration of the hop only! And as an added incentive, Karen is offering both stamps at a special price of only $6 each, AND you also get FREE SHIPPING for your entire order - use code SF2011 when checking out.

As always here at YNS, we have a wonderful prize for you to win! One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the linky list to receive both ScrapFest stamps (Cropper Fhiona and the brand new Shopper Fhiona)! If you purchase one or both of the ScrapFest stamps and happen to win the prize draw, you will be given a $6 or $12 credit to spend at the YNS store as your blog hop prize instead!

It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible to be entered into the prize draw, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of our ScrapFest creations!

Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Karen Dedman
Chris Olsen
Beth Ranney-Thomas
Crystal Irwin
Wendy Ramlakhan
Peggy Toole
Dana Joy
Jenny Suchin
Diana Genario
YOU ARE HERE ---> Maureen Wong <--- YOU ARE HERE
Kerri Michaud
Simonne Clay

*****And now on to the show!*****

Before I get to my ScrapFest projects, I wanted to show you a card I made with a super cute new stamp set that was just released called A Good Friend (you can click to enlarge all pics):

It's a pocket card and here's what the insert looks like when you pull it out:

Isn't that sentiment too funny? And I love all the different shopping bags! BTW - Kerri made the cutest pocket tag with this set and even posted a tutorial which you can find HERE. I also have another project using this set and will be posting it and a tutorial on the YNS blog in the near future - watch for it!

And now for my ScrapFest projects! Here's our brand new exclusive image called Shopper Fhiona:

This is a combo gatefold card with a pull-up gift card holder! You can open up the left side to write your message and then when you pull up the twine bow on the right, it reveals a gift card:

The pull-up idea isn't mine (it's been around for years) and I adapted this tutorial to my gatefold card. One little thing I did differently was to put the GC with twine into the right hand side of the card, insert the twine through the holes, then glue the bottom and side around the GC to make sure the fit wasn't too tight (hope that makes sense). If you glue the GC pocket flat, it will be really hard to slide the GC in and out of the pocket. The twine is Strawberry Cupcake Trendy Twine - love this twine!! I also used it for the bow in her hair and her bag handle. Lastly, the sentiment was computer generated.

And now here's a new project using last year's Cropper Fhiona:

It's a double stair step card (but this is different than the stair step card familiar to most stampers) - it's made with an electronic cutting machine. I was inspired by this post and this post both from Capadia Designs.

I used Make the Cut software to design the card and cut it with my machine. I also cut the "'til you" words with the machine. The panel that Cropper Fhiona is on lifts up to reveal a space to write a message. And I hope you can see that her bag handles are made from the same Strawberry Cupcake twine as the Shopper card.

So now it's time for you to hop on over to Kerri's blog as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go!

Thanks so much for hopping with us today! I hope you enjoy our Surprise Release Hop!

Hugs,
Maureen =)

Make a Wish

2011-03-30T22:00:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Blog and here's what I came up with:

I used the Make A Wish set again (I just love the fun handwritten sentiment and paper piecing the candles!) and a sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping. This also qualifies for our YNS Challenge #39 - use stitching on your creation.

I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #39

2011-03-29T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Beth and she'd like us to "Stitch it up!" - use real or faux stitching somewhere on your creation. I stitch on almost every card I make so I loved this challenge! Here's my card:

I used the Make a Wish set and a sketch from Paper Crafts magazine. I paper pieced the candles and added yellow Stickles to the flames. I did straight and zigzag machine stitching and added some Timeless Twine to help finish it off.

We've changed things up starting with this challenge - you now have the chance to win a stamp set! This time it's the super fun Bad Hair Day Fhiona:

We hope you'll play along with us! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

YNS Surprise Giveaway

2011-03-20T08:44:00.004-10:00

Karen's having a Surprise Giveaway over at the YNS blog! It's only open for 4 days so hurry over for your chance to win!

Flower Bouquet 4u

2011-03-16T22:00:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Blog and here's what I came up with:

I used Flower Bouquet Fhiona and some REALLY old papers from Heidi Grace. Fhi's headband and dress were paper pieced and the rest was colored with Copics (yes, even those really thin and tiny bits in the bouquet - just go really slowly and carefully!) and cut out with a Nesties die. The "4u" were cut with Quickutz dies and I did the lattice scoring on the background with my Martha score board.

This card is for the following challenges:

Secret Crafter - project for a female that has flowers on it
Stampin' For the Weekend - Spring
The Pink Elephant - Spring Time

I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #38

2011-03-15T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Wendy and she has challenged us to "Make It Sparkle" - use anything to add some sparkle to your project. One of my favorite images to sparkle up is Fairy Fhiona and I decided to use the mini version this time:

I got the idea for my project from this week's C.R.A.F.T. Challenge, which is to make a doorhanger. I wanted a fun shape for my hanger, so I used the Heart and Scalloped Heart Nestabilities. Mini Fairy Fhi was colored with Copics and her wings Stickled, then she was cut out and popped up on foam boosters.

The letter diecuts are Quickutz and the twine is from Timeless Twine. The colors (Lemony Yellow and Plum Purple) were just a bit too bright for my papers so I just sponged the twine with some Distress Ink and it toned them down perfectly! I twisted the two colors together to form the hanger and then also used them both to tie a bow through the button. Here's a close shot:

This is also for the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft - anything you'd find up in the air (like a fairy)
Wild Orchid - die cuts and/or punches
Going Grey - anything goes
KB Cute Monday - fantasy

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

YNS March New Release Blog Hop!

2011-03-08T03:00:00.003-10:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp March New Release BLOG HOP!

We have some amazing new YNS stamps to show you today! These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Your Next Stamp store along with all your YNS favorites.

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Crystal's blog, please return to the start of the hop at Simonne’s blog, as you don't want to miss these fab new releases!

The hop starts today (March 8, 2011 at 08:00 EST) and ends on March 11, 2011 at midnight EST.

As always here at Your Next Stamp, we have a wonderful prize for you to win! One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the links in the linky list to receive a surprise package of new release stamps!

You will see that every stop along the hop has a linky list - this is the SAME linky list posted on every blog, so that you can enter the prize draw from any stop along the hop (although we hope you will visit every blog!). The linky will update itself on everyone's blog when a link is entered - how cool is that? Please remember to only enter your name ONCE into the linky list during the hop - you do NOT need to enter your name at every stop and multiple entries will be removed. It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible to be entered into the prize draw, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of our new release creations!

