Dilly Beans Challenge - Frosty

Hello and Happy Friday friends!  It's Friday so you know that I'm bringing you another Dilly Beans creation for this week's challenge.  The challenge theme this week is Frosty!  My first inclination was to lean towards one of Megan's many awesome snowman designs but then I decided to change it up a bit and use the Rosie Posie Bunch to switch things up a bit. 

I started by creating my super fun green distressed tag.  I used my Distress Inks in Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint.  I took the pads and added the ink to my tag directly.  I then sprayed it with two mists of my Perfect Pearls mixture and then I opened the bottle to flick larger dots of water onto the ink.  If you've ever worked with Distress Inks then you know how well they groove with water and the super cool textures you can create.  I used my heat gun to quickly dry the tag.  

I printed my image out twice.  I colored it entirely with my Copics.  I then colored the flowers with my white Copics, ran it image side down through my Xyron, and then burnished it with my white, Martha Stewart, ultra fine glitter.  I added a bit of bling and attached the entire flower piece using foam adhesive.  

I added some fabulous ribbon and bakers twine to finish off the top and I used an MFT sentiment to the bottom.  I plan on attaching this to a "get well" care package for a friend of mine who just underwent surgery.  I made a delicious batch of Chicken and Matzoh Ball Soup and will deliver it hopefully tomorrow!

 

I hope you enjoy and have been inspired to come create with us! 

Big Crafty Hugs!!
Meredith

MFT - Wednesday Stamp Club

Greetings MFT fans!  I'm here today to bring you my interpretation of this week's sketch!

I've been really jonesing to get back into my original path of scrapbooking.  I started scrapbooking many years ago and then over the years it changed form and eventually led to card making which totally sucked me in!  Love it.  But I have wonderful pictures...so.many.pictures. that I want to use and display and share.  So...back to scrapbooking!  At least making a more concerted effort to include it in my daily creating.  So, without further ado, here is the 8x8 layout I've created using the sketch above:

This is a pic of my delicious, chubby and scrumptious (I'm just a little smitten, no? ;) son when he was a little older than 5 months old.  YUM!!!  He's now almost 6 years old and I've yet to get to his baby book!  So I'm just jumping in!  I followed the sketch..mostly.  I used my MFT Mini Pennants Die-namics and PTI felt to create the pennant flag.  I purposefully angled the flags a bit haphazardly with wonky stitching.  I used the same trick that I showed you HERE to create the long pennant flagpole. 

I picked Claire Keay's Little Loveosaurus stamp set which I stamped, colored with my Copics and then paper pieced.  I placed my sentiment onto bright turquoise cardstock cut using my Bracket Tab Die-namics. 

What you can't see in the photo is that I coated the Bracket Tab with Versamark Ink (after I stamped my sentiment) and then coated it with clear embossing powder.  I heat set it so that it looks super shiny.  It added a great high gloss effect.  I could have used Glossy Accents but decided to go the embossing powder route instead for this project.

I had a blast mixing and matching my G45, American Crafts and Bazzill papers.  This was a great sketch and a fabulous way to get back into my scrapbooking!!

I hope you have enjoyed and been inspired to come play along with this amazing sketch right HERE!

Big Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

Bombshell Sketch Challenge

Greetings Bombshell Fans!  I'm here today bringing you our first sketch challenge of 2012!  And what a great sketch it is.  I do hope you can come play along with us over at the Bombshell Challenge Blog.  Feel free to use the sketch as it suits your creative needs!  You will see that in my creation today I've removed the bottom panels as my sparkly, embossed image commanded a lot of attention and I didn't want anything to compete with it.

I've used the awesome King Of The Road hot rod set.  I stamped my image using Brilliance Ink in Champagne.  I then coated it with bronze embossing powder and heat set.  I colored the rest of the image in with my Copics.  I followed the sketch *mostly* as I stated above leaving out the squares at the bottom and replacing them with my sentiment.

I kept my interior easy and simple!  This one is definitely going to be tucked into my darling son's lunchbox!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  See you over at the Challenge Blog!

