July Blog Hop Day 1 - Lotus Blossoms

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 9th - Lotus Blossoms

Today's set was right up my street so I played around and created several cards.  I could have kept on but then you would have had nothing to view the rest of the week.  It will appear again soon though for sure.

My first card is actually featured on the MFP Blog but I couldn't resist posting it here too - you should see how much it shimmers in real life.  I used gold embossing powder and then H20s to colour the lotus blossoms on the fan which was cut with the Cricut.  I used this month's mini set Dragonflies on this card too (but they are hard to see in the photo).

My second card is very simple using Memento inks. dies, flowers and a tag with the Happy Birthday message.

 

Card 3 uses the yin-yang symbol cut with my cricut and then embossed with a lotus flower.  The LOVE sentiment is from the set and the Happy Anniversary is from the Celebrate Big stamp set.  The red paper was embossed before adding it to the card base.

My last cut also uses the Cricut for the bridge, flowers from the set coloured with Copics and embellished with Star Dust stickles.  The stripes on the edge are done with fine glitter on double sided clear tape - how messy was that! I did not add a sentiment so I have choices about how I use it.

Thank you for visiting, please check out the rest of the teams posts and don't forget to come back again.

Featured July 10th - Shello

Featured July 11th - Be Virtuous
 

Featured July 12th - Presents

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on July 13, 2013 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 11PM EST on Friday July 12, 2013.

 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:

"Dino News"

 

 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is

"Dragonflies"    

Here's the CORRECTED Design Team List:
Patty
Lois
Jane C
Debbie
Pam
Pat G
Thrifty Stamper
Marilynn
Karen K
Bonnie
Kathy
Angela
Cathy C
Toni
Sue W
Janine
An'Jenic
Kate Z
Shirley Q
Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

FOSTV77 - Birthday

It's Birthday Party time at Friends of Speedy TV this week and you can join in by making a card.  Join in the fun by going to the FOSTV page and checking out Challenge 77 - you can also check out all the creations by my team mates. 

My card today uses some of the paper left after Cricut images were cut when making this card but I didn't use the spotty paper in the end anyway!  The red paper is stamped with all the kitchen items from Recipe Card Starters and Recipe Completer and then the two women are given nice Birthday treats to hold - cake and flowers (stamped on shrink plastic).  The cake is from Celebrate Big and the flower and the sentiment from Hum Along. 

There will be a prize for one person entering the FOSTV challenge this week and if you use Marks Finest Papers stamps you double your chances!

Enjoy the challenge and have a good week.

FOSTV72 - Inspired by Something in Your House

Our challenge at Friends of Speedy TV this week is to create a card that is inspired by something in your house.  I used as my inspiration a combination of my patchwork pot holder I bought when we visited the Amish in MN last year and the 2 punnets of strawberries in my fridge!  The pot holder does have some strawberry fabric in the quilt work.  I used the stamp set Celebrate Big, Spellbinders dies, some free papers and Copics for colouring.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the team's posts and also come back for the blog hop.  I hope to have a preview post up later today and the hop starts in earnest tomorrow.  There are lots of prizes on offer this week and the prize for this week's FOSTV challenge is a cute pet sentiment set.

FOSTV60 - Recipe Card

Hi - Today's challenge over at FOSTV is to make a Recipe Card.  Now I am not a great collector of recipes, I collect them and then don't organise them or find them again when I want to use them. 

The recipe I have on this card today is an exception in terms of use - it is so well used that the original is on paper that is really tatty and the recipe is hardly legible.  I remember scribbling it down when we were first married as Mum dictated it over the phone.  Well it was time to correct things so I have typed it up and mounted it up and I will laminate it so it is easy to keep clean.  I did a second one so I can give it to my nephew and maybe my sister will supervise him making it.

If you want the recipe please just email me - I am sure Mum won't mind.  In fact there is a funny story that goes with this recipe that I will share with you.

When I was about 14 I worked as a Saturday girl in a local bakers.  The couple that owned it were not born in the UK (Willi was from Germany and his wife Henrietta was from Czechoslovakia) so had some lovely recipes but not one for bread pudding. 
Bakers have left over bread and buns frequently so Henrietta was searching for ways to use them - she found a recipe for Bread and Butter pudding and tried that!  Bread and Butter pudding is a dessert and needs to be eaten with a spoon - not something you can cut up and serve in slices in a shop! 
I was talking with them one day when clearing up and mentioned my Mum and her bread pudding.  Henrietta contacted Mum and wanted to exchange recipes - she was not used to people being prepared to just give them!  Well Bread Pudding went on to the Bakery goods and lots of local workmen came and bought it to have with their morning or afternoon Cuppa! 

Well finally here are my recipes all poshed up!

 We would love to see your interpretation of this week's challenge which you can find over at Speedy TV as FOSTV Challenge 60.  There are plenty of other challenges at Speedy TV too so lots of stamp sets to win.  The winner of this week's challenge will get the set called Oh Beans.

 

Have fun with this challenge!

FOSTV53 - New Year

New Year, January 1st Birthday and a bad 2012 - this card is going to a friend who fits all those!

It is for

• FOSTV53 - New Year Card - using the MFP set called Celebrate Big
• Jugs 169
• Sketch Challenge 416  

If you join the FOSTV New Year Card challenge you could win the stamp set shown below (the one I used!).  Check out Speedy TV for all our challenges




I hope 2013 is a good one for you all - Happy New Year.