Tuesday, August 30, 2011

My Craft Spot Blog Hop Winner

Hello Everyone!  First I want to thank everyone for their lovely comments last week!  They put a smile on my face!  Thank you so much!  Did you all enjoy the My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party!  I know I loved seeing all the creations from the Design Team using these awesome stamps Kimberly released!  If you haven't seen them yet, you must stop by My Craft Spot and check them out!  They are available now for order!! 
We are all announcing our winners from the Blog Hop today, so if you hopped, you'll want to stop by and see all the Designers to see if you won!!  Here are all their links! 
I will not keep you waiting any longer.  My winner of the Happy Fall Stamp Set from the My Craft Spot Blog Hop drawn by Random.org is.....................................................



jessica said...
Awesome job Amber! Those invites are amazing!! What a super fun party that will be :)
And your treat bags are awesome also!! Fab job on both!
I love this stamp set Candy Corn Kisses~~ who doesnt love halloween :)~~Wait I love the Happy Fall Stamp set. Love them all
TFS
jessica
chick-n-scrap.blogspot.com

Congrats Jessica!  Contact me with your address so we can get this fun stamp set sent out to you!  Thank you again to everyone who stopped by!  I really appreciate all your love and support!  Have a great day!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Birthday Sundaes Ch #24 - Inspiration Photo

***Click HERE for the My Craft Spot Blog Hop or Scroll down***

Hello Everyone!  First, I would like to start by saying that I hope those of you who have been impacted by Irene are ok today.  For those of you still in the path, please stay safe. 
We have a photo inspiration challenge for you at Birthday Sundaes this week.


Doesn't that look delicious!!  Here is the Birthday Card this picture inspired me to create!

I've had Cupcake Anya sitting here for awhile and I finally colored her!  She is so cute! 

I filled my card with stripes/polka dots and added a little banner! 

Products Used:
  • Stampin' Up! Cardstock
  • My Mind's Eye Pattern Paper
  • Spellbinders Classic Ovals
  • The Greeting Farm Cupcake Anya
  • Stampin' Write Markers
  • My Craft Spot Inside & Out Set #2 Sentiment
  • Stampin' Up! Dimensionals

Please join us at Birthday Sundaes this week!  The rest of the DT has created some amazing Birthday cards inspired by the photo!  You can draw your inspiration from any part of the photo but your Birthday card must be inspired by the picture and it must include a Birthday Sentiment on the card front!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday, August 26, 2011

My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party Blog Hop

Hello Everyone and welcome to the My Craft Spot Blog Hop!  Kimberly is releasing 4 new stamps sets to her store at My Craft Spot today and they are all so much fun!  I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a talented papercrafter like Kimberly as well as the rest of the creative Design Team!  If you have come from Kimberly's blog then you are heading in the right direction!  If you are stopping by to see me today (thanks), then you will not want to miss out on this!  Head back to My Craft Spot to start at the beginning!  There are so many creative projects along the way, not to mention Kimberly has given each of us on the Design Team a new stamp set to give away...YAY!  There are only 9 stops, so please join us and hop!

We have been sharing our sneak peeks of the four new Stamp Sets all week and now we are ending the week with our best projects!  I have made two fun holiday party projects for you today!  Would you like to see what I have made for your inspiration?

My first project is a Halloween project using Candy Corn Kisses!  

I have been working on sets of these invitations for weeks!  I started back in July when Kimberly first told me there would be new stamps coming out!  

 I didn't know at the time that she would have these perfect party invitation stamps, but I knew there would be something adorable to stamp on them!  You can imagine my excitement when I saw the Candy Corn Kisses stamp set!

Here is a close up of these great stamps!

I made these Criss Cross style invitations and covered them with a homemade pattern paper (Click HERE to see my little tutorial on how to get this effect).  I added matching strands of Crinkle Ribbon to the invitation and adhered these fun googly eyes to the band!