Karen is also running a special 10% off promotion from today until 14 March 2011. Just enter the code YNSMARCH when checking out to apply your 10% discount. There are also some FANTASTIC special offers and promotions running over at the YNS store at the moment, so once you've finished the hop be sure to hop on over and check out the clearance sections: 35% off selected stamps - 50% off selected stamps - 60% off selected bare rubber stamps - 35% off selected embellishments - 35% off selected DP sampler packs. WOW! What a great time to grab a bargain!

Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Simonne Clay
Peggy Toole {Guest Designer}
Crystal Irwin
YOU ARE HERE ---> Maureen Wong <--- YOU ARE HERE
Kerri Michaud
Dana Joy
Wendy Ramlakhan
Jenny Suchin
Beth Ranney-Thomas
Diana Genario
Chris Olsen
Karen Dedman

*****And now on to the show!*****

I only have 1 project to share with you today, but I do have a lot of photos, so get comfy as this might take a little while! I had such a blast playing with Dixie Daisy and a sketch from Sketchy Thursday:

The sentiment in the pic looks a bit fuzzy because the camera was focusing on Daisy, who is floating way above the card as you can see here:

Yes, I did my little acetate spring trick and when you move the card or flick Daisy with your finger, she springs around! (Get it?! hee hee!)

I also did a bunch of paper piecing and paper tole because this image just begged for it (and also because the Moxie Fab blog is having a Paper Piecing challenge right now)!

I stamped on 3 different patterned papers and 3 times on plain white cardstock for a base, a full face and just the eyes, which were covered with clear dimensional glaze for shine. Here you can see all the pieces (except the plain white base) cut out, shaped and shaded with colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits (all pics can be enlarged):

After applying scrap bits of cardstock or foam boosters to all the pieces for dimension and sticking them together, this is what I had:

And finally, here's a shot of the back showing the acetate spring:

It's just a piece of acetate scored and folded into a sort of Z shape. One end was glued and taped to the back of Dixie, and the other end was fed through a slit in the vanilla oval and taped to the back so all the glue/tape mess wouldn't show behind Daisy (as you can see in the second pic above).

So now it's time for you to hop on over to Kerri's blog as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go!

Thanks so much for hopping with us today! I hope you enjoy our new release!

Hugs,
Maureen =)

Mini Ellie with Pressies

2011-03-02T22:00:00.002-10:00

Thursday is my day to post on the YNS Blog and here's what I came up with:

I used Mini Ellie with Pressies and some Echo Park paper to make a little decoration you can hang on a gift. I cut a strip off the 12x12 sheet, punched 1 edge with a Fiskars punch, and accordion folded to make a medallion. Ellie was colored with Copics and cut out with a Nesties circle. I matted it with the next larger Nesties circle and glued them to the front of the tag. Then I also decorated the back:

The sentiment was cut with a Quickutz die. Finally, the hanging ribbon is some hand-dyed seam binding.

This is also for ABC Challenge - P is for Pink. I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #37

2011-03-01T22:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our theme is "Feeling Blue" - use the color blue anywhere on your creation. Here's what I came up with:

I used my old fave Yippee Fhiona and a sketch from Friday Sketchers. I just got some gorgeous new twine from Trendy Twine and had to use it right away. So going with our blue theme, I matched some light and dark blue Bazzill cardstock to the colors in the Blue Berry twine and went with a monochromatic card.

If you look closely, you'll see that the light blue cardstock is embossed with the Cuttlebug Argyle folder to match the design on her shirt. To finish the whole thing off, I used the Martha Loops punch on the dark cardstock, did some straight machine stitching, and added a sentiment from the Mini Greetings set.

This card is also for:

Stampin' for the Weekend - Monochrome
Top Tip Tuesday - fave technique and/or embellishment (my fave technique is fussy cutting images and popping them up on foam boosters)
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes, and optional something old (everything on this card, except the twine, is pretty old!)

Be Happy

2011-02-23T22:00:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Facebook page so I have some YNS fun for you!

This week YNS is sponsoring the Etsy Inspired Challenge and have chosen the Etsy shop Claylicious. I had so much fun looking through all the fabulous clay creations and knew right away that I had to take inspiration from one of the fun plates. I picked this cute Be Happy plate:

You can see that I did a pretty literal take on it:

I used Asha from India and a sketch from Mojo Monday (I took out the 3 round elements on the top right because my patterned paper is so busy). Asha's dress was paper pieced and the rest of her was colored with Copics, then cut out and popped up on foam boosters. I added a Prima flower with a brad over the stamped flower in her hair and a tiny red rhinestone for her bindi. The butterfly is also paper pieced and I added a bit of wire for its antennae.

The ribbon is hand dyed seam binding that I hand pleated and stuck down with double sided tape. Finally, the sentiment was done with Just Rite alpha stamps.

I hope you like it and that you'll come by our FB page to see what other eye candy has been posted by the DT! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #36

2011-02-15T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Simonne and she would like to see paper piecing on our projects. I adore paper piecing so this was a super fun challenge for me! Here's my card:

I used Party Fhiona and FTL#127 from Clean & Simple Stamping. Fhiona was colored with Copics and colored pencils and her dress was pieced. I also did a little coloring/shading on her dress with Copics. I added little heart rhinestones for her earrings and a round AB rhinestone on her tiara.

You can see in this close shot that her hands go over her dress just a little. Instead of cutting out those hand parts from her dress piece, I actually took a craft knife and cut her hands away from the background cardstock and slipped her dress underneath them. It just looks more realistic that way.

To finish it off, I did some straight machine stitching, added a sentiment and some hand dyed seam binding.

This card is also for:

Paperplay - Hearts and flowers, but not Valentine's
Kaboodle Doodles - Hearts and flowers
Cupcake Craft - use at least 1 heart

Bananas About You!

2011-02-10T00:01:00.001-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Facebook page and here's what I came up with:

I used the Monkey Gone Bananas set and a sketch from Truly Scrumptious. I stamped the monkey on kraft cardstock and colored him with colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits. Then I cut him out and stuck foam boosters on the back. The word "bananas" (part of the sentiment in the set) was stamped on patterned paper and cut out. The paper is from the Crazy Love 6x6 paper pad and the little letter stickers are really old Making Memories.

For the finishing touches, I used some pink Timeless Twine, a felt heart cut with a Nestabilities die, and some little half pearls that I airbrushed light pink with a Copic marker.

