Wednesday, August 31, 2011

My Time Made Easy Group Preview

August 31st!  Insert sad face here!  :-(  Summer is over and it's time to get back to work and to a normal schedule.  On the flip side, we are getting into a season I love and there are a bunch of reasons to make cards during this time of year.

Today the My Time Made Easy design team is doing a group preview of some of the new products being released this month.  We are releasing some Halloween and other cute images.  I'm previewing the four new single Halloween images.  All of the images I'm previewing today are digital and I've colored them in GIMP.  All the cards follow the same Sweet Sunday Sketch #126 and use Marigold Morning for the base, Old Olive for the strip that's punched with a Martha Stewart spider web border punch, and new digital paper from MTME called Color Infusion.  All the sentiments are from the previously released A Spooky Surprise stamp set.

This first image is called Purr-fect Pumpkin.  The spiders were added to the image, which is also from A Spooky Surprise stamp set.


This little darling is called Witch Way.

Next up is Frankin' Fun.  So fun!

Lastly we have The Count.

Here's a recap of Frankin' Fun and Witch Way.

And here is The Count and Purr-fect Pumpkin.

To see more previews, stop by the design team blogs.


Thanks for stopping by today!  Tomorrw is release day at My Time Made Easy and we will be revealing new templates that you won't want to miss!  Also, don't forget to visit the MTME Gallery for tons of inspiration!

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Monday, August 29, 2011

Worm Wishes Just For You

Hi everyone!  If you didn't read my post yesterday, I mentioned that I went to the Stamp Scrap Art Show here in Buffalo with my friend Cheryl and kind of broke the bank!  Well, I thought I should ink something up that I purchased.  I saw that Cheryl had one of her purchases inked up and posted on her blog yesterday and I thought I better do the same!  So here is one of  my purchases.
This image is from Art Gone Wild called Pocket Full.  Cheryl and I just giggled when we saw those worms dangling out of that pocket!  So I purchased it!  I colored it up with copic markers to coordinate with the Oliver dp from Basic Grey.   The burlap ribbon was tied off with a heart button (something in the box of fun stuff I won from Diane Zechman).  I also purchased the sentiment that went with this image, but it didn't fit on the front of the card once I had it assembled.  So, it went on the inside.
"Worm wishes just for you"!  Cute card for a little boy or maybe my hubby!  I hope I remember because his birthday isn't until November!  This image was perfect for the Paper Players sketch for this week.
Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope to have more creations from all the stuff I purchased this weekend!

Recipe
Stamps:  Pocket Full and sentiment (Art Gone Wild)
Paper:  PTI white, Olive dp (Basic Grey)
Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, peeled paint distress ink, copic markers
Accessories:  Nesties, burlap ribbon, heart button, twine, dimensionals

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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Pretty Palette #24

Well I've finally finished my Pretty Palette card for this week.  It's a little late, but better late than never, right?  I've been busy working on the new release from My Time Made Easy which you will start seeing on Wednesday.  Release day is Thursday, September 1st!  (OMGosh it's almost September!)  Since I'm not ready to give up summer and head back to my classroom, I decided to choose these fun, bright, summery colors!

 
Since I was running late, I had to ditch my original plans for my card and go with a simpler design.  The image is actually from the Blooming with Elegance digital paper.  This image is the only image on the sheet.  I just changed the colors to match the challenge colors.  The damask is from the Dainty Damask digital paper and the sentiment from All a Flutter stamp set.  The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch and I used another punch on the melon strip for some interest.  I added silver beads to the butterflies and flower centers as well.  The sketch is from Clean & Simple's Fall to Layouts.  I just love these simpler designs!  (And I just noticed that I didn't follow the sketch very well, did I?)

One of the reasons I was so late with this card was because I spent all day Saturday with my friend Cheryl Rowley at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour (a rubber stamping show).  We go every year and I always swear that I'm not going to buy much...but guess what happened?  You got it...I spent more than I've ever spent!  Our LSS, Buffalo Stamps and Stuff, was one of the booths there and my credit card was smokin' at that booth!  Sharon, the owner, has such a great feel for what's new and exciting in the stamping world and her store is always chock full of great inspiration and products!  We were at the show from 10-5...the entire length of the show!  Needless to say, I was exhausted, but managed to drivet myself to our cabin for the overnight!  That country air put me out cold!