The glitter on the bands is Martha Stewart's Glow in the Dark!   I still have another dozen or so to make, and I think I am more excited to send these out to everyone than I am to have the Halloween party!  These stamps couldn't have been any more perfect! 

My second project is a Thanksgiving project using the Happy Fall Stamp Set! 

I made little Thanksgiving treat boxes.  You know how there is always that period of time before dinner where there are people sitting at the table just waiting for the BIG dinner to be served.  I thought this could be a cute, tasty little snack before hand or it can be saved for afterwards (if there is room)! 

I filled a cello bag with these chocolate & yogurt flavored nuts and raisins then tied it closed with Chocolate Truffle Bakers Twine (that almost sound good enough to eat)!  I stamped the "Gobble Gobble!" stamp on a vanilla card stock and punched it out to make a tag.  I was thinking these could also double as name plates for dinner too by writing every one's names on the back side!

The "Turkey Time!" is another one of the fun stamps from the new Happy Fall set.  The papers are a retired Stampin' Up! DSP and the colors are beautiful.  Notice how the gorgeous Crinkle Ribbon matches perfectly!  I cut the turkey from Animal Kingdom and colored it with Stampin' Write Markers.  

The scalloped squares are from Plantin Schoolbook.  Everything is popped up and layered with either SU dimensionals or Helmar Zapdots.  Since Thanksgiving is still 3 months away, I only filled one bag for now.  I'll be munching on the rest of these until it is time to stuff the boxes and the bird...mmmmm!

Ok, so who wants some blog candy?  Kimberly has given me my favorite stamp set to give away to one lucky winner today,
Happy Fall!

BLOG CANDY RULES
1. You must leave a comment telling me your favorite stamp set of the release party!
2. You do not need to be a follower of mine, but if you like what you have seen this week, I would love if you were!
3. Because I love my friends (aka followers), followers may have an extra entry by adding a second comment letting me know that you are a follower (old and new)!
4. You must stop back on Tuesday Aug 30 to see if you have won!

I've taken enough of your time today.  There are so many more amazing projects to see, so hop on!  Your next stop is my very talented friend

Here is the entire line up in case you get lost along the way!
Amber YOU ARE HERE
Kate NEXT STOP
Ally


I hope you enjoyed my projects this week and thank you for hopping by! 

Stamp Party Sneak Peeks







Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Whimsical Wednesday Ch #20 - Inspiring Words Challenge

**Click HERE for the My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party**

We have another fun challenge today at Whimsical Wednesday!  You must stop by to see the inspiration photo then create a project/card inspired by one of the words in the picture. You must also include that word on your project/card.  The first word that stuck out to me was "Love" and then I immediately thought of babies, so I made a baby card for your inspiration today! 

I'm going to apologize right now for the picture quality.  My camera is on the way to the becoming my kids camera if it keeps this up!  I've been trying to get it to last until Christmas but it is not looking good!  I think I may need to replace it before then!  Here is my Baby Love card

Lately, I have been making all my cards oddly sized.  I have a drawer full of different sized envelopes that I am trying to use.  I'm pretty sure the elephant was from Sugar & Spice cart.  All the papers/cut outs were pulled from my scrap pile!  The sentiment, bakers twine (on the tail) and Crinkle Ribbon are all from My Craft Spot

The Design Team sneak peeks are amazing at Whimsical Wednesday and I can't wait to see what inspired them this week!  Barb from Bug Bites is sponsoring our challenge with her All Year Around Stamp Set.  Thanks Barb!  Please join us for our photo inspiration challenge!  You still have a week to play the Three Times A Charm challenge and you'll have two weeks to play our new challenge!  Thanks for stopping by today!

My Craft Spot Sneak Peek - Happy Fall

Hello Everyone!  Are you enjoying our week long Stamp Release Party at My Craft Spot!  If you haven't had the chance to check it out, make sure you stop by!  The My Craft Spot Design Team has been sharing some amazing inspiration and there are so many ways to win some fun goodies!  I am so excited to be giving you a little Sneak Peek of another one of the new sets, "Happy Fall"!   Fall is my favorite season of the year and I am fortunate to live in an area where the fall foliage is gorgeous!  The weather is perfect in the Fall, the colors are beautiful and it leads into the most magical time of the year!  I was jumping up and down when I first saw this stamp set!  I LOVE it and I know you will too!!  Here is my sneak peek for today!