This card is also for the following challenges:

The Pink Elephant - "Be My Valentine"
Going Grey - "Animal Antics"
Stamp with Fun - Love
Cupcake Craft - incorporate something red
Creative Card Crew - "For a loved one"
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Love
My Time to Craft - "Hearts and Flowers"
One Crazy Stamper - Pink

I hope you like it and that you'll come by our FB page to see what other eye candy has been posted by the DT! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #35

2011-02-01T22:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! I have the honor of being your hostess and I've chosen a challenge called "Pretty Pleats" - add pleating to your project with ribbon, paper, fabric, etc. In case you're a little unsure what pleating is, here's the Wiki article with more information than you'll ever need! Also, I've put together a couple very simple tutorials that are shown below my project.

First of all, here's my card:

I used Ellie Loves Music again, but this time I just used Ellie alone. I colored her with Copics, cut her out and mounted her with foam boosters. The sentiment is from the Garden Greetings set.

I did 2 different types of pleats on my card. For the black piece, I cut a strip of paper and then scored at 3/4", 1", 1 3/4", 2", and so on. After lightly folding, it looks like this (I used plain cardstock to make it easier to see):

To finish it off, I notched the ends, smushed it down and then sewed it down the center to keep it flat. Here's the finished pleat:

For my second pleat, I used white seam binding. I pierced a line of holes in the red background paper and then hand sewed the binding, pleating as I went. I could also have done it with my sewing machine, but because the binding is really slippery, I thought it would be easier to do it by hand.

For my tutorial, I've used white cardstock again to make it easier to see. I cut a strip and scored with the same measurements as above, but instead folded it like this:

And then I stitched down the middle again to flatten it:

Obviously the pleats in the seam binding are skinnier and I sewed across the top instead of the middle, but it's basically the same fold as the paper example above. I hope this clears up what pleating is a little, but if you need just a bit more guidance, HERE is a card I made previously that used the same first pleat that I used on today's card, but it's a little easier to see, and HERE is a card that included an accordion folded medallion (they are so popular right now!)- those accordion folds can be considered pleating!

This card is for the following challenges:

Scrappy Saturday - Sketch
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes (optional - flowers)
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Girlie

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, I will choose my favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

YNS CHA Release Blog Hop!

2011-01-28T03:00:00.003-10:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp CHA Release BLOG HOP!

We are so excited here at YNS because Karen has taken YNS to CHA for the very first time! That's right, as you're reading this Karen will be at Winter 2011 CHA at booth #4518! WOO-HOO!!

So to celebrate this event, YNS is releasing some fab new YNS stamps just in time for CHA. You may have already caught a sneak peek of some of them last week over at the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog, but today you get to see all 9 World Kids stamps plus a fabulous new Celebrate Collection from HR Designs and 7 new mini stamps.

These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Your Next Stamp store along with all your YNS favourites.

Of course we couldn't let this release pass by without having a fun blog hop! We also have 4 fabulous guests joining us for our hop - the amazing Tori Wild, Cindy Haffner, Carole Burrage and Maylee Pham!

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Linda's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the start of the hop at Kerri's blog, as you don't want to miss these fab new releases!

The hop starts today (January 28, 2011 at 08:00 EST) and ends on February 2, 2011 at midnight EST.

As always here at Your Next Stamp, we have a wonderful prize for you to win! One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the links in the linky list to receive their choice of 3 of the new World Kids stamps!

You will see that every stop along the hop has a linky list - this is the SAME linky list posted on every blog, so that you can enter the prize draw from any stop (although we hope you will visit all the blogs on today's hop!). The linky will update itself on everyone's blog when a link is entered - how cool is that? Please remember to only enter your name ONCE into the linky list during the hop - you do NOT need to enter your name at every stop and multiple entries will be removed. It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible to be entered into the prize draw, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of their new release creations!

Karen is also running some special bundle promotions, so be sure to hop on over to the YNS store once you've finished the hop. If you order all 9 World Kids stamps in one bundle, you will save 15% over the cost of buying them individually!

Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Kerri Michaud
Beth Ranney-Thomas
Chris Olsen
Cindy Haffner {Guest DT}
Crystal Irwin
Jenny Suchin
Maylee Pham {Guest DT}
Linda Cummings
YOU ARE HERE ---> Maureen Wong <--- YOU ARE HERE
Tori Wild {Guest DT}
Simonne Clay
Sylvia Blum
Carole Burrage {Guest DT}
Wendy Ramlakhan
Karen Dedman

*****And now on to the show!*****

I was thrilled to work with the Tootega from Alaska because I had an idea for him as soon as I saw the image! Here's what I came up with:

I'm going to be calling him a girl since I colored the outfit pink (not that boys can't wear pink, but it's what I had in mind when I making the card). She's colored with Copics and colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits. I cut her out, leaving off the fishing pole, and added a heart in her hand that was cut from the patterned paper.

The sentiment was computer generated using the LD Little Piggy font, and then cut up to go around the curve of the circle. I hand sewed iridescent tinsel around the whole circle and added a bit of fake "snow" around her feet.

For some texture, I covered a bunch of the trim parts with my own custom blend of flocking. I wanted it to look a little like animal fur, so I mixed a little brown in with a larger quantity of white, and then added in the tiniest bit of black. It's very hard to see, but here's a close up shot anyway:

So now it's time for you to hop on over to Tori's blog as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go!

Thanks so much for hopping with us today! I hope you enjoy our new release!

Hugs,
Maureen =)

Another Yippee Fhiona!

2011-01-27T00:01:00.001-10:00

Did you hear that the Your Next Stamp DT is now posting on Facebook for the weeks between new challenges? My day is Thursday and here's what I came up with:

I used one of my all-time fave YNS images, Yippee Fhiona and a sketch from Mojo Monday. The papers are from the Crazy Love 6x6 paper pad from Bo Bunny (so cute!).

Fhiona was colored with Copics and colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits and the sentiment (from the Garden Greetings set) was stamped directly on the twill. I covered up the flower on her headband with a felt heart and a bit of pink Timeless Twine. Here's a closer shot:

This card is also for the following challenges:

One Crazy Stamper - Love
Pile It On - "Love is in the air" (and combine with at least 1 other challenge)
The Pink Elephant - Red, Brown and Pink
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Valentine creations
Belli Challenge - anything that begins with the letter P (I used a couple REALLY old Heidi Grace pins)

I hope you like it and I hope you'll stop by our Facebook page for more YNS eye candy! TFL!