Big Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

Paper and Such Challenge

Greetings Friends!  I'm here with you today with a new Paper and Such challenge.  This week it's an Inspiration Color challenge based on this photo:

Here is my interpretation:

As you can see I've used the newly released Wild Rose set.  I used my Spellbinders and MFT Die-namics to cut my oval layer as well as the oval doily behind my main image - which is cut using corrugated cardboard.  I stamped the image using Momento ink.  I then went in with my Sage Shadow SU! ink and double stamped the interior of the flowers twice.  I then colored the rest of the image with my Copics.  I used Glossy Accents over my second set of flowers and let it dry overnight.  I then trimmed it out and popped it up using foam adhesive.  

The rest of the exterior of my card was created using one of my favorite G45 paper packs - ABC Primer.  I added flowers that I made using PTI felt, MM brads and MFT Die-namics.  

I kept my interior simple with enough room for a message to be written.  I hope you come join us over at Paper and Such for this beautiful inspiration challenge.  If you play along you have the chance to win a $10 P&S gift card!  See you there!  

Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

Paper and Such - New Release Blog Hop

Greetings all!  I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend!  I took the weekend off from blogging and spent time with the kiddies and my darling husband FINALLY doing the finishing clean up from the holidays.  But I did, as always, manage to squeeze in some much needed creative time to prepare for today's fabulous Paper and Such Release!  There are three adorable sets that are on sale right now in the Paper and Such Stamps section of the store.

If you have stopped by just to say hi then HI!  I know you'll want to start at the beginning of this fantastic hop, at the, Paper and Such Design Blog, to see all the gorgeous creations and have a chance at winning all three stamp sets being released today!  All you have to do is comment along the way and you will be entered into a drawing to win the full release!  Easy peasy!  

If you are hopping along with us then you should have come her by way of Kendra's beautiful blog!  If not, see above and start hopping along!  (wink!)

Today I've used the new Tree Graffiti set.  All patterned papers on the exterior of my card are from Crate Paper - Paper Hearts collection.  I stamped my image using Momento ink.  I used an MFT Die-namics to cut out my tag.  I colored in the sweet ladybug and hearts on the tree with my Copic markers.  I then stamped the tree again and trimmed out the 'you & me' and popped it up onto foam adhesive.  

I added some stitching and some gingham ribbon to give it a bit of a country touch.  My interior was kept sweet and simple.  I did snip apart my sentiment (gasp!) to make it fit the cloud Die-namics that I've snuggled in there nicely.  The polka dot paper is from SU!.

Oh I just love those polka dots!  Ok all!  That's all for me today!  Thanks for hopping along with us and thank you in advance for your kind comments!  They always make me smile. 

Now, off you go to the wonderful Stephanie's blog!  

Hoping you have enjoyed and been inspired!

Big Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

Dilly Beans Challenge - Winter Wonderland

Happy Friday friends!!  Today I'm bringing you a new challenge over at the Dilly Beans Challenge blog.  The theme this week is Winter Wonderland!  I do hope you can come play with us!  My creation today uses such a sweet new image - #329 - Top Hat Snowman. 

I've colored him with my Copics and paper pieced his scarf as well as the band on his top hat.  I then coated his hat and carrot nose with Glossy Accents and let it dry overnight.  

I used all white embellishments starting with sparkly white cardstock for my base.  Then another layer of the same cardstock popped up on foam adhesive.  I used white, sparkly felt, self-adhesive stickers to create the background.  I placed the snowflakes all over my cardstock hanging off the edges in order to get the placement just right.  I trimmed off any excess to keep it looking crisp.  I then used a ledger card cut with my Wonky Scallop Die-namic as well as a bundling of die cut snowflakes held together with a white brad as my accents.  I used a sentiment from MFT stamped in Momento Ink and cut out with my SU! word punch.

I do hope you come visit and play along with us right HERE! 

Crafty Hugs!

Meredith

Paper and Such Sneak Peeks - Wild Rose!

Good Morning All!  Popping in today with another sneak peak of a new set, Wild Rose, being released at Paper and Such next Monday, January 9th.  I've stamped my image (I did this twice) - first the outline in Momento then the interior in Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.  I then coated one of the images in Glossy Accents with a tiny sprinkle of glitter on top and let it dry overnight.  I trimmed it out and popped it up onto the first image giving it great dimension.  I used this weeks MFT sketch as my muse combining lots of bling, stitching and a satiny ribbon to finish it off. 