I made a Fall shaker card!  This card looks even better in person.  I have to admit that I spent more time trying to get a decent picture of this than I spent making the card!  It is so hard to capture without a glare! 


I stamped this cute sentiment behind the shaker container so when you shake it, the leaves fall all around it!  The background paper is the back side of the double sided Bo Bunny paper and the shaker container is the packaging from a Bo Bunny Buttons & Bling pack!
I added not one, but two Crinkle Ribbon Bows to capture the effect of the changing of the leaves! 

I'll keep this short today but again, if you haven't seen the rest of the DT sneak peeks, make sure you stop by My Craft Spot and check them out!  
Friday is our last day for the Stamp Release Party!  We are ending with a fun Blog Hop and each stop on the Hop will be giving away one of the new stamp sets! (That is 9 stamp sets - Woohoo!)  There are so many ways to win this week so make sure you stop by My Craft Spot!  Thanks for stopping by today!!



Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sneak Peek Card Details

Hello Everyone!  Did you enjoy yesterday's "Candy Corn Kisses" Sneak Peeks at My Craft Spot?  If you missed it click HERE to see my Sneak Peeks or go to My Craft Spot to see the other amazing projects from Kimberly, Marlene, Aymee and Amy!  Well, today is a new Sneak Peek of another great stamp set!  Kimberly, Kate, Jenny, Joy and Ally will be showcasing them.  I decided to save my card details until today for the sake of keeping my post under novel size yesterday!  Sometimes I get a little long winded and I know not everyone enjoys reading it! 

"Fright Night" Step Card Details

I absolutely LOVE how this turned out!  What is so great about this style card is how many details you can fit onto it!  I would love to fit all these cuts onto a regular A2 card, but let's face it, you just can't unless everything is itty bitty (and that is not fun to piece together)! 

Here are the dimensions to make a step card.  I'm sure you can find a more thorough tutorial somewhere, but this is my quicky version I drew for you!  Solid lines are CUT lines and dashed lines at SCORE lines.
The first time I saw this, I was confused, but it is so easy once you make a few!  Make sure you use heavy cardstock because if you do not, your card will not hold up with any details adhered to it.  I use Stampin' Up! cardstock for my cards which holds great! 

The haunted house, mummy, fence and gravestones are cut from the Happy Haunting Cricut cartridge.  The tree, ghost and grass are from Paper Dolls Dress Up.  I used my Gypsy to stretch the house and the grass.   The moon is a SU punch and the pumpkin is stamped from a SU stamp and hand cut.  I outlined most of the cuts or sponged them.  Then you layer it on.  I adhered them with either Glue Dots or with Zap Dots to give it a little more dimension.   I love how you can pile so much into this style card and I'm sure I could have fit so much more.  I have already had several requests for this card from my family/friends! 



 "A real Witch in nothing without her Ghoulfriends" Birthday Card Details

My second Sneak Peek project.  I know many of you are saying "I don't send cards for Halloween"! Well, I am one of those people that do.  It started out one year when I was on/off of bed rest and I couldn't take my girls trick-or-treating.  So I made a bunch of cards and added a picture of them dress-up and mailed them off.  Everyone loved seeing them in their costumes and it was a lot easier than trying to get all the kids dressed up then dragging them out and about!  This card is actually a Birthday card though!

I LOVE Halloween as does my best friend.  I thought I would make her this special card for her upcoming birthday.  This was my first time working with a Tiddly Inks image (and I am now hooked...hehe)!  I still need a lot of practice with Digi stamps but I am trying!  I printed Alison the Witch out on white CS and cut her out with the SU Top Note Die.  Then I colored her with my SU Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  I covered her up then stamped the Top Note with the Basic Grey Eerie stamps to match the background paper which is also part of the BG Eerie collection.  After stamping, I cut the border off then I inked the entire piece with Gray ink and removed the cover up.  I layered this piece onto a second white Top Note cutout.

