Miss You a Latte

Would you like a chance to win over $200 in new stamps and Die-namics from My Favorite Things? Well, all you need to do is play along with the October Guest Designer Contest. Read all the details on THIS THREAD on Splitcoast.

The challenge this month is a sketch and since I'm part of the MFT Design Team, I wanted to help get your creative juices flowing so I created this fun card. I love the row of bling along the Wild Cherry strip, which I cut out using the Mini Monarch Border Die-namics.

I reached for my much neglected à la modes Miss You a Latte set and paired her with patterned papers from the My Mind's Eye Gnome Sweet Gnome collection. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with copic markers. I cut out the image panel with the Rounded Banner STAX Die-namics. I cut apart the sentiment and attached it to the image panel with my Tiny Attacher (which I finally picked up last week and I adore it!). The base layer is Kraft card stock and I layered it onto Hot Fudge for a punch of dark colour. I added a Hot Fudge grosgrain ribbon bow but I find it really difficult to edit a photo so the brown doesn't look like black. Anyone else have that problem? Anyone know how to fix it without washing out the other colours???

On the inside I stamped another sentiment from the set and mimicked the layout on the front of the card.

Hopefully you'll find some time to play along with the MFT Guest Designer Challenge - October. The prize is huge and you also get to play along with the design team for teasers! Fun!!!

Here are the Die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Happy Birthday Jodi!!!!

Today we're doing a little birthday hop in celebration of Jodi Collins!!! Happy Birthday GF!!! And even if you hadn't hinted so strongly at a blog hop (yes folks...read about it in her post here in the first lines!) I was still planning this little cyber party for you!!! Pardon??? Yes, that's right...and how could anyone resist a hint like that anyway! LOL!!! The list of well-wishers is a long one so grab a drink and settle into a comfy seat.  :-)

Happy Birthday Jodiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!

I just had to use my newest MFT Pure Innocence set, Hello Cupcake for Jodi's card. Isn't she the cutest little thing with the giant cupcake that's bigger than she is?!? The patterned papers are from my Cosmo Cricket Pixielicious mini deck and the layout is an MFT stamp club sketch from earlier this month, MFTWSC12012010. I used a couple of dienamics on this card, the little open scallop strip and the flower trio. Isn't the SU corduroy brad the perfect center for the flowers? There's also plenty of sparkle on this card...purple tiny twinkles on the scalloped strip and her shoe, purple glimmer twill ribbon, purple sprinkles on the cupcake thanks to a Spica glitter pen, and a shiny purple cherry! The orchid opulence circle was embossed with my circles and scallops impression plate to give it some texture.

Jodi, wishing you plenty of cupcakes and hugs on your birthday. Enjoy the celebration, my friend!

Next up on the hop is Leslie. But we still haven't convinced her to start a blog yet so I'm sharing her card right here. Although, with all the wonderful comments from readers I think we just may be persuading her a little!  :-)

From Leslie: "Happy Birthday Jodi! I feel like I know you even though we've not met yet - hope to fix that in 2011. Any friend of Karen's is a friend of mine - have a great birthday!"

Now you're off to see what the talented Jackie Pedro created, but don't forget to stop by Jodi's blog when you're done and leave her some birthday love.

Just in case you get lost along the way, here's a list of all the hoppers.

Karen Motz - Paper Playhouse

Leslie Good - card shown on Karen’s blog

Jackie Pedro - The Scalloped Edge

Ann Kranitz - Stamp with Me

Jessie Rone - Can You Say, Addicted to Stamps?

Charmaine Ikach - Oodabug Alley

Jessica Diedrich - Yeah, She Stamps

Karen Giron - The Sweetest Thing

Wendy Bond - Bond Girl Bliss

Regina Mangum - The Stamping Bean

Danielle Lounds - Fat Cat Stamper

Melissa Sauls - In Stamping Mode

Joanne Basile - Just a Little Something

Jami Sibley - More is More

Denise Marzec - The Paper Landscaper

Dana White - Dana’s House of Cards

Taylor VanBruggen - Taylored Expressions

Tori Wild - Wild Sprinkles

Sankari Wegman - Sankari’s Sunshine Corner

Jessica Knutsen - There She Goes

Julie Lacey - Stamps and Taxes

Piali Biswas - Touch of Creation

Corinna McGregor - Stamping with a Java Junkie

Natalie Dever - Dougnat Diaries

Iwona Palamountain - Random Acts of Creativity

Torico - Stamparadise

Angela Thomas - Sparkle and Bling

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Flurry of Love

It was a chilly, chilly weekend but it was sunny and bright...not snowy and blustery. So I decided to create a little snow storm of my own with my card today.

