Animals Everywhere!

We're going critter crazy today at Mountain Plains Crafters!
Everyone loves a cute little bunny, a fuzzy kitten, a silky fox

and this Design Team is no exception!

Look...Squirrel!

Paula

I think my owl needs a name.  How about....Harvey?  Works for me.  He's just hanging out on a snowy branch, chillin' and shivering 'cause there's a nip in the air!

Terri

, 

I was going to make a card with a deer on it. I really was but when I was going through my stamps, this wolf stamp started howling my name. I have had him for months, but I hadn't inked him up yet. He spoke to my twisted sense of humor as well. I knew that everyone else on the design team was going to bring "cute" critters. They would just provide a buffet for my wolf. Either that or he ate the deer I was going to stamp, and he is full now.

MariLynn

I have had kitties my entire life; right now, my furry friend's name is Salem...and I'm terribly allergic to him! Right before I made this card, I touched him with one hand to get him off the couch, hoping not to trigger an allergy attack. I guess one touch was too much, because I ended up with itchy eyes, nose and throat and the sneezes! Oh, well I still love him and I love this watercolored kitty card, too! >^.^<

 Christina

I fell in love with this ribbon when I saw it in the clearance bin and bought it to use with some mushroom stamps.Then I spotted this cute hedgehog stamp and my card went in a totally different direction. Used my Inktense & Metallic watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color the little guys. Popped up the banner with some dimensionals and my 2 cute critters are ready to go !!

Debra

BUNNIES!! I love all things cute and cuddly and when Lawn Fawn came out with these sweet little hippity-hops, I was done. I used my Spectrum Noir markers to color them in, and since I splurged & got the matching dies as well cutting them out was a breeze! Some Tombow adhesive to hold some bits down, foam tape to pop the rest, add the heat embossed vellum sentiment and done! Now keep your wolf away from them, MariLynn! :P
Jennifer

Thanks for joining us today.  We had fun making these critter cards.  Have you got a critter card?  Head on over to our Facebook page and show us what you've got.  We'd love to see!

Fall Leaves and Friendship

Hi there everyone; Jennifer here to share the details of the fall card I created for our Fall Card Challenge. You have until September 29th to enter, so I expect to see lots and lots of pretty fall colors!

When I think fall, I envision pumpkin spice lattes, sweaters, boots, and leaves going crunch under my feet. One of the joys of living in the Northeast is that we actually get all 4 seasons, and leaf peeping is one of them! With that in mind, I set to work and came up with this:

Here's the layer breakdown:
Base - kraft paper
Background - my own creation with Distress Paints and watercolor paper. Colors used: Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Forest Moss and Spiced Marmalade.
Sentiment layer - natural ivory linen, Unity Stamp Co. sentiment from a Stamp of the Week in Memento Espresso ink.
Leaves - these were FUN and MESSY! Vellum embossed with a crackle embossing folder from Darice, die cut with the Tim Holtz Textured Leaves die, and rubbed with the mini Distress Inks in Barn Door, Squeezed Lemonade, Olive, and Spiced Marmalade. I tacked them down with my Tombow Mono glue by 'hiding' the glue drops with the inked bits of the leaves and the twine bow up top.
Final touches - twine bow and a scattering of Pretty Pink Posh 4mm sequins in Sand and Forest Moss.

I tacked the leaves down to the ivory linen paper, the linen paper to the background paper, and then used 3D foam tape to attach the whole shebang to the kraft base card. Add on the bow and the sequins and this baby was done!

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for the contest!

New challenge at MPC ....link up your themed project for a fab prize!

Welcome to another fun challenge from Mountain Plains Crafters!  Remember that old song from The Byrds, "Turn, Turn, Turn"?  To everything turn, turn, turn...there is a season, turn, turn, turn..and a time for every purpose under Heaven. 

Depending on what part of the country you live in, the dog days of summer are hanging on by a thread or you're starting to have cooler days.  So with cooler days in mind, our theme is Leaves/Autumn.  You can go with a leaf theme or Autumn or both.  Link your new project using this theme for a super nice prize from our sponsor Pan Pastel, a Donna Downey Mixed Media Paint kit!  (Colors may vary)

Want to see how to use Pan Pastel paints?  Go here: techniques or check out their video gallery and while you're at, go visit their Facebook page and tell them Mountain Plains Crafters sent you!

This challenge will run for a month to give you lots of time to strategize for your project.  We ask that you link no more than 2 projects to the Inlinkz link below which does require that you use a blog or photo hosting site such as Flickr.  This contest begins Aug. 27, 2014 and ends 9/24/14 at 9:00 am ET, with a winner picked on Monday, 9/29/14 via Random.org.

So without further ado, here are some fabulous creations from our design team to get your crafty juices flowing!

Pam

Christina

Fall is my absolute favorite season!  Summer is just too hot here in Texas and I always anxiously wait it out until autumn arrives with it's cooler temperatures, blustery days and crunchy leaves. I love seeing the leaves change colors; I've always been fascinated how they start green and end up vibrant shades of red and gold, which is what inspired this card. I can't wait for fall!

Terri

Paula

Fall is my busiest time of the year and my very favorite! Enjoying the marching band at football games, cheering on the Cross Country team, and soon the pumpkin patch at the church. The ground gets completely covered by the leaves abandoning their trees & covering the floor of the woods.

All this plus cooler temps on their way, well sign me up!