For the sentiment, I stamped it on a piece of white CS and punched it out with a large scallop punch.  I covered up the center with another circle and inked my edges to my desired purple color (to match the ribbon).  Then I removed the circle and lightly sponged the white center.  I added black liquid pearls around the scallops. 

The background is called "mummy" and is from the Basic Grey Eerie collection.  I layered it onto a basic black mat and sewed it with my machine.  I added three Queen & Co black pearls and I tied a Crinkle Ribbon on the base.  Then I used my SU Dimensionals to adhere it to the card base.  The witch piece is also adhered with SU Dimensionals and the sentiment is adhered with Helmar ZapDots. 


I told you that would be a lot of info!  Kimberly is releasing 4 new sets and each one is equally adorable!  If you haven't seen them, be sure to check out the rest of the sneak peeks at My Craft Spot and remember to stop back each day for new ones!  I'll be back tomorrow with a Sneak Peek of another new set!!

My Craft Spot elements with links where to buy:

Monday, August 22, 2011

My Craft Spot Sneak Peek - Candy Corn Kisses

Hello Everyone!  Today starts our week long Stamp Release Party at My Craft Spot!  WooHoo!!  Kimberly is releasing four new stamp sets this week and they are all fabulous!  I am so excited to be giving you one of the first Sneak Peeks today of the new stamp set, "Candy Corn Kisses"!   This set is as cute as it sounds and is packed full with super fun Halloween stamps!  There are so many fun stamps in this set, that I had a hard time picking just one to show you today, so of course, I used a few!  I cannot stop playing with this set!  Here is my first sneak peek!

I have been wanting to make a step card for some time.  Since I LOVE Halloween, I thought this would be the perfect time to make one! 

I love this fun "Fright Night" stamp and I have been finding so many ways to use it! 

...and what would a super cute ghost be without a "BOO!"

Here is a look at the layers and of the Crinkle Ribbon Bow.  I also tied on some of the super cute Halloween Bakers Twine which is now available at My Craft Spot!  I had planned on adding a banner to it, but it would not hang the way I liked!


...and now for my second sneak peek for today!

I needed a birthday card for my best friend!  Her birthday is coming up and she loves everything fun about Halloween! 

I absolutely LOVE this stamp and I thought it would be perfect for her Birthday card!  What do you think?

I also added a gorgeous My Craft Spot Crinkle Ribbon bow to this card to match the inking around the sentiment!  I just found Tiddlyinks so I had to play with some of the adorable Halloween images.  


I'll have more details on both of these projects tomorrow!  If you are loving what you see, then go to My Craft Spot to see all the amazing sneak peeks from Kimberly, Marlene, Aymee and Amy!  We are going to be sharing so many fun projects all week long showcasing the four new stamp sets and ending with a fun Blog Hop on Friday!  There are going to be fun prizes all week, so make sure you check it out!

Stamp Release Party Giveaways:
Each day this week Kimberly will have a fun prize for you from My Craft Spot!  Then, on Friday, each stop on the Hop will be giving away one of the new stamp sets! (That is 9 stamp sets - Woohoo!)  There are so many ways to win so make sure you stop by My Craft Spot to check out our Stamp Release Party!
Thanks for stopping by today! 

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Birthday Sundaes Ch #23 - Color Challenge

Hello Everyone!  It is Sunday and time for another fun Birthday Sundaes challenge!   This month we have so many fun challenges for you!   Since it is Kristie's birthday month, she based all the challenges around her favorite things!  Happy Birthday Kristie!  The DT is having so much fun creating birthday cards for your inspiration with these themes.  This week we have a fun color challenge for you!  The colors are Pink, Green and White only Birthday Card (it is ok to use some other neutrals but only as needed)!  Here is my birthday card! 