This month's MFT guest designer challenge is to use stitching...something I do on pretty much every card anyway, so it seemed like the perfect challenge to play along with.

I used my Pure Innocence Flurry of Love set. The first thing I thought of was putting her on navy with big white snowflakes all around her. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black, paper pieced her coat and hat with one of the patterns from my Pink Paisley 365 Degrees 6x6 pad. I coloured the rest with copics. I added some sugar sparkly fluff to the hat and boots then cut her out.

I would normally use white liquid applique for the falling snow but this is a stitching challenge so I dug out some white embroidery floss and created the snow with french knot stitches. Now, it's been a really long time since I did any embroidery so I had to google how to do a french knot. LOL!!! Thank goodness for You Tube, eh?!?

I used three layers of white felt for the snow on the ground but I wanted to make it look like the strong wind had blown it into ripples...kinda like the waves do to sand on the beach...so I added plenty of machine stitching on each layer. I played around with adding ribbon and embellishments but nothing looked right so I opted for a very simple layout that lets the image shine.

I did want to add a sentiment though so I ended up decorating the inside...more stitching of course and I also used my jumbo ric rac and let it snowflake die-namics.

You know when a card just makes you smile? Well this one just makes me smile...I keep picking it up and looking at it, and smiling. I know...nerdy, but hey, it's the little things, right?

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

I'm So Grateful For You

Well, this is a bit of an unplanned post but I just couldn't let today go by without some acknowledgement. Did you know that today is my blogoversary? Well frankly, I didn't realize it either until one of my readers left a comment on the previous post wishing me a happy blogoversary...Thank you Teena in Toronto!!!! Shame on me for not keeping track (really, I have no excuse...there's a blogoversary counter thingy on my sidebar! LOL!!!), but I'm grateful that someone brought it to my attention.

So I made a card for all of you...my blog readers. I still can't believe I've been doing this for 2 years now...and to think I started this little blog "just to get me stamping again". Well I'll tell you, I would probably still be blogging even if you weren't here, but it's a whole lot more FUN with you along for the ride!  :-)

I used my Framed Greetings and coordinating die-namic from MFT...it just seemed like THE perfect sentiment for what I wanted to express in this post. The layout is this week's Mojo Monday sketch, Mojo166. And the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club challenge this week is 'thankful for...' so this card definitely qualifies. The patterned papers are from my October Afternoon Thrift Shop pad and I paired them with island mist light, sunflowers medium, kiwi kiss and a pop of black. I also used my jumbo scallop die-namic and my flower trio die-namic.

Thank you for stopping by!!!!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Cooking

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC94. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

For my card today I ended up combining three challenges. I started with the sketch then paired it with the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club challenge...My Favourite Things, inspired by a song from The Sound of Music. But I have a bit of a shocker for you...I've never seen The Sound of Music!!! Eeeeeeks!!! It's become quite comical actually and every time I tell someone I get the same shocked reaction. I see you...close your mouth... ;-)
But now it's become a little mission of mine...I figure I've gone through 40 years without seeing it, now I'm doing my best to never see it. It's a weird quirk of mine...and frankly I love the shock value! LOL!!! BUT, eventhough I've never seen the movie I do know some of the songs and with this song I was inspired by lines "brown paper packages" and "crisp apple streudels". So I used kraft cardstock for the brown paper packages and my A La Mode What's Cooking? is baking up a batch of crisp apple streudels, just in time for Sunday dinner! Yum!!!

The kraft cardstock part of my card qualifies it for my buddy Jeanie's That's Krafty Thursday challenge #42. The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured with copics. I added some red sparkle to her head band and the apron ties then I cut her out. I added detail with some black stitching and I my little open scallop border die-namic. Then I used my scalloped rolled flower dienamic and created the gorgeous blue flower. The patterned papers are from my Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 mini deck.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers created.
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Miss You a Latte

Happy