With Sympathy...

My dear neighbor recently lost one of her beautiful, furry friends.  A gorgeous fawn Great Dane by the name of Zsa Zsa.  She was a sweet and gentle soul of 8 years and we're all so sad at her passing.  The loss of a pet can be so devastating and I wanted to let her know how sorry we were.  I had the perfect MFT (older) stamp to create a sympathy card for her. 

I used the sketch from a couple of weeks ago to inspire me. 

I dusted off my Copics (yes - they have been sitting dormant for about a year) and dove in!  It took me about 8 days from start to finish to complete this card.  Having a six month old (plus 2 older kiddies) leaves very little time for crafty fun but I just kept chipping away at it slowly.  I stamped the image with Momento Tuxedo Ink and colored it in.  I kept everything VERY simple and easy.  I did, however, also dust my sewing machine off and put that back into action for the heart and perimeter of the main panel.  I used my deliciously fun Prismacolor pencils to create the grass and some fun paper strips for the little flags. 

I used my favorite and always reliable Signo Uniball white gel pen for the faux stitching on the outside of my panels.  The scallop was created using MFT's Wonky Scallop Die-namics and the heart is from the Hearts-a-Plenty Die-namics. 

My almost 9 year old daughter also created a BEAUTIFUL card to share:

So sweet and I loved her 3-D flower stickers!! 

I hope you all have a wonderfully crafty day!!  Until next time my friends!!!

Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

My Favorite Things - May Guest Designer Challenge

Greetings friends!!  I'm posting today to bring you my entry into this month's MFT Guest Designer Challenge!  The theme?  Be A Teacher's Pet!  So fun!!  It's hard to believe that it's almost THAT time of year again but indeed we are almost at the end of the school year and that means thoughtful gifts for those most important and fabulous teachers in our children's lives.  I've made a very special chalkboard frame for a teacher in our lives that is extremely special.  Our children were very lucky to be able to attend the most amazing pre-school ever.  It's warm, nurturing, loving, and extremely special.  It's hard to even put it into words but my son only has a few days left and at the end of his three years there he has grown into a wonderfully confident, loving, artistic, bright and kind boy.  Large in part due to the amazing lessons that he has learned from his teachers at FCF Preschool.  And I don't mean pen to paper lessons...I mean life lessons.  Sharing, caring, nurturing, friendship, love and support.  It's just the best school...ever.  So...with all of that said, I have made this chalkboard frame for his amazing teacher, Lois.

I started with a raw, 12x12", MDF frame purchased at Michaels.  I sanded the frame down and painted it with black acrylic paint.  I then painted four coats of chalkboard paint.  It's a bit laborious as you paint in one direction and then let it set for 24 hours.  Then you paint in the opposite direction the next time you paint, and so on and so forth.  The painting itself took four days to complete.  I then sanded it very lightly to get the surface chalk ready and then I started doodling on it with chalk to condition it further.

 The thought behind the chalkboard paint as opposed to regular paint is that each year, Lois can swap out the class photo for that current year's picture and doodle in chalk (her handwriting, as opposed to mine, is BEAUTIFUL!!) the year and any other information she feels like writing.  And, I've created a small, soft chalk holder that you see in the upper left hand side of the frame.

(I told you my handwriting is terrible!)  The chalk holder is made from yellow felt that I cut with MFT's Layered Heart Die-namics.  I used the larger of the two hearts, cut it out and zig zag stitched the edges together.  I tied a bow using my recent favorite May Arts chevron striped ribbon and snuggled the end of the heart holder into the tied bow.  It holds two pieces of chalk nicely so that it's always on hand when needed.  I also added one box of white and one box of colored chalk.  Both boxes are decorated to coordinate with this fun gift pack.

I used both ALM set "You Rule" and PI set "You Make The Grade" to embellish the boxes of chalk.  I used my fabulous Oval STAX Set 1 and Set 2 to create the focal point in order to house the sentiments.  I have to say that I really love the colors and design of the Crayola boxes so for the white chalk box, I left a tiny bit of the box peeking out on the bottom while on the box of color chalk, I used the Solid Bracket Border Die-namics to embellish.  Just keeping things interesting and fun! I added a few rhinestones to bling up the front in order to coordinate with the bling on the card.  I used awesome Jody Boosters to attach the sentiment panels to the front of the chalk boxes. 