So back to the Pretty Palette challenge.  The girls have some great inspiration for you and we have our three new design team members joining us for the first time this week.  Stop by the My Time Made Easy blog to see!  Here are links to their blogs, too.

Our newest members:
and

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Recipe
Stamps:  All a Flutter (MTME)
Paper:  Neenah white, Dainty Damask and Blooming with Elegance (MTME), melon mambo
Ink:  Versafine onyx black
Accessories:  Martha Stewart butterfly punch, EK success border punch, corner rounder, silver pearls

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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Just Us Girls #99 - Back to School 3-D Challenge

Happy Saturday! I'm so excited to be going to a stamp show here in Buffalo with my friend Cheryl Rowley today! We always buy too much and just have a fun day! I'll let you know what the damage is tomorrow! But for today, I have this week's Just Us Girls challenge which I am hosting. I'm getting in that back to school mode like most people at this time of the year. So that is what the challenge is...to make a 3-D item with a back to school theme. Here's my project this week.
I just kept it simple by making bookmarks.  I'm always looking for a bookmark in my classroom, which usually ends up being a piece of scrap paper or something!  So why not a pretty bookmark?   This is a cut file from My Time Made Easy called On the Mark.  The images are from the Back to School digital stamp set.  They were already colored in GIMP from another project I used them on. 
And here they are peeking out from a book.  Too cute!  The JUGs girls have some really great back to school projects to share with you.  You can see them on the JUGs blog or on their personal blogs.


Thanks for stopping by! 

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Friday, August 26, 2011

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Monochromatic Challenge

Hi all! This week's challenge at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long is to make a monochromatic holiday creation. Well, I have a difficult time with this type of technique, but that's what a challenge is for, right? So I looked through my Christmas stamps, found one I don't think I've ever used, and trudged on! Here's what I came up with.

I've had this stamp from Hero Arts called Mona Lisa collage for I long time. I purchased it at JoAnn's for a reason...can you guess why? Mona "Lisa"...my brother used to call me Mona all the time. I even have a picture of her in my living room that I found in an antique store for $20...I love that picture!

So I digress....I stamped this image in Versafine black ink because of all the fine details on it. Versafine is wonderful for stamping these types of images. It's stamped on Vintage Cream cardstock, then I swirled some antique linen, tea dye, and wild honey distress inkson it to make it look more worn and antique. The Vintage Cream mat behind it was run through a Sizzix folder (Tim Holtz?) and I used the same three inks to distress it. The dp behind it is from Basic Grey's Jovial paper pack and then it's layered onto a Vintage Cream base. I added the Riding Hood Red ribbon on the top of the tag, red stickles to the holly berries on the tag, and finally a pretty fabric poinsettia from Prima with a red glitter dot in the center. Of course, this card really looks much better in person...I just can't seem to get a good picture lately (or maybe it's just me that's not satisfied with my photography!).

I'm doing so good on my Christmas cards by doing these challenges! How are you doing? You still have lots of time to get started! And if you play along with us this week you have a chance to be a guest designer on the CSAYL blog in September. You can get all the details for this week's challenge on the CSAYL blog and see all the monochromatic cards the girls have created! We'd love to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Recipe
Stamps: Mona Lisa collage (Hero Arts)
Paper: Vintage cream, Jovial dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, antique linen, tea dye, and wild honey distress inks
Accessories: Sizzix embossing folder, ribbon, red stickles, Prima flowers, glitter dot, dimensionals


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Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Perky Plant

Hello friends!  I can't believe it's Thursday already!  I only have one week left of my summer vacation before I go back to work!  My new classroom is all set for my new kiddos and I'm a little unsettled about this whole move of our 5th graders to the Middle School.  But I have to make the best of it!  On to my card.