I added my sentiment on the interior.  The stacked dies are from MFT the back most of which is actually Chocolate Chip cardstock from SU! even though it looks black in the photo.  I will be back this weekend with another sneak peek!!

With many wintery Hugs!
Meredith

xoxo

Paper and Such Sneak Peeks - Bitty Love!

Greetings friends!!  I'm thrilled to be here with you sneak peeking the upcoming new releases for Paper and Such.  There are three new sets being released next Monday, January 9th.

Today I'm sneaking a super cute set called Bitty Love that will be PERFECT for all of the sweet Valentine's in your life.  This upcoming set has adorable images, fun sentiments with simple and crisp lines that make creating a snap!

I am using just one of four images and sentiments today keeping my card crisp and colorful.  I stamped the adorable apple with Momento ink and colored my image with my Copics.  I trimmed it out and added it to my card front using papers from MME.

I stamped my sentiment on the interior balancing the chevron paper with the clean and simple circular layer.  Wait till you see the rest of the set!  So cute!!

Thanks so much for popping by today!  I hope you've enjoyed and been inspired!!

With many wintery Hugs!
Meredith

xoxo

MFT - Wednesday Stamp Club

Hello All!!  Popping in with this week's fantastic MFT - Wednesday Stamp Club sketch!  Oh there really is nothing better than working from a sketch, no?  It jump starts you when you simply can't find that...oomph!  KWIM?  I pulled out a brand new 6x6 Echo Park paper pack as well to inspire me! 

I have used the brand new Clearly Sentimental About Romance as my focal point as I am behind on a few wedding cards so I knew this would be PERFECT for it!  I kept this simple and sweet as I have a bunch to make and I really, REALLY don't like mass producing cards.  LOL!  

I hope you had a great time at last night's release party!!  It's always such a blast.  

Thanks, as always, for popping by!  

 

With many wintery Hugs!
Meredith

xoxo

My Favorite Things - New Product Tour

Oh happy day!!!  Yes, it's here, it's finally here!  Shopping time!!  WOO HOO!  First, I want to thank you all for your amazingly kind and sweet comments this week and month during my time as Guest Designer!  It's been a smashingly fabulous time!!

For tonight's New Product Tour I've created with the oh so sweet Pure Innocence - I Love You This Big set.  I've created a card to tuck into my son's lunchbox tomorrow as he heads back to school!  

My patterned papers are all from Authentique - Splendid collection.  I stamped onto Xpress cardstock and colored him with my Copics.  I then paper pieced his outfit, heart and hands to ensure the proper dimensional look.  If the layout looks familiar, it should as it's from last week's MFTWSC52 sketch!  Love this one and I'm sure I'll be using it lots in the future!  I used my Nesties to cut the oval and snuggled it on top of the Oval Dainty Doily Die-namic. 

There's just something about red and turquoise that makes me totally smile!  I've used the faux chipboard tip that I shared with you this morning to place my sentiment using the Bracket Tab Die-namic. 

Is that not THE sweetest sentiment or WHAT!??  =)  Love!!

I kept my interior simple and sweet using the new Layered Heart Die-namics as my sentiment anchor.  Well MFT friends and fans, I will see you once again for tomorrow's Weekly Stamp Club! 

Thank you, as always, for coming by to visit!  Now, off you go!!  Please be sure to check out the unbelievable new releases from My Favorite Things available right now!  And make sure you go look at all of the gorgeousness that is on display now via the New Product Tour on the MFT Blog!

I hope you've enjoyed this month's release as much as I have!  I leave you with two words..TOTAL SWOON! (wink!)

 With many wintery Hugs!
Meredith

xoxo

My Favorite Things - Die-namics Feature and Pre-Release Pep Rally

Greetings!!  Today I'm here with the My Favorite Things New Release Pep Rally. Over the last six days, you've seen all the new stamps and Die-namics releasing tomorrow night.  It's just so fun and exciting!  I hope you've been enjoying as much as I have!! 
Today I have just a couple of really simple tips that I've learned along the way that I'd like to share with you during this awesome Die-namics Feature today! 