I had SUCH a great time creating the decorative grouping that you see on the lower left hand side of the 12"x12" frame.  All of the pieces were done by hand.  I only have a small die in order to make rosettes from so for this, knowing I wanted a large version, I cut and scored everything by hand.  I started with my red cardstock, cutting it at 2" wide by 24" long (made by adhereing two 12" pieces together).  I scored at every inch, folded, adhered the two 12" strips together, and hot glued into a jumbo rosette.

I did the same with the notebook paper which is from Recollections (Michaels) but trimmed the paper to 1.5' wide so it would fit within the borders of the large red rosette leaving room for me to add more details in between the two.  I added loops of the red chevron ribbon along with natural twill, twisting each one and hot gluing it into place.  I had a huge chipboard star that was begging to be used!  I covered it with the same alphabet paper used on my card, ink distressed the edges and layered it on top of the ribbon.  After sponging the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, I then added the notebook rosette on top of the star.  My next layers include a chipboard circle which I coated in Brilliance Aqua ink and then coated with UTEE (hard to see the shine in the pic) and the Swiss Dot yellow paper, also from Bazzill.

Layered on top of the entire grouping, I used the adorable ALM Talk Nerdy To Me sweetie.  I inked her with Momento ink onto Xpress cardstock and I colored her with my Copics.  I used silver Sakura pen to coat the metal top of the pencil as well as the graphite.  I coated the pencil wood with Versamark pen then in clear embossing powder and heat set.  It has a super fabulous shine!  I trimmed her out intentionally leaving a 1/8" border of white as I really, really love this look with certain images.  I adhered her down and then as a final touch added the smallest Hearts A Plenty Die-namics cut in red felt to the top. 

 I must say, I LOVE the wonderful dimension this jumbo element adds to this creation.

I wanted to do something impactful but didn't want to cover the entire frame so instead of covering the frame in design elements, I decided go to with a more three dimensional effect.  To the right of the huge rosette, I have added a large chipboard bracket that I coated with white craft ink and heat set with white embossing powder to sort of anchor the grouping and divide the space between the embellishments and the doodling area.  I also added two Royal Roses cut from yellow and aqua felt. 

I used my newest addiction, ahem, I mean my new favorite Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics to add the PERFECT sentiment for a picture frame gift from the WTG set - Teacher's Pet. 

I also created a coordinating card using this week's MFT sketch as my muse.

 All of my papers are Bazzill and Recollections (Michaels).  The small black and white alphabet script is digital paper that I was sent a long time ago that I simply print out as needed.

I stamped my image once onto Xpress cardstock (for the hands and books) then again on the blue dotted paper(body), tan cardstock (pants), red cardstock (apple) and for the body, I only inked the main image not the surrounding frame.

 I then paper pieced in this order:  pants, shirt, books, hands, and apple.  I trimmed out my apple from the red cardstock and coated it with Glossy Accents and set it aside overnight to dry. 

Once dry, I added the apple to the image and then trimmed it out with my circle nesties.  I used one of the sentiments from the Teacher's Pet set, stamped, trimmed apart, matted and layered in between the WTG main layer and it's red matting.  I stitched the edges to keep everything together and to add more texture then I added a fun blingy circle.  Once this main piece was done I set it aside to complete the rest of my card.  I used the fun chevron ribbon, baby brads and a fun teeny, tiny paper clip to the top right.  As you can see I used my Vertical Greetings Die-namics layered on top of the Fishtail STAX to hold the digital paper. 

I finished off the interior keeping it bright and sweet with some Crate Paper ledger paper as the main focal  point. 

I have to, once again, thank Jody and Joanne for the wonderful challenge as well as the wonderful Design Team at MFT for the constant inspiration through weekly challenges and each and every spectacular release!  

If you are interested in seeing all of the amazing entries this month please pop by the gallery HERE at SCS!

Thanks so much for popping by to see my entry!

Crafty Hugs!

Meredith

Fabulous MFT products used in this project:

MFT Teaser Time! Click, Click, Click!

 

Oh do you have ANY idea how hard it was for me to keep my mouth shut about THIS one!?!?  (wink!) I am sorry to tell you that really...it's another fantabulous set that you MUST add to your shopping list!  I know it's getting long but this is such a FANTASTIC RIDICULOUS AMAZING release that I simply can't help myself do anything but gush on and on about the amazing stamps and dies that are coming out this month!  GASP!