Debra

Fall for me is everything pumpkin.. Pumpkin bread & pies shared with friends. Pumpkin lattes at the local coffee shops, that are so good  on chilly autumn evenings. The color - pumpkin - in my favorite Graphic 45 paper, "Steampunk Spells".  My favorite autumn glitter that is perfect to use on pumpkins. Falling leaves, sweater weather- Grateful for so much  this time of year !!

MariLynn

I love fall with the little bit of chill in the air. Fall to me is trips to the apple orchard and hot apple cider. It is high school football games on Friday night. It is marching band competitions. It is a time when God goes crazy with the colors of the leaves. It is probably my favorite time of year.( I used multiple sentiments from multiple Mark's Finest Papers sets. )

Jennifer

While summer will forever be my favorite season, there is a lot to love about fall. Pumpkin spice lattes come to mind, as does the beautiful color display Mother Nature gives us in the changing leaves. It's also the time of year to start thinking of all the things we're thankful for, especially my dear friends!

 Enter your link below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Mountain bear love

I love this stamp set from Lawn Fawn called Love You S'more.  It's so versatile and can be used in multiple ways.

I've been in an Autumn frame of mind lately as we've had unusually cooler temperatures here in the South.  Yesterday was such a beautiful, cool day and I was in the mood to make a watercolor night scene so I grabbed this set for inspiration.

I used my Tim Holtz distress markers along with a couple of Pentel watercolor paint brushes to create the watercolor background.  Before painting the sky, I heat embossed the stars and later added some Stickles glitter glue for sparkle.  The pink/green plaid background DP is from a DCWV adhesive mat stack.

The luscious green chevron ribbon is from May Arts Ribbon.  Isn't it the perfect accent on this card?  I even stamped the sentiment directly onto a piece of the ribbon.  The bear, moon, bird and trees were cut with the Lawn Fawn coordinating dies with my Cuttlebug.   Love how this turned out!

TERRI

Halloween card....Enter if you dare!

I recently had a visit with my cousin who is all about Halloween.  This girl goes all out.  I've seen it and yes, it is quite the spectacle.

 

With Fall just around the corner, I was totally in the mood to ink up some Unity stamps that I've had for awhile, and after getting all pumped up from my cousin on Halloween, that's the direction I went with.  Love this sentiment from the Unity Halloween Chatter kit!  And those orange Queen & Co bubbles give just the right touch of sparkle.  Let's face it; Q&C bubbles go with EVERYTHING!  ;) 

Terri

 

 

Ballerina card

We have a couple of little ballerina's in my family.  Hoping to use this as a birthday card or dance recital celebration card.  Lots of pretties on here that I couldn't wait to put together.  :)   

        Terri

SUPPLIES:

Queen & Co clear bubbles, FabScraps dp and stickers, Spellbinders Celebra'tions Tape It stamp, Pinkfresh Studio washi tape, vintage lace, gemstones, Tim Holtz Distress tool, American Crafts Blush ink, quilled flowers

Hello Flower

Here's a card I made from a stamp set that I won from a blog hop that I kinda stumbled on at Waffle Flower Crafts.  Its always nice to win something but even better when it's something crafty!   Be sure and visit our Facebook page.  We have a crafty challenge coming up this week and that means a prize!  

 Have a nice, summery day!    

  Terri

Heat embossed wedding card

I've got several weddings coming up so I'm in need of more wedding cards.  I kept this simple and elegant and just love how it turned out.  This card features the Unity Stamp Co kits Insightful Meadows by Donna Downey and LIVE LAUGH LOVE by Samantha Walker.  Check them out!

 

 

Terri

 

 If you would like to see more details on how this card was made, visit my personal blog here:

Waving My Wand

Let not your heart be troubled

For those.of us who are crafty obsessed, we follow trends, blogs, company forums....you name it.  I'm a big fan of Teresa Collins products and follow her blog. 

I'm asking you to lift her family up in prayer as they deal with her husbands cancer.   Her recent post inspired me to make this card.  There's a lot of hurt and pain in this world.  But if you trust in Christ, you have hope.  Blessings to each one of you.

                                       Terri

Beachy Tropical card

Who's ready for a summer beach trip?  Me!  Am I going?  I wish......(sigh).  But...we are taking a mini trip in July to visit family and there will be swimming involved, so guess this card is the closest I'll get to a beach experience anytime soon.  Happy jumpstart to vacation everyone!    Terri

(Unity Stamp Co Lil Happy birdie stamp,  May Arts Ribbon)

Lawn Fawn Smores card

Look at this sweet lil squirrel trying to roast himself a marshmallow.  That stick is bigger than him but he's not giving up!  Haha.

Check out the new products at Lawn Fawn where you can find this stamp and die set called "love you s'more".

Come visit Mountain Plains Crafters on Facebook and the blog for more crafty inspiration!  While you're at it, feel free to perform a random act of kindness by, liking, following and sharing.  Thanks!

 

Suppies: Lawn Fawn "love you s'more" stamp and die set, Pentel watercolor art brushes in green and yellow, Stickles glitter glue in Tropical Tangerine and Yellow, Graphic 45 blue/dot paper from the Sweet Sentiment collection, Martha Stewart gold ink, Inkadinkadoo blue ink, Memento black luxe ink, white gel pen, Tim Holt distressed ink in Brushed Corduroy, Tim Holtz distress markers

Watercolor flower card

Here's wishing you a very happy Friday and a wonderful long weekend! 

Supplies:  Unity Stamp Well Wishes and Feel the Joy, May Arts Ribbon natural jute and minipink raffia bow rribbon, Lil Inkers Design stitched frame and tag, enamel dots, Tim Holtz distress markers