Some Odd Elements

2011-01-23T15:30:00.000-10:00

I found a little mojo to play along with another Some Odd Girl anniversary challenge - yay! This time I chose the Some Odd Elements challenge where you have to pick at least 3 things from the list to incorporate into your card. I chose Shaped card, Embossing, and Orange and came up with this:

I used the super cute Tiny Tia Bow and a computer generated sentiment using the LD Little Piggy font. After printing, I taped down the Nestabilities die where I wanted it and ran it through my machine. Then I embossed it with the Swiss Dots folder.

Tia was printed at about 3" tall and colored with Copics and colored pencils/odorless mineral spirits. Finally she was attached with foam boosters.

This card is also for the following challenges:

My Time to Craft - Spots and Dots
Stamp Something - Cute Somethings
Scrappy Saturday - Anything goes

I hope you like it and TFL!

SOG Kid's Day!

2011-01-22T18:30:00.000-10:00

Some Odd Girl just celebrated their first anniversary and are having a whole week of fun on their blog! I've been mojo-less lately, so haven't been playing, but I just had to do this one - get your kids involved!

I printed out a couple Odd Girl images and let my 2 boys have a little coloring time! First up, here's Griffin (age 2) coloring Tobie and His Dog (for some reason I can't find it on the site to link it up):

And here's Miller (age 3) coloring Princess Mae (he *loves* princesses!):

Here's Miller showing off his finished Princess (please try and ignore the giant orange ball behind his head!):

I don't have a picture of Griffin showing off his finished picture because he refused to take one!

They wanted to color more so I printed out a couple more images and they kept going. Griffin wanted to color a boy and Tobie and His Dog is the only one I have so here's his second time coloring Tobie:

And here's Miller with his finished Bu'Fly Tia:

It was fun watching the boys color, so thanks for a great challenge Kristy! Happy First Anniversary and here's to many more!!

Your Next Stamp News!

2011-01-21T04:00:00.001-10:00

The end of January is shaping up to be a busy and exciting time for YNS ...

The first piece of extremely exciting news is that Your Next Stamp is going to be at Winter 2011 CHA in LA! WOO-HOO! The event runs from January 29th to February 1st and Karen will be promoting YNS at Booth #4518.

So with CHA in mind, Your Next Stamp will soon be welcoming some new friends to its little family with a fabulous YNS CHA New Release BLOG HOP on January 28th, so be sure to mark your calendars as you really won't want to miss this!

But if you'd like a small sneaky peek of who is joining us, hop on over to the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog right now, and while you're there, why not enter the super fun contest to WIN a $25 gift certificate to spend on stamps at the YNS store!

And that's not all... Your Next Stamp now has a Facebook page!

We would love to invite you all to LIKE our YNS FB page so you can be the first to know about promotions, new releases, sales, competitions ... and there may even be the odd quick giveaway! We'd also love to see all your YNS creations, old and new, so why not upload them to our YNS FB wall.

To celebrate our YNS Facebook launch we have 2 special promotions:

1. We have a special 20% off discount code - hop on over to our FB page to grab it (discount ends Jan 31st).

2. We are holding a prize draw just for those of you who LIKE our page. Come on over and sign up by February 1st to be entered into the draw to WIN a $25 gift certificate to spend on stamps at the YNS store.

I hope to see you there! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #34

2011-01-18T22:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time Linda is hosting and is asking that we create a winter scene. Here's my card:

I used Ellie Building a Snowman and a sketch (turned on its side) from Sketch Saturday. I watercolored Ellie and added white flocking to her ear muff and the top of the snowman's hat. I printed the sentiment using my fave SNF Goody font and the snowflake punch is from Stampin' Up!

Here's a closer, angled shot:

This card is also for the following challenges:

Scrappy Saturday - use ribbon on your project
Wild Orchid - use a sentiment on your project
Top Tip Tuesday - creation must have a sentiment on the front
Pile It On - Anything goes (& combine with at least 1 other challenge)

YNS January New Release Blog Hop!

2011-01-06T22:00:00.006-10:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp January New Release BLOG HOP!

We've got some fabulous new YNS stamps to showcase today! These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Your Next Stamp store along with all your YNS favorites. We also have two wonderful guests joining us for our hop - the amazing Angela Wood and Jen Del Muro.

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Kerri's blog, please start at Wendy's blog, as you don't want to miss any of these fab new releases!

The hop starts today (January 7, 2011 at 03:00 EST) and ends on January 10, 2011 at midnight EST.

As always here at Your Next Stamp, we have a wonderful prize for you to win! One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the links in the linky list to receive the entire Chocolate Lover Collection Pack by Heather Rolin:

You will see that every stop along the hop has a linky list - this is the SAME linky list posted on every blog, so that you can enter the prize draw from any stop (although we hope you will visit all the blogs on today's hop!). The linky will update itself on everyone's blog when a link is entered - how cool is that? Please remember to only enter your name ONCE into the linky list during the hop - you do NOT need to enter your name at every stop and multiple entries will be removed. It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible to be entered into the prize draw, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of their new release creations!

Karen is also running some special promotions, so be sure to hop on over to the YNS store once you've finished the hop. There is a fab clearance section, where you can grab a bargain or two, and Karen has also put together some special-priced bundles!!

If for some reason you get lost along the way, here's the complete hop list:

Wendy Ramlakhan
Beth Ranney-Thomas
Jenny Suchin
Crystal Irwin
Simonne Clay
Angela Wood {Guest DT}
Karen Dedman
Sylvia Blum
Linda Cummings
Jen Del Muro {Guest DT}
Kerri Michaud
YOU ARE HERE ---> Maureen Wong <--- YOU ARE HERE
Chris Olsen

*****And now on to the show!*****

I used the super cute Ellie Loves Music and a sketch (turned on its side) from Wild Orchid Challenge to come up with this:

Ellie was colored with Copics and I did a little shading with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I paper pieced her dress, cut her out and glued her to the same image on vanilla cardstock. The sentiment was computer generated using the SNF Goody font (my fave!), cut into individual words freehand and glued to the base paper.

To finish it off I did a ton of straight machine stitching and added flat back black pearls over all the music notes. Finally I added a ghost heart that was edged with Stickles and a Prima flower and button tied with twine.