So without further ado...may I introduce you to Behind The Camera Stamp and Die-namics set!!  YAY!!  Oh my goodness...just wait until you see the amazing number of sentiments/words that come with this set...twenty to be exact!!  I had to roll this one around in my brain for a while and thought about all of the wonderful things I could do with this set...scrapbook pages, shaped cards, awesome bookmarks, luggage tags, backpack hangers, oh the list is endless!  In the end I went with a mini album.  I'm sure I'm not the only one but I have a "thing" for the proof sheets that come with your pictures when you order them from a company like Shutterfly, etc.  I hate throwing them out so I hang onto them knowing I'll do something with them someday!  LOL!  (sound familiar!;)

Here is what I came up with and I must say...I'm in LOVE!  (grab a cup of something...there are a lot of photos!)

I'm first going to show you the album all assembled (with room to add more pages!!) then I will show you each page:

All tied up with red seam binding

There's something about ribbon tabs that simply make me swoon

Just makes me happy!

You'll notice that some have corrugated cardboard in the center while others have regular flat board.  Just adding different textures and dimension.

All fanned out with so many places to go!

And here is the journaling side

Page 1 - Front

Within the set there is a long, solid strip that helps you divide the into camera parts, which I've inked in navy blue, heat embossed with clear powder.  I've added three hysterical pictures of my son which I've matted with Kraft cardstock, I've added some fun buttons - one with baker's twine, one with embroidery floss.  I ran a large line of stitching over my embossed line and added a sentiment from my 7Gypsies paper pack 'Abundance'.  

I went through my stash of paper packs and pulled out all of the text and ledger paper I could find.  With them I created jounaling spaces on the back of each tag.  

Page 1 - Back

 The sentiment "make every click count" is actually two separate sentiments.  Click is it's own stamp so it can be moved and substituted throughout different sentiments in the set.

 Page 2 - Front

I used the word MOMENT along with the other amazingly versatile sentiments to embellish my second page.  I also used a funky charm, some metallic pearls and my Rock Candy Distress Stickles over the blue panel.

Page 2 - Back

The stamped sentiment above comes with the middle word missing...so it's "every (blank) is worth remembering" so you can substitute many words that are within the set (click, moment, smile).  But I decided that I wanted the word 'day' so I used glittery stickers instead.

 Page 3 - Front

Again, I've used the word 'smile' which is a sentiment all in of itself and can be used with many other paired sentiments like the one I have here 'picture perfect'.  I also used the new to be released and SO fun Photo Corners. 

Page 3 - Back

Page 4 - Front

Here I've used the other two dies that come with the camera - one larger lens and a smaller lens.  I inked the solid line and stitched over it.  I inked my circular sentiment on around the center of the larger lens and nestled a picture of my brother and daughter together.  Just too cute!

Page 4 - Back

I used the same technique only added stitching at the bottom.  And I used another circular sentiment (there are two) this time around the center shutter inked with a white heart from the Hearts-A-Plenty Die-namic.

Page 5 - Front

I did a page specifically for our super fabulous dog Katie.  She's just our furry angel.  I used a sentiment from the CSS about Pets set along with the solid line. (see how nicely it divides a small space? ;)  

Page 6 - Back

I struggle with journaling.  So sometimes, if I'm a bit tongue tied I leave it blank and come back to it.  That way I have time to gather my thoughts before jotting something down. 

Page 6 - Front

Again another sentiment and the photo corner.  So cute!!

As you can see at the beginning of the post I used a very large three ring to hold the pages together passing through the viewfinder of the camera.  This way I can add a few more pages as time goes on.  

Thank you so much for hanging in through this uber long post!  I so appreciate all of your support.  It makes me smile in every way and give me true inspiration. 

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Crafty Hugs!

Meredith

Administrative Bits and Bobs:

You can attend the New Release Party on March 6th from 8-10 PM EST HERE in the MFT forum, where you can enjoy fun, games, and PRIZES!

• The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on March 6th at 10 PM EST.  You'll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
• The guest designer contest is ON!  Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to the MFT Blog NOW.  Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily.  The winners will be posted on March 6th just before the release party, on the MFT blog.

 Here are the details about the upcoming release on March 6th at 10 PM EST:

• You can attend the New Release Party on March 6th from 8-10 PM EST HERE in the MFT forum, where you can enjoy fun, games, and PRIZES!
• The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on March 6th at 10 PM EST.  You'll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
• The guest designer contest is ON!  Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to the MFT Blog NOW.  Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily.  The winners will be posted on March 6th just before the release party, on the MFT blog.

Fabulous MFT Die-namics used in today's project: