Cream of the Crop :: June

Happy Saturday!

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!! 

We're VERY happy to share our picks for this month's "Cream of the Crop" today! Who's READY?!

Before we share the winners, we would like to encourage everyone to join in on the fun! It's super easy to enter and you can enter as many times as you want! Show us your best work!

Thank you to ALL the wonderful designers that shared their project with us this month!

So..... here are three projects that caught our eye and stood out- well executed, creative, and inspiring projects!!

KATE CORDERO

Kate always goes above and beyond to share her beautiful creations with us and this month was no different! She made this super COOL tag this month with our Here Comes the Sun background- LOVE that mix of fun colors! SO perfect for summer!

Stop by Kate's blog and show her some love! She has so many beautiful projects to share with you!

Scrappers Creative Corner

VERA YATES

We just love when Vera pulls out her MSS to play with! She shared this beautifully vintage inspired card she created! It showcases one of the awesome sentiment from Comforting Florals. It's absolutely gorgeous, Vera! 

Stop by Vera's blog and leave her some love! You'll leave inspired- I promise!

Ling's Design Studio

NIKKI

Oh, how happy we were to see THIS beauty in the Neighborhood photo gallery! We love everything about it! Nikki (Scrappin' Navy Wife) did a beautiful job paper piecing all those little details in this fun card! She used the new set Grow and showcased it perfectly! 

Make sure you stop by Nikki's blog- she has LOTS of beautiful projects for you to see!

Scrappin' Navy Wife

Ladies- please contact Jorge
{jorge at marketstreetstamps dot com}

to collect your $20 gift certificate and the code for a blinkie that you can proudly display on your blogs!!

So... who will be the

"Cream of the Crop"

for July?

Here's how you can play along!!

The details:

The Cream of the Crop Spotlight is a merit based contest- we're looking for projects that catch our eye, but we also encourage stampers of all skill levels to upload their cards for consideration! We will be looking for projects that are well executed, use Market Street Stamps in a new and fun way, have great use of color, and have amazing overall design. Most importantly, we want to see what you're making!

• Deadline to get your project in will be the last Friday of the month
• Cream of the Crop Spotlight projects and winners will be announced that weekend!
• Spotlight winners will EACH win a $20 gift certificate to the Market Street Stamps store!
• If you are chosen, in addition to the $20 gift certificate to the Marketplace, your project photos will appear on the MSS blog (as well as a link to your blog (or gallery if you do not have a blog) )!
• You may upload/link as many projects as you like!

You have until 11:59 PM Central Time on July 27th to share your projects and be in the running for July's Cream of the Crop!

Here are links to places we'll be looking for your projects:

• Market Street Stamps on Facebook
• Market Streets Stamps on Twitter
• Market Street Stamps Flickr group
• Market Street Stamps SCS gallery (keyword: marketstreetstamps)
• Market Street Stamps Neighborhood 

We LOVE to see your projects! Thanks so much for sharing!

Home Sweet Home Gift Set :: Guest Designer :: Diane Noble

Hello & Happy Friday! Today we are sharing our last guest post for June - from the talented, sweet Diane Noble. She has created a GORGEOUS, gorgeous, gorgeous gift set using Home Sweet Home, Neighborhood, and Simple Salutations! Be sure to visit her blog to check out her tutorial that will be FREE until July 6th! You also might want to check out Diane's first guest post this month, here!

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Gift sets containing homemade cards make great gifts. They are special because you took the time to make it, and personalize the contents. Even more gift sets are practical.  This gift box contains four cards, four envelopes, four printed inside sentiments (optional) and four blank inside greeting panels.  The outer book-style box measures 5-3/4” x 6” and contains two inside storage pockets.  A full tutorial for making the box and cards is posted on my blog.

Here’s an inside view of the open gift box. The right pocket contains the cards and envelopes and the left pocket contains the blank inside panels and printed inside greetings. Giving the recipient the option of a pre-printed sentiment or a blank panel is appreciated. 

 

Here are the pictures of the four cards included in the set:

Here are the four cards:

A HUGE thank-you to Diane for sharing her creative talents with us this month, be sure to catch more on her blog, Diane's Designs for MORE inspiration! Enjoy your weekend!

Under The Sea Birthday :: Samantha Casey

Good Morning Stampers! Angelica here today and I'm sharing a beautiful card by Samantha and a change on our team. As most of you know, Samantha has been on our team since DAY 1. Since before we even had a team, and she has gone on to illustrate some incredibly gorgeous sets, including "Home Sweet Home" which is my personal favorite. ;) However, what you might not know about Samantha is that she is an incredibly creative spirit, but also very dedicated in her professional life, and has accepted an exciting new job opportunity and will be focusing on her new role.

Few people can be as genuine as Samantha. I first met her through the Peachy Keen Stamps Challenges in 2009. She played along a few weeks in a row, and I told my mom Kathy that we just had to ask her if she'd join the team. She said yes, and the rest, as they say, is history. I had no idea what a genuinely sweet soul we had approached until I got to know her more. Then, when we met in person at CHA in 2010, I knew Sam was someone who would continue to surprise us and did she ever! She became known in our Peachy Keen Team as our "Queen of Scenes".

Samantha brings joy, whimsy, and some dang good X-Acto skills to each project she creates. I've watched her become more confident, more dynamic, yet still remain true to her own style, and I find that incredibly inspiring. We will miss you, Sam, and I can't thank you enough for the years of design and talent you've provided not only Market Street Stamps, but Peachy Keen Stamps as well. Please don't be a stranger!

Now, head on over to Samantha's blog and check out this GORGEOUS party card she created using some of our Sea Creatures!!

Have a fabulous Thursday, everyone!!

June Paint the Town WINNER!

Hello, there! 


I'm here today to announce the winner of our Paint the Town Color Challenge!

We had so many beautiful entries this month!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to link up to our contest- it means the world to us!

The randomly chosen winner is............
Samantha M. !

Samantha created this super sweet card:

PERFECT for summer! Love it!

Samantha, please email us with your stamp set of choice and we'll get it right out to you!

jorge {at} marketstreetstamps {dot} com

We'll be back with a new Paint the Town Challenge on July 11th!

Summertime Music :: Julie Day

Hello everyone! Julie's on the blog today with a wonderfully colorful "anyday" card!
This summery CAS (Clean and Simple) card featuring Vintage Music and a sentiment from Riding By can be created with some water-based markers and spritzing just a slight mist of water on the stamp before making the impression or "huffing" on the stamp to create the slightest bit of condensation to reactivate the marker ink.

Be sure to head over to Julie's Blog to read a little more about her card today!
Enjoy your Day! 

Sunshine :: Stephanie Muzzulin

Hello, Monday!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

We're kicking the week off right with a beautiful card from Stephanie Muzzulin!

I love how Stephanie pulled the colors out of that pretty patterned paper with her ribbon and coloring! Such a pretty scene!

She used the new sets Woodland and Life Is Beautiful on this one! Life Is Beautiful is recently back in stock- run over and pick it up if you missed it!



Make sure you run over to Stephanie's blog
Handmade Creations by Stephanie
for more information about this card!

See ya tomorrow! :)

I {heart} Nature :: Stephanie Washburn

Happy Friday, folks!

I'm here with a fun card I made with some the new stamps from Kim Geiser! I am LOVING these sets- SO funky and FUN!

I used Woodland to create this card!

Come on over to my blog

sweet steph card creations

for more information and a detailed supply list for this card!

Don't miss out on the FREE SHIPPING offer- available through today!

Have a great weekend!

Life is Beautiful :: DoBea Alberts

HI!

How's everyone doing today?

DoBea Alberts has a BEAUTIFULLY clean and simple card to share with us today! Check it out!

DoBea used the new Life is Beautiful set for this one- LOVE how she used rhinestones to bring out those pretty doodles!

Run on over to DoBea's blog

Plum Poppy Studio

to see more about this card!

Have a fabulous day!

Sunshine :: Amy Kolling

Happy Wednesday! 

Half way through the work week- who's celebrating? HAHA! 

Well, we have something that will brighten your day this morning! Check out this super SUNNY card by our very own 

AMY KOLLING!

She used Sure Miss You to create this card- PERFECT for summer, don't ya think? 

Make sure you run over to Amy's blog

Stamp-n-Paradise

for more info about this card!

ALSO....

we are SO SO proud of Amy's advancements in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Contest! She's in the TOP 10! If you have a moment, please go vote for our girl! We'd love to see her in the TOP 5!

Vote HERE!

See ya tomorrow!

Repeating Elements :: Brenda Weaver

Hey there! It's Brenda here with you today!