This card is also for the following challenges:

Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Goes
Delightful Challenges - Buttons
Stampin' B's - "Use an old favorite and something brand spankin' new on your card." (The old fave is the Prima flower - love 'em! And the new thing is, of course, my brand spankin' new image!)
Cute Card Thursday - use your old stash (just about everything on this card is old except for the image and my computer generated sentiment!)

So now it's time for you to hop on over to Chris' blog as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go!

Thanks so much for hopping with us today! I hope you enjoy our new release!

Hugs,
Maureen =)

Your Next Stamp Challenge #33

2011-01-04T22:00:00.000-10:00

Happy New Year! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our hostess is Kerri and she has a great sketch for us:

Here's what I came up with:

I used the adorable Monkey Gone Bananas set and papers from Echo Park. I stamped the monkey on brown cardstock and added some extra color with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. Then I cut him out, shaped him and added some foam boosters.

The leaves and sentiment were paper pieced and I did a little shading on the leaves with pencils and OMS. Lastly, I finished off the sentiment piece with a button tied with Timeless Twine. The frame and sentiment are also popped up with foam boosters. Here's an angled shot so you can see some of the dimension:

You may have noticed that I'm missing the thin horizontal strip that goes across the middle. Well, I took a little artistic license and left that out because you'd see it behind the monkey in the frame and that just didn't look right!

This card is also for Kaboodle Doodles - Anything Goes.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Christmas Picture Line

2010-12-25T00:01:00.000-10:00

Ok, here's my final holiday Timeless Twine project of 2010! I made a line with decorated clothespins to hold all of the pictures we get during the holiday season (out of respect for our friends' privacy, I only have our picture up):

I simply cut 3 looooong lengths of Berry and Olive Timeless Twine and braided them together, knotting at the ends. Hubby then put in 2 screw-in cup hooks to hold it up.

Here's a closer shot:

For the clothespins, I dipped them in a wash of water and white acrylic paint and let dry. Then I glued strips of patterned paper and sanded down the strips to make them fit exactly. I cut Nesties shapes from Doodlebug Sugar Coated cardstock, and tied buttons on with Olive Green or Holly Berry Red Timeless Twine. Here's a close shot of the clothespins:

Finally, here's a better shot of our card:

Hubby took the picture (I think he did an awesome job - looks totally professional!) and I made the card in Photoshop using the free Snowy Holiday kit from Nancy Kubo that was given out during Little Dreamer Designs' 25 Days of Christmas event - a huge thanks to Nancy and Little Dreamer Designs!

To all of you: thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving all your wonderful comments - they're like little presents every time! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Laulau

2010-12-24T00:01:00.001-10:00

While hubby and I were making laulau for our family Christmas lunch tomorrow, I decided to try something fun:

Instead of using plain old white cotton string, I tied this one off with some Holly Berry Red Timeless Twine! Isn't it cute and festive?!

This one is definitely the envy of all its friends!

If you stop by tomorrow, I'll have another holiday Timeless Twine project to share! TFL!

CAS Merry Mouse Wreath

2010-12-23T00:01:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Paper Craft Planet group and here's what I came up with:

I know a lot of us are really busy so I decided to go with a super Clean & Simple card today. It's a one layer card with almost no embellishing - doesn't get much more CAS than that!

I used the adorable Merry Mouse Wreath (I just love this little mouse!), stamped on Kraft cardstock and colored entirely with colored pencils. I then added some old tiny rhinestones colored with a red Copic marker and a little bit of Stardust glitter pen and that's it!

This is also for the following challenges:

ABC Challenge - Keep It Simple
Belli Challenge - Christmas
Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes Christmas
For Fun - Anything Goes

I hope you like it and that you'll come by the PCP group to see what other eye candy has been posted by the DT! TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #32

2010-12-14T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! I know the timing is a little weird since it's only been 1 week since the last challenge, but we're switching things up just a bit for the end of the year! Since we know what a busy time this is, this will be our final challenge for 2010 and will last 3 weeks.

Our theme was chosen by Karen and is "Let's Party!" We'd like to see party invites, party decorations, food decorations, party bags, New Year's cards, dressy creations - anything that screams "PAR-TAY!" I decided to go with a New Year's card (or it could be a table decoration):

I used Fairy Fhiona and the Let's Party set. I stamped Fhiona, colored her with Copics and cut her out, leaving off the wings. I paper pieced her dress, the hat and noisemaker, did some shading with Copics and lots of glittering with Stickles. I cut apart her hands so she could hold the noisemaker and I stuck the hat on her head with foam tape. If you look closely at the top of the hat, you can see I added some pieces of iridescent tinsel that I curled with my fingernail:

I created the card base in Make the Cut and cut it out with my Cricut. Before gluing down the numbers, I Stickled all the edges. Finally I added Fhiona with foam tape.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #31

2010-12-07T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our challenge was chosen by Jenny and is to create a clean and simple Christmas card. I just realized that I goofed a bit and didn't actually make a true Christmas card, but here it is anyway - sorry for my mistake!

I used the really cute and fun Penguin Cheers stamp and a sketch from Card Positioning Systems.

I stamped the image on white cardstock, colored with Copics and colored pencils with odorless mineral spirits, then cut the image out and popped it up on foam boosters. The swirl and sentiment are from There She Goes. I went over the swirls with a Stardust glitter pen and that's it!

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Christmas Gifties!

2010-12-04T12:55:00.002-10:00

Today's project doesn't have any stamping on it - a real rarity for me! I needed some fast and fun little gifties so I created a tiny square box using Make the Cut (love this program!). I started out making the boxes 2" square, but then shrunk them down just a little so I could actually cut 2 boxes out of a sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock. I ended up using patterned paper though so they fit easily, but I still kept them the smaller size. Here they are:

I cut them out using my Cricut, glued them together and added lots of yummy Timeless Twine and these tags I created in Photoshop (you can enlarge to see the tags better).

You can see that I used all 3 new colors of twine: Holly Berry Red, Olive Green, and the Holly Berry and Olive combo (or you can find a pack of all three HERE). I was really happy when I saw that the twine matches these Basic Grey Christmas papers so well!

I am loving playing with this fabu twine that Stacy sent me (these rolls are HUGE - I think they may just last me forever!), so keep watching this space for more twine creations!

And in case you're wondering, for my tags I used the LD Woodland font for the words, DB Holidays for the gingerbread man, and DB Charlie Calendar for the candy cane and snowman (I also did a couple other designs that aren't shown here - these DoodleBat fonts are loaded with great little designs!).