When I hear pink I think either Hello Kitty or Fairies.  Fairies got the pick this week!  I used Once Upon a Princess for the cute little party fairy and for the frame.

I added a lot of bling, sparkle and shine to this little cutie.  The wings were glittered using SU Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  I added liquid pearl to the eyes and Stickles to the cheeks/lips.
DT member Samantha does amazing work with liquid pearls!  Her cards are gorgeous so I really wanted to try it out on the border.  I'm going to need a lot more practice!

I hope you'll join us this week at Birthday Sundaes for our Pink, Green and White Birthday Card challenge!  DT Member Sue is offering a set of Large Oval Scallops Nestabilities as our prize this week. Thank you Sue!  Please make sure to check out our guest designer and the rest of the DT Birthday Cards this week!  They really are an amazing and sweet group of ladies!!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Thankful Thursday - Lunch Box Notes

Hello Everyone!  It's busy, busy around here right now!  The kids will be back to school before we know it!  This week we have a great Thankful Thursday challenge for you at Crazy About Cricut!  We are making Lunch Box Notes for either your little loved ones or even for your BIG loved ones!  Who wouldn't love a little homemade message to brighten their day!  Here are the super quick cards I made for my little soon to be Kindergartner!


Nothing too flashy, just something fun to put a smile on her face in the middle of her day!  I hope you'll join us this week for our Thankful Thursday challenge!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Back to School Blog Hop Winner

Did everyone enjoy the Back to School Blog Hop this past weekend?  There were so many great ideas for back to school time!   If you missed it, you can check it out by starting at Jovan's blog!  For those who hopped, don't forget that you have until next Saturday to enter the fun Back to School challenge at Cards by Jovan!  As promised, I have my Back to School Blog Hop winner today.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by!  I absolutely LOVED reading about what Back to School means to everyone in their comments!   It always brings a smile to my face to read your sweet comments!  Ok, I'm sure you are all saying "get to it already"!   The Back to School Blog Hop winner is.................

craftylizard said...

This is so cute!! I want to make them for my sons' teachers! I have 3 A's, all boys. Back to school always meant back to friends and fun. I know my oldest is looking forward to seeing his friends again!

Congrats craftylizard!  Please click HERE to contact me with your mailing info so I can get your cardstock mailed out to you!  Thank you again to everyone who hopped and thank you so much Jovan for inviting me to be a part of the fun!!  Have a great day everyone!

Back to School Blog Hop

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Birthday Sundaes Challenge #22 - Brads

Hello Everyone!  It's time again for another fun Birthday Sundaes challenge!  If you are looking for a great way to build your Birthday Card stash, then please join us!  This week our challenge is to use at least 3 Brads on your Birthday Card!  The DT has come up with a very nice selection of Birthday Cards with Brads to inspire you!  We have a talented Guest Desinger joining us this week too!  Here is what I came up with!

I hand-cut these little pinwheels, added my 3 Brads to the centers and adhered a bakers twine bow to each one to match the brads.

I stamped the "Happy Birthday" stamp around the corner and doodled around the three panels.  Then I popped them up to give the card lots of dimension!

Products Used:
  • Bo Bunny Double Dot
  • Stampin' Up! Cardstock
  • Stampin' Up! Pattern Paper
  • Bo Bunny Brads
  • Helmar Zap Dots
  • My Craft Spot Inside & Out Set #2 Stamp Set
  • My Craft Spot Bakers Twine
I hope you'll dig into that stash this week for our Brads Birthday Card Challenge at Birthday Sundaes!  Remember you must use at least 3 brads and your birthday card must have birthday wording or a birthday sentiment on the card front!  Please join us!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Back to School Blog Hop