Yesterday was my aunt's birthday and of course a card did not get in the mail!  I have been making mostly birthday cards, so it's not like I didn't have one ready to mail....I just didn't get one mailed.  I did call her and wish her a happy birthday so she knew I was thinking of her.  So as I sat down last night to make something, I thought I'd make her a new card...something just for her.  I started by straightening out my "new" stamps that had not been put away and I forgot about this quirky little set from Paper Smooches that just makes me smile.
This set is called Perky Plants (such a great name for this set!) and the sentiment is from Sentiment Sampler, also from Paper Smooches.  I wanted to use some vibrant colors, so I went with Lauderdale paper pack from Basic Grey and Lucky Limeade and Melon Mambo cardstocks from SU.  I colored the image with copics and added some Star Dust Stickles to mimic water sprinkling out of the watering can.  I made the main image a tag and used some PTI ribbon to tie it off.  I added the two melon glitter dots to finish off the card, which follows the Sweet Sunday Sketch for this week.  I cannot believe I finally got a card done in time for this challenge!  I'm usually late using them!
Hope you enjoyed this cute little card!  I just adore it and I hope it makes my aunt smile when she gets it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe
Stamps:  Perky Plants and Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  PTI white, lucky limeade, melon mambo, Lauderdale dp (Basic Grey)
Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, Versafine onyx black, copic markers
Accessories:  Nesties, swiss dot embossing folder, glitter dots, star dust stickles, PTI ribbon, SU border punch, dimensionals
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Monday, August 22, 2011

Whoo's Having a Birthday?

My nephews Ethan and Kristoff had their birthday party yesterday.  Kristoff was 4 last month and Ethan will be 7 later this month.  My niece always has their party together because their birthdays are so close.  And she always asks me to make their invitations.  I, of course, always oblige!  Here's what I came up with this year.
I used Critters with Heart digital stamp set from My Time Made Easy.  I colored them in GIMP to match the dp from Cosmo Cricket called Boardwalk.  If you look close, you can see I added their ages on the wings of the owls....love that!  The top of the real red cardstock was punched with the birthday candle punch.  Love the sentiment too...perfect for a birthday invitation, don't you think? 

Now for their birthday cards.  I just used the same owls, but took off the numbers on their wings because I wanted bigger numbers on the front.  I used PTI By the Numbers dies for the numbers.

This one is Kristoff's. I used Real Red and Marina Mist cardstock here with the same dp used on the invitation. I just inked up the word "Whoo's" and stamped it next to the image. I used a circles embossing folder and the birthday candles punch again.

This is Ethan's card. Same theme, except different colors. Here I used Lucky Limeade and Tangerine Tango cardstocks. I think these are just too cute!
I couldn't let the inside just be plain!  I used PTI's Alpha Blocks for the first initial, then Fresh Alphabet for the rest of the letters in his name.   The owl was stamped in that spot because of a smudge!  Hate when that happens!  The sentiment and owl are from PTI's Wise Owl, and this was all stamped in Tangerine Tango.  (The green base looks different, but it's really the same Lucky Limeade).
The inside of Kristoff's was done the same way.  I used Real Red ink.
That's it!  Everyone loved the invitations and I think the boys liked their cards!  However, I think they loved what was in the gift bag more!  LOL!! 

Thanks for sticking with me on this long post!  I'd love to hear what you think about these!  Thanks for stopping by!

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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pretty Palette #23

Hello my crafty friends!  I'm here today with another Pretty Palette color challenge
I was a little stumped at first (and I chose these colors), but then the juices started flowing! 
I found this sketch from the Sweet Shop Sketch challenge and flipped it on its side to accommodate the images I wanted to use.  The cup and flowers are from My Time Made Easy's Fancy a Cuppa and the sentiment is from Fancy a Cuppa Add On Images stamp sets.  I used two retired papers from SU:  Cerise and Bali Breeze.  The ribbon is Riding Hood Red taffeta and the button was white, but I colored it with the turquoise marker so it matched.  It's strung with some crochet thread, which is the spin on the sketch challenge...add fibers to your card.  There are also Star Dust Stickles on the flower centers.   Oh, and the kraft mat was run through the Swirls embossing folder. 

Stop by the Pretty Palette blog to see what the girls have done.  I also announced two new designers to the team...Velta Wesson and Karel Hamilton.  They'll be playing along with us next week!  Welcome to the team!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!
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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Just Us Girls #98 - Color Challenge

Hi all!  This week's challenge over at Just Us Girls is a color challenge.  The lovely Elise has given us these beautiful colors to work with.
I used this image from SU's Forever Young stamp set as my focal point.  It's stamped in chocolate chip ink then fussy cut and popped up with dimensionals.  The sentiment is from My Time Made Easy's Sign It stamp set.  The paper is Origins from Basic Grey and the sketch is this month's Sketch for You to Try.  Love these colors together!