I'm entering these in the following challenges:

The Pink Elephant - Blue, green and red
Secret Crafter - Christmas
CCEE Stampers - use a snowman on your project

I hope you like them and TFL!

Penguin Buds

2010-12-02T00:01:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post on the YNS Paper Craft Planet group and here's what I came up with:

I used the super cute Penguin Buds stamp and FTL#118 from Clean & Simple Stamping.

The buds were colored with Copics and colored pencils, cut out and popped up on foam boosters. For the sentiment, I diecut the COOL letters out of the same snowflake paper as the background and covered them with glitter. The rest of the letters were stamped with a JustRite alpha set and cut out freehand.

This card is also for Top Tip Tuesday - Anything goes. I hope you like it and that you'll come by the PCP group to see what other eye candy has been posted by the DT! TFL!

Cold Kaylee Tent Card

2010-11-29T22:30:00.000-10:00

I have a non-DT card to share today! I used a super cute image called Cold Kaylee from Some Odd Girl:

(Sorry for the poor lighting - I had to position my light funny so all the glitter and snowflakes would show up!)

I made a tent card for the Some Odd Challenge - Window Cards. I used a Just Rite border stamp to make the snowflakes on the scalloped piece (embossed with holographic powder), and then sewed a white seed bead to the center of each. The centers of all the layers were cut out with a circle Nestie and the snowflake hanging in the center is an old Sizzix die. I stamped the JOY with a Just Rite alpha set and cut them each out individually before gluing them to the snowflake.

Here's an angled shot of the card so you can see the tent part and how the snowflake is suspended in the opening:

And here's a close shot of Kaylee:

This is also for Copic Creations - Shading your paper pieced pieces. I do this a lot so it was a fun challenge for me! You can see that I paper pieced her hat, scarf, jacket and shoes and did some shading on all the pieces with my Copics.

To finish her off, I made a tiny felt rosette for her hat, flocked her jacket cuffs and tops of her boots, and added fringe to her scarf with some of the new Olive Green Timeless Twine. You know I already love using Timeless Twine and the owner, Stacy, sent me spools of her gorgeous new holiday colors to make things to share with you! So be on the lookout for lots more twine!

This card is also for Stampin' for the Weekend - Winter, and One Stop - Christmas Cuties. I hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #30

2010-11-23T22:00:00.000-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time we are challenging you to CASE a DT member! If you're not familiar with the term "CASE", it can stand for a lot of different things, but I like Copy And Stamp Everything! Basically it's to take a project and create one of your own based in some way on that project.

Specifically we'd like for you to 1. Choose a YNS DT member, 2. Visit their blog, 3. Pick one of their creations (past or present) that inspires you, and 4. ...CASE it! You can either copy the chosen creation exactly or put your own spin on it, BUT we do need to be able to see that you have CASE'd a specific creation. Therefore, we are also asking that you post a picture of the original card/creation you CASE'd in your blog post together with your challenge entry (not forgetting to give credit to the original artist), so we can see your individual take on it!

What a fun challenge, huh?! And so perfect for somebody with a blog named My C.A.S.E. Studies, lol! I did a lot of searching before I found this awesome card from Linda that worked perfectly with the stamp set I wanted to use:

And here's my CASE of it:

You can see that I copied Linda's idea of using an ornament for the "O" in "joy" and I even used the same piece of patterned paper (Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses).

The ornament is from the fun Christmas Tree Baubles set - I even picked the one that looked most like Linda's with snowflakes on it! I stamped the ornament in white ink on Scarlet cardstock and cut it out. I Stickled all the snowflakes and added a tiny bow of hand dyed silk ribbon. The J and Y were cut with a Quickutz die.

The frame stamp is from Waltzingmouse Stamps (Very Vintage Labels No. 4) and I used a glue pen and ultra fine glitter to go around one of the lines of the image. I also used the sketch from Waltzingmouse.

Finally I punched both sides of a strip of white cardstock with a Martha border punch and added a bit of hand dyed seam binding.

This card is also for:

Scrappy Saturday - Put a little pink
Papertake Weekly - Cut It Out
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes

YNS November New Release Hop!

2010-11-17T22:00:00.003-10:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp November New Release BLOG HOP! We've got some fabulous new YNS stamps to showcase today! These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Your Next Stamp store along with all your YNS favourites. We also have 2 wonderful guests joining us for our hop - the amazing Jen del Muro, and our November YNS Guest Designer Kerry Urbatch. Welcome girls!

I'm the first stop on the hop so I'd like to invite you to please take some time to join us as you don't want to miss these fab new releases!

The hop starts today (Thursday, November 18, at 03:00 EST) and ends on Saturday, November 20, at midnight EST.

As always, here at Your Next Stamp, we have a wonderful prize for you to win! One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the comments at Karen's blog to receive a new release stamp package. It's not a requirement for you to comment at every stop along the hop to be eligible, but the DT would sure love to hear what you think of their new release creations!

Not only is Karen offering an amazing hop prize, she's also holding a special 20% OFF YOUR ORDER sale which is running for an entire week (from today until November 25 at midnight EST)! Be sure to enter the code YNSNOV when checking out at Your Next Stamp to receive your 20% discount!

*****And now on to the show!*****

For my first project, I have a card:

I used the new stamp Football Dude (it comes with the sentiment!) and Jen's Sketch For You To Try. I wanted to base him on the University of Hawaii home uniforms (black and green) and I was lucky enough to find this green star paper in my stash! When I looked at pics of the uniforms online, they had a lot more black, so I took some creative license and gave him a little more green.

I paper pieced his helmet and jersey with the green star paper and colored the stripes with a black Copic. I added an extra faceguard to the helmet for dimension, and also an extra ball (paper pieced on brown cardstock) and gloves. You can see the dimension better in this pic:

Final touches: I cut a star out of acetate using a Nesties die, edged it with black Stickles, and tied a black button in the center. All the PP edges were distressed and I freehand cut the sentiment pieces and their black cardstock mats.

For my second project, I have a little altered clothespin magnet:

I stamped Mini Snowman (which also comes full sized), colored with Copics, shaded with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits, then cut out with a circle Nestie. I did a spotted background with Copics, and sewed bitty seed beads all around the circle using a strand of iridescent tinsel as thread. For the base, I cut 1 scalloped circle from patterned paper and 2 from white cardstock and glued them all together to make it stronger.