We've taken an in-depth look at this month's Die-namics, while re-visiting the amazing sets being released tonight at 10 PM EST RIGHT HERE in the MFT Boutique. And while we are at it, how about we make your life even easier with a "cheat sheet" of all that's new?  Head over to the MFT Blog to print out a shopping list.

I'm going to start by sharing with you how I created my stuffed felt strawberry that I showed you yesterday.  But first - I must tell you that I used Jody's amazing video with help learning how to put the strawberry together.  You can check out her video right here.   (it's AWESOME)  And it's the exact way I closed my strawberry up only instead of using liner tape I used hot glue since I was working with fabric. 

But first I started by getting out all of my supplies:

I simply LOVE all the gorgeous details of these amazing Die-namics:

I'm showing you the close up of the dies so that you can really see the embossing that will happen when you cut your fabric or paper.

Ok - cutting time! 

I kept my photos small for this portion as there are lots of them.  I use my Bigkick with the cutting plates all stacked according to the directions.  I then place my cutting surface, then my Die-namics die facing up, then my felt, then my top cutting plate, then a thin piece of cardboard (shim) just to add a bit of extra pressure so I really get those embossed strawberry seeds pressed into the felt. 

Here is how it looks when it comes out of the cutting machine.  Look at all of those awesome strawberry seeds!!  (sorry about the paper fuzz on the felt.  It brushes off so easily but is totally trapped in all of the cuts and scratches of my embossing plates)

Here is how the strawberry hull came out using the same technique:

For the hull, I used my sewing machine and after popping the center of the hull out, I used white thread and a straight stitch.  I started at one point and went straight across to the next one until all of the scored lines were stitched white.

Because felt is rather spongy in nature the deeply embossed seeds will, over time, puff back up and lose a bit of their dimension.  In order to make my hand sewing easier and not having to worry about getting to the seeds before they become faint, I took my black Copic marker and dotted each one so that I'd have a template of where to stitch. 

(would you believe I get a manicure every 10 days?  The cold here in the North East is just brutal on my hands!)

Now that I have my seeds marked, I took black embroidery floss and a large needle and started to stitch each seed. 

 After I was finished stitching both the hull and the body of my berry I used a bead of hot glue on the flap to hold the strawberry together.  I used three jumbo cotton balls to stuff the berry with.  And, using Jody's amazing video, pulled it all together with soft, green yarn and a green button. 

And my berry was complete!  

Now I have another very quick trick to show you.  I LOVE using Die-namics and transforming them into faux-chipboard embellishments.  This is one of the easiest things to do ever!  I did this on Day One of the Teasers with the Eiffel Tower:

And I did it again today using my very favorite Bracket Tab Die-namic and I'm going to show you how to do that right now.

First gather your supplies:

Any Die-namics die, cardstock or DP (your choice) and Glossy Accents.  Depending on the thickness of my paper I will cut five or six of the same die.  I use Glossy Accents as my adhesive of choice.  It holds superbly and allows for a bit of wiggle room when you start stacking the dies on top of one another.  

Regardless of the shape of the die, I only put the Glossy Accents in the center and not too close to the edges.  You don't want your adhesive leaking out of the sides.  It will just look messy.  

Start layering your die cuts one on top of another adding another layer of Glossy Accents each time until you have used all of your pieces.  When you are done, the thickness of the layers will then resemble a chipboard element!  It's so cool and adds such great dimension to any project.  My tip to you, use the best cardstock or designer paper you can to achieve the best chipboard look possible.  

Here is how this piece looks in the project I posted yesterday for the PI Teaser:

Thanks so much for coming by today!!  I hope you have enjoyed!!  "See" you tonight at the Release Party!!!  

And a HUGEEEEEEE thank you to Kim, Jody, Joanne and the rest of the AMAZING MFT Design Team for having me this month.  It has been an experience unlike any other.  A crafter's dream come true!

Now for all of the administrative bits and bobs!  Have a GREAT day and a fabulous time tonight!!
  

Here are the details about the upcoming release on January 3rd at 10 PM EST:

• You can attend the New Release Party on January 3rd 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 January 3rd at 10 PM EST.  You'll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
• You have just a few more hours to submit your entry for this month's guest designer contest.  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 designers' posts 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 January 3rd just before the release party, on the MFT blog.
  
  
  
  

  Fabulous Pre-Release Party Hugs!!
  Meredith