I've got a cute and simple card to share today, but I wanted to use this card to show you a simple rule of great design you can use yourself when deciding what kinds of elements to use together in your projects.

Check out the cute snail!

Notice he's got those fun little circles on his back? I took my cue from those circles when deciding how I wanted the end result of my card to look. I not only added some card stock circles for some extra color and movement, but the circle idea is further carried over with the addition of the brad and buttons in the lower left. 

 Look carefully for patterns and shapes in your main image/element to carry through to the other design elements in your project. Repeating elements, such as circles, throughout your design will ensure you end up with a cohesive and polished looking design.

I hope you enjoyed this mini lesson in design today:). You may already be familiar with this concept, but sometimes us seasoned crafters tend to take some of the basics for granted. They bear repeating every once in a while, don't you think?

Thanks so much for joining me here today!

Brenda

Monday HELLO! :: Jen del Muro

Happy Monday!

We're starting the week off right with this BEAUTIFUL card by Jen del Muro!

She combined background stamping (our super fun Zebra Print background!) with some very trendy color blocking to create this fabulous card! 

That sweet bike and sentiment are from the Riding By set- SO fun!

Make sure you stop by Jen's blog

i {heart} 2 stamp

 to see more about how she created this card! 

AND... a little birdie told me that she's got a giveaway going on over there.... don't miss it!

See ya tomorrow! Have a great day!

Sweet Trio :: Guest Designer :: Diane Noble

It's Friiiiiday! Whoo hoo!

Today I am thrilled to share a trio of gorgeous, gorgeous projects by the ever-so-talented and genuine Diane Noble.

I am always in awe of our Guest Designers and how generous they are with their time, talent and energy in creating beautiful works of art for our blog. 

Diane is not only one of the nicest, most thoughtful and inspiring people I've met in the Blogosphere, but she does fantastic work. I was so touched by the thoughtfulness and soul Diane has weaved into each project. Just keep reading more below (in Diane's words) and you'll see exactly what I mean! 

**********************

I am a retired educator and I live near Kansas City, Missouri, with my pastor husband.  We have an empty nest now so I’m at a stage in life where I can enjoy my favorite hobby—paper crafting.  I love creating 3-D projects, including mini albums and mixed media art, but my favorite craft is card-making.  

As a pastor’s wife, I have many opportunities to send cards to encourage people and to let them know we are praying for them.  What I enjoy most though is sending cards for no special reason other than to let someone know I was thinking of them.  

My design style varies since I try to fit the style to the images I’m using, but I love the shabby chic look for paper crafting and home décor.  I try to participate in online card design challenges because they help me get out of my box and try new techniques, color schemes or design layouts.  

I’ve had over 120 cards published in crafting magazines, and currently serve on two design teams.  I was also honored to be asked to be a guest designer for Market Street Stamps.  I recently discovered MSS and am already hooked on the fun, whimsical images. 

*********************

Enjoy the Journey Mini Album  

Measuring 4” x 4” this mini album is jam-packed with fun spots for photos or journaling.  It contains 14 pages, including interactive elements, and showcases 24 images from MSS sets.  I love mini albums and try to create ones that could fit anyone’s tastes.  This could record fun trip memories, or could be a mini journal about some significant life experiences.  I want to keep it to record some highlights of my life—important moments and special memories. The last 2 pages will record some of my faith experiences and ways God has answered prayer. (Angelica's note: you will DEFINITELY want to check out the GORGEOUS inside pages on Diane's Blog! They are must-see!)

MSS Sets Used:  

• Bon Voyage
• Cane Background
• Compass
• Home Sweet Home
• Simple Joys
• Vintage Notepad Background

Other Materials Used:

• My Mind’s Eye / Indie Chic “Citron” 6 x 6 designer pack
• Crochet lace, buttons, rhinestones, designer brads, linen thread, craft envelope
• Punches/Dies: 1-3/8” circle punch, Hearts and Brackets die (Stampin’ Up!), Beautiful Wings   embosslit die (SU), Two Tags die (SU), wide oval punch (SU), Martha Stewart edge punch, 
• Zutter Bind-It-All and binding tools
• Copic Markers, Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black, and London Fog) by Tsukineko

Enjoy Special Moments Card

I know so many women who live life at a very hectic pace…young moms who are constantly on the go.  This card invites the recipient to sit, relax and enjoy all of life’s special moments.  If only for the brief moments taken to sit and read the special message inside, I hope to bring encouragement and refreshment with this creation.  These delightfully warm, vibrant patterned papers give a slightly shabby chic ambiance to the card. The card measures 5-1/4” square.  The image has been paper pieced, and for a touch of realism, the tag string is inserted in a tiny hole, and covered with the paper pieced tea portion of the image.  (This card coordinates with the “Enjoy the Journey” mini album).  

(Angelica's note: see more photos on Diane's Blog! simply gorgeous!)

MSS Sets Used:

• Enjoy Today
• Simple Joys

Other Materials Used:

• Crochet lace, mini market tag (office supply store), buttons, hemp twine
• Patterned Paper—My Mind’s Eye / Indie Chic “Citron” 6 x 6 paper pack

Market Street Stamps Storage Bin (Altered Art)

This 6-1/2” x 9” x 4-1/2” cardboard storage bin is perfect for storing all my new Market Street Stamps! I purchased CD jewel cases to hold each stamp set. The stamps cling to the inside of the case.  I cut the labels and the pictures from the stamp set packaging to identify each case of stamps.  This is perfect for my growing collection of my favorite fun, whimsical sets from Market Street Stamps. 

MSS Stamps Used:
• Gone Campin'

Other Materials:

• Stampin’ Up!: cardstock, patterned paper (retired) and ribbons
• Rhinestones 
• Copic markers
• CD Jewel cases from Staples
• Mini cardboard file case 

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Thank you SO much for visiting today and thank you SO much to DIANE for her incredible, incredible projects! PLEASE head over to her blog for lots more photos - they are amazing!!

Have a great weekend, guys!!

Adding Artsy to your Persimmons Studio Stamps :: Kim Geiser

Good Morning Thursday Warrior!

We are almost at the end of our week, and what a wonderful way to start wrapping it up!

I have a fun FOUR MINUTE video to share with you

 from our friend, Kim Geiser!

As you know, we have had SUCH a great time with her stamps, and last week, I thought it'd be fun to head down to her studio in Manitowoc, WI and see what she's been up to with her new line!

Check out the video below for a fast-motion version of her bookmark project!

She used Woodland and Love stamp sets!
{psst... these stamps are 
still 15% off through today only!}

The fabulous watercolors she uses (in the glass bottles and cards) are from 

PEERLESS COLOR. 

They are made with no binders so they are pure pigment.

There is NO weird chalkiness once it dries and you can still see your ink lines beautifully.


UPDATED (with full supply list):

Other supplies used:

• water soluable wax crayons (available at Hobby Lobby), 
• watercolor pencils 
• traditional cake-style watercolors (all available at your local arts & crafts store)
• Archival Ink for stamping
• Sharpies are Kim's doodling pen of choice
• white pen - Sakura Gelly Roll pens - they are super opaque and fast-drying (available at Michaels or any other arts & crafts store)

Watch Kim as she adds simple extra doodles to her stamped images to give them the artsy look you'd find in one of her original paintings and mixed-media pieces.

Friends, it is SO simple to get this "Doodled" look that is so in right now.

THE BEST PART about it is that there is NO right way!

Have fun and don't be shy to embellish the lines any way you like!

Happy Creating, we hope you ENJOY TODAY!

June Paint the Town Color Challenge!

Hi!

How's everyone doing today?

We've got a brand new 

Paint the Town challenge 
for you today!

Before we get to THAT, lets announce the winners from our BLOCK PARTY!!

The randomly selected winner of a fabulous prize package is....
#18 JESSICA PASCARELLA!

AND.... the participant chosen as our GUEST DESIGNER in July is....
#25 DENISE JANUARY!

Denise's paper-pieced home was absolutely gorgeous!
You all did a wonderful job and we look forward to Denise being our Guest Designer in July!

Now- on to the CHALLENGE!


Super fun and funky colors to spark your creativity this month!


*****************
How about some inspiration from our amazing design team?



DoBea Alberts



Samantha Casey



Julie Day



Tifany DeGough


Amy Kolling


Stephanie Muzzulin



Jinny Newlin



Stephanie Washburn



Brenda Weaver

Are YOU inspired!?

Here's what you need to do!

1. Create any project using Market Street Stamps and this beautiful color inspiration! The colors do not have to be an exact match- just use what you have on hand that best represents the colors.

2. Be creative and HAVE FUN!

3. Link your project below before midnight Monday, June 25th!

One randomly chosen participant will win a stamp set of her choice (value $15 or less)!