For the clothespin, I used pliers to take it apart and painted the wood with white acrylic paint. I glued strips of patterned paper to both sides and sanded down the edges flush with the wood. I then put the pin back together and glued the snowman to the front and a magnet to the back.

Here's the back (I like it with the PP, but of course you could just leave it painted white):

So now it's time for you to hop on over to our totally awesome guest, Jen del Muro, as she is the next stop on our hop, but I'd love it if you left me a comment before you go!

Also, I'd just like to remind you all about our current YNS Challenge chosen by the wonderful Crystal! It ends on Tuesday, November 23, so you still have plenty of time to join in! The challenge is extra special as we are being co-sponsored by Really Reasonable Ribbon, so why not stop in at the YNS Challenge blog and join in!

Thanks so much for hopping with us today! We hope you enjoy all of our creations!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #29

2010-11-07T21:00:00.001-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! Before I get to the theme, I have a bit of news: we're being co-sponsored by Really Reasonable Ribbon!! They have an awesome selection, so please do check them out! They're also giving away a $10 gift certificate to a random winner, so there's extra incentive to play along with us!

This time our theme was chosen by Crystal and she wants us to "YNS it!" Choose at least two of the following - Yellow, Nesties, and/or Stickles.

I wanted to do a Christmas card so I chose Nesties and Stickles and here's what I came up with:

I used the fun Holiday Stockings set and a sketch from Waltzingmouse. I stamped all the stockings on a piece of patterned paper and also on white cardstock. I cut the accent pieces from the cardstock and glued them over the PP versions and flocked them. The green parts were colored with colored pencils and I Stickled the trees and snowflake.

Since not everyone has a fireplace, I wanted to show some other way to hang stockings in your house. While browsing around the 'net, I found these cute star wall pegs and thought they'd be cute for hanging my little stockings:

I cut the stars out with my star Nesties (the smaller ones were actually cut with the dies and I traced and hand cut the larger size), then inked and Stickled the edges and "hung" the stockings with mini brads for the pegs.

To finish the card, I cut a card base with my Nesties and added a bow of hand-dyed seam binding and a Making Memories rub on.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks and one other will win $10 from Really Reasonable Ribbon!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, Karen will choose one card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Tag - You're It!

2010-11-05T22:29:00.005-10:00

Waltzingmouse Stamps is having a fun contest right now - to make lovely Christmas tags! I fully intended on trying to make at least a few, but time got away from me and I only managed this one:

I used Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and a sentiment stamp from Verve. I ran my glue pen over the thin lines of the label and poured ultra fine glitter all over it. I added a bunch of 'bellies - buttons, hand dyed seam binding, twine, and rhinestones - I had so much fun making this!

This tag is also for Charisma Cardz - "With love at Christmas" and Delightful Challenges - stitching. I hope you like it and TFL!

CAS Lights

2010-11-04T00:01:00.000-10:00

Today is my day to post over at the YNS Paper Craft Planet group, so here's my card for you:

I used Light Up the Holidays and for my sketch, FTL #114. Being a 1-layer card, it's supposed to be really simple, but I did some fussy cutting which took most of the simple right out of it! I couldn't help it - when I saw the sketch it made me think of a string of lights!

I stamped the big lights twice on white cardstock and colored with Copics. I cut them out then covered just the bulb portion with clear dimensional adhesive (you can see the glare off of some of the lights in the picture). I gave them little hanging hooks by taping bits of bent wire to the backs of the lights and then strung them on some Peapod twine. I added a tiny bow of the same twine to the middle light and used foam tape to mount the lights around the sentiment.

BTW - the sentiment comes with a row of bitty lights underneath it and I didn't want them to stamp. Instead of trying to not ink them, I cut them off VERY carefully with a craft knife, making sure to cut straight up and down so I wouldn't undercut either side. After I cut, I test stamped both parts and they work fine! I hope you like it and TFL!

Christmas Leslie

2010-10-31T11:45:00.000-10:00

Happy Halloween - hope you all have/had a fun day! Since it's too late for anymore Halloween projects, I've got a Christmas card for you today:

I used the super cute Christmas Leslie and a sketch from Truly Scrumptious (the optional extra challenge is any or all: petals, pearls and pins - I could only fit petals on mine).

Leslie was colored mostly with Copics, but I did color her glasses with a red colored pencil (so I wouldn't have to worry about a red copic bleeding into her face) and I also did a bit of shading on her outfit with a black colored pencil. I added clear dimensional adhesive all over her glasses and a little white flocking on her hood trim then cut her out and popped her up with foam tape. You can see it better here:

The tree was paper pieced with green patterned paper and I added silver stickles to the star and bitty rhinestones for the ornaments. To finish it off, I added a bow of hand-dyed seam binding topped with a flower that I glittered up and a button with a twine bow. I also glittered the letter stickers. All the PP and the stickers are really old Basic Grey (Fruitcake line).

This is for the following challenges:

Karber Christmas Challenge - Christmas card with a digi
Papertake Weekly - Sparkly and Bright
ABC Challenge - G is for Glitter
Belli Challenge - Flocking or Flower Soft
Delightful Sketches - Circles
Bee Crafty - Christmas (& use a digi)
Scrappy Saturday - Free for all

I hope you like it and TFL!

Trick or Treating with Tiddly Inks and Simply Betty Stamps

2010-10-29T12:38:00.007-10:00

Whew! I barely finished this in time before the hop entries closed! Here's my card for the Simply Betty/Tiddly Inks joint blog hop:

I used the gorgeous Rio Digi image from Simply Betty and have her holding a pumpkin that was a freebie from the Tiddly Inks Paper Craft Planet group. I printed them using my laser printer and colored them with Copics. Although it looks like I just left her hair completely white, if you look very closely, you might be able to see that I actually colored/shaded it with my lightest Warm Grey copics (W00, W0 and W1). I cut them both out and used a craft knife to cut carefully around Rio's hand so I could slip the pumpkin underneath to look like she's actually holding it.

The bingo background paper is from the Lettering Delights Halloween Game Night graphic set and I made the medallion from some Halloween Bo Bunny paper cut into a scalloped strip using my long rectangle nesties. I topped it with a black button threaded with some fluffy black fibers. Lastly, I sewed all the way around the bingo card with a zigzag stitch.