Hello Everyone and welcome to the Back to School Blog Hop Hosted by the talented Jovan at Cards by Jovan!  If you arrived here from Girlia's blog then you are heading in the right direction.  She is so creative, isn't she?  If you just stopped by to see me today (thanks) then you'll want to go back to Jovan's blog to start at the begining, you won't want to miss a stop!  There are so many talented blogs in this hop, blog candy to be won and there's also a fun challenge at the end too!  I hope you'll join us!
 I am so excited for Back to School time!  As much as I love the fun summer brings, I also love the structured schedule of the school year (yes, it is part of my OCD, I need my schedules) and I LOVE fall!  This year is very special because my Oldest E is heading to Kindergarten.  As much as I'll miss her, I know she is going to LOVE Kindergarten and I know she'll thrive there!   I am also a preschool teacher, so I can't wait to meet the new students and to see the kiddos who are returning!  Such an exciting time and who doesn't love NEW SCHOOL SUPPLIES!  There is nothing like fresh crayons and un-sharpened pencils....hmmmm!!! 


For my Back to School Project, I decided to make a gift for my girls to give to their Auntie K for her classroom (she is not really their aunt but that is what they call her). 

I had seen these at a local craft show a few years ago and thought they were soooo cute!  I made a few of them last year for Christmas gifts and they were all well received!    They are such a cute addition to any classroom and very easy/inexpensive to make! 

I've seen the crayon wreaths in many sizes and colors but here is how I made mine.  I started out with a 6" and 8" hoop.  I've made them bigger before but I like this size the best!  You get two wreaths out of these hoops! 

I used two boxes of 24ct crayons on this size wreath (minus the neutral colors).  I started out by lying the crayons in a pattern where I wanted them.  Then I hot glued them to the hoops.

After adhering all the crayons, I tied ribbon around to hide the hoops.  At Christmas time I think I used red ribbon.  I really like the green better, but then green is my favorite color too!   

Once the wreath is wrapped I added a hanger ribbon, a large bow and some fun decorations!

I cut a chalkboard, personalized it, added a little bookworm with a Peachy face (I'm sorry, I know I use this little worm way too much, but I can't help it...he's too cute) and a rolled piece of white for the chalk.

A little school bus from Doodlecharms with a "hello" stamp from My Craft Spot.

The glue is from Simply Charmed and the scissors are from Locker Talk.  I hope you like my crayon wreath!  They are very easy to make and can be decorated to fit anyones classroom style!  You could always make it with pencils to be more fitting for a Middle/High School Teacher too!

So, who wants some blog candy?  I have an assortment pack of 8.5 x 11" Stampin' Up! cardstock that I think includes the colors Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Early Expresso, and Daffadil Delight.  I was going to include the bottle of Stickles too, but my little darlings got a hold of it today (that was a fun mess, sorry for the teaser picture).  I'm sure I'll find something else to throw in there by time I pull a winner!


BLOG CANDY RULES
1. You must leave a comment telling me what Back to School means to you.
2. You do not need to be a follower, but I would love if you were!
3. Because I love my friends (aka followers), followers may have an extra entry by adding a second comment letting me know that you are a follower (old and new)!
4. You must stop back on Monday Aug 15 to see if you won!

I have taken enough of your time today.  Thank you Jovan for hosting this fun hop today!  There are so many more wonderful Back to School projects to see, so have fun and thanks for hopping by today!  Your next stop is my talented friend


Here is the entire line up in case you get lost along the way!
Jovan  
Cindy   

Amy  

Girlia   

Amber   You are here

Jayne   NEXT STOP

Adrain   

Sherrie K   

Amanda   

Melissa  

Theresa   

Amber  

Carri  
Jovan   to participate in the Back to School challenge!!

Back to School Blog Hop

Products Used:
  • 2 pks of Crayola Crayons 24ct box
  • 6" cross stitch hoop
  • 8" cross stitch hoop
  • Ribbon from Michael's
  • Stampin' Up! Cardstock
  • Create A Critter Cricut Cartridge
  • Doodlecharms Cricut Cartridge
  • Locker Talk Cricut Cartridge
  • Simply Charmed Cricut Cartridge
  • My Craft Spot Sweet Sentiments Set #1
  • Peachy Keen Critter Faces
  • Crystal Effects
  • Stampin' Write Markers
Challenges:

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!