The girls have knocked it out of the ball park once again.  You can see them on the JUGs blog and you can visit them on their personal blogs.


Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great Saturday!

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Big News...A New Challenge and DT Call!

Hi everyone!!  Paper Makeup Stamps is starting a new challenge called the Digi Makeover Challenge and is having a DT call.  There are two free digital images on the blog for you to use to create something to enter.  Check out the PMS blog post here for all the details.  This sounds like a fabulous new challenge and perfect for all you digital image lovers!   Can't wait to see your entries!  Have fun!

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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Party Time Tuesdays Challenge

Hey stamping friends!  I'm here today playing in a new (to me) challenge called Party Time Tuesdays.  They are being sponsored by Paper Makeup Stamps this week, so I thought I'd play along with a PMS card!  This week is a sketch challenge.  Here's the sketch.
I really liked this sketch when I first saw it!  I loved the "banners" behind the main image.  
I don't know if I did the sketch justice with this card, but I do love the image!  This cute little guy is Wally and he's just hangin' around on his swing looking so pathetic! (The sentiment comes with the image.)   My bow and ribbon are covering up some of him...hate that that happened!  He's colored with copics to match the Marakesh paper from Basic Grey. 

Stop by the Party Time Tuesdays challenge blog to see what their DT has done with this sketch.  The PMS prize is a $15 shopping spree to their store! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I'm off to our county fair with my mom and aunt!  I love the fair!  Can't wait to eat all that good fair food!  Yumm-o!!

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pretty Palette #22

Happy Sunday!  It's time for another Pretty Palette challenge!  This is a soft color palette this week.

This color palette was taken from My Time Made Easy's Bringing Home Baby Boy digital paper pack.  Here's what I came up with.
I used the Bringing Home Baby Boy digital paper in the saffron color and the paisley print, which has all the challenge colors in it.  I layered it on a piece of bashful blue cardstock and added the light blue ribbon.  The right side of the white base was run through a paisley embossing folder.  I used my Cricut to cut out the flower from the My Bee Loved cut file, then I stamped the flower on the cut file and colored it with copics.  The sentiment is from Tending the Garden stamp set.  I used the Fall to Layout #153.


The girls have done a fabulous job once again!


We are saying goodbye to Laurel Seabrook this week.  I'm so sad to see her go, but wish her well!

Don't forget that Pretty Palette is having a design team call!  You can see all the details in this post.  You have until Friday, August 19th to apply!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to stop by the Pretty Palette blog and play along!


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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Just Us Girls #97 - Technique Challenge: Alter a Notebook

Happy Saturday!  We have a birthday to celebrate this week at Just Us GirlsPam is having a birthday on Tuesday and we'd like to wish her a very happy birthday!  Please stop by her blog and leave a birthday wish for her!
The Just Us Girls technique challenge this week is brought to us by our wonderful Maria.  She is challenging us to alter a notebook.  I love altering notebooks and have done many.  I usually alter the composition notebooks (both the large and small sizes), but I had these Moleskine blank pocket journals I purchased at Borders a while ago to alter.  I tried a Tim Holtz style of design on this...not sure I like the outcome!  What do you think?
I started with these stamps from Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 line called Botanical Art.  The flower, butterfly, and sentiment are from this set.  It looked a little bare, so I added the dragon fly from PTI's Happy Trails and the splatters from PTI's Grunge Me.  The closure is a brad and an elastic band I got at my LSS.  I love this type of closure.  I don't know if you can see it, but I stamped SU's retired cheesecloth stamp over the entire cover in Versamark for some texture. 

I don't know if I overdid it or not...did you ever hear Coco Chanel's advice that you should always take off the last thing you put on so you don't over accessorize?  That's what I was thinking as I was adding more images!  LOL!!

The JUGs girls definitely didn't over accessorize!  Stop by the JUGs blog and their personal blogs to leave them some love!


Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!

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