This is also for the following challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges - Halloween
A Spoon Full of Sugar - die cutting/punches
Little Red Wagon - Halloween
PaperPlay - "A haunting we will go"
Pixie Dust Studio - Halloween with orange and black
Daring Cardmakers - "Trick or treating"

Hope you like it and TFL!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #28

2010-10-26T21:00:00.002-10:00

Yay! I have another Your Next Stamp Challenge today! This time our theme was chosen by Chris and is to make a bookmark. I was pretty stumped on this one until one of my favorite quotes of all time popped into my head. I knew I had a stamp to match so I got to work and here's what I came up with:

Hee hee! Don't you just love that quote?! I used the Little Piggy font from Lettering Delights because I wanted something whimsical to go with the quote. After printing, I cut it out with a long rectangle Nestie and also cut the matching scalloped rectangle from 2 different patterned papers (The Pets Stack from DCWV). I sponged the white cardstock with Distress ink then sewed it onto one of the scalloped pieces. Then I colored a bit of grass with my Copics and set it aside to make my doggie.

I stamped Fhiona's Pet Dog (which is also available in the Fhiona's Pets and Fav Treats set), colored with Copics and cut out. Then I just glued him over the grass on the bookmark.

Next I glued the front panel to the other scalloped rectangle. For the top, I made my own reinforcement by first punching PP with a 1/4" hole punch, then punching around it with a 1/2" circle punch. I punched through the bookmark with a 1/4" hole punch, then glued the reinforcements around the holes on the front and back. I put a piece of brown twill through the hole and tied it off with some Cappuccino Baker's Twine.

Here's the back:

This is also for A Spoon Full of Sugar - die cutting/punches.

We hope you'll play along with us! One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win $10 in YNS Stamp Bucks!! You don't have to use YNS images on your card, but if you do you'll get a double entry in the draw!

Also, the challenge hostess will choose her favorite card, and that winner will get the YNS Challenge "Top Pick" blinkie to proudly display on their blog PLUS $5 in YNS Stamp Bucks! You must use a YNS image to be eligible to be chosen for Top Pick.

Full details can be found at the YNS Challenge Blog. TFL!

Surprise Birthday Blog Hop!

2010-10-25T03:00:00.002-10:00

Today we're having a Surprise Birthday Blog Hop for our super sweet Your Next Stamp "boss" Karen! If you've come from Simonne's blog, then you're on the right track, but if you've just happened upon my blog, you'll want to go back to her blog because Simonne has something just fabulous I know you'll want to see!

Here's my card:

I used the cute and fun Hula Hoop Fhiona and the Sketch For You To Try. I colored Fhiona with copics, then did just a bit of shading on her clothes with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits.

I wanted something special for this card, so I made my first accordion folded medallion. I used a piece of patterned paper 1/2" x 12" and folded every quarter inch. I glued glitter to all the tops of the folds, then added a button tied with embroidery floss.

I cut apart the "Have a Hoopy Birthday" sentiment and used my stamp positioner to get the 2 words lined up correctly, then cut them into a little flag and stuck it under the medallion. All the papers are from Echo Park.

Just a quick reminder - Karen's birthday sale is still going on, so don't forget to head over to the store after you're done hopping!

The next stop on the hop is Beth. When you've finished hopping, we'd love for you to stop by Karen's blog to wish her Happy Birthday! Thanks for joining us today!

Karen - Happy Birthday!! You are such a sweet and wonderful person and I'm so glad to know you!! I hope you have a most wonderful day!

Cupcake Leslie

2010-10-24T19:25:00.001-10:00

I have another card using a Karber digital image today:

This is Cupcake Leslie and I used a sketch from Card Patterns.

I colored Leslie with Copics and put dimensional adhesive on her glasses. The paper is Basic Grey Two Scoops, the sentiment is from Tiddly Inks and I hand dyed the seam binding ribbon.

This card is for the following challenges:

Karber Weekly Challenge - use a digi of a baby or kid
Wild Orchid Challenge - pastels
Top Tip - anything goes
Stamp Something - use a digi
Keep It Simple - "Take a Bow"

I hope you like it and TFL!

My C.A.S.E. Studies

All you need is love...

Fun Friday Fhinn

Manga Girl #2

Pixie Pets Birthday Bash

Love You

Sweet Pea

Josie's Cupcake

YNS New Release Hop!

New Release Sneak Peek!

Winter Fun Hop & YNSC #57

Your Next Stamp Challenge #56

Winter Scene Coaster Frame

YNS New Happy Holidays Stamp and Die Set!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #53

Pumpkin Emma

CAS Holiday Lights

Birthday Bunny

Tiny Tia

Vintage Circles Tag

Pressie Mae

Fairy Tink

YNS Challenge #52

More a|s

a|s!!

Thanks to You

Go Forth & Eat Cake!

Surprise! YNS Dies!!

Birgitta Bookmark

YNS Blog Hop & Challenge #51

Just For You!

TSGBDAY5

TSGBDAY2, 3 & 4

TSGBDAY1

Mini Dry Erase Boards

Manga Girl #1

Fall Birgitta

Fancy Phrases

Cupcake Leslie 2

Balloon Kaylee

3 Chocolate Challenge Part 2

Marci & Luka Birthday Blog Hop!

Big Pressie Tia

3 Chocolate Challenge Part 1

Thank You & Hello

I *Heart* Twine!

Here's a hug!

YNS' 2nd Birthday Blog Hop

YNS Birthday Puzzle Piece

Share the YNS Birthday Badge Contest!

Happy Halloween!?

Got Lunch?

Your Next Stamp Challenge #45

New YNS Stamps Released Today!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #44

Your Next Stamp Challenge #43

YNS May New Releases Blog Hop!

Wishing You Wonderful

Your Next Stamp Challenge #42

Your Next Stamp Challenge #41

YNS April New Releases!

Hoppy Easter!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #40

YNS Surprise Release Blog Hop!

Make a Wish

Your Next Stamp Challenge #39

YNS Surprise Giveaway

Flower Bouquet 4u

Your Next Stamp Challenge #38

YNS March New Release Blog Hop!

Mini Ellie with Pressies

Your Next Stamp Challenge #37

Be Happy

Your Next Stamp Challenge #36

Bananas About You!

Your Next Stamp Challenge #35

YNS CHA Release Blog Hop!

Another Yippee Fhiona!

Some Odd Elements

SOG Kid's Day!

I Heart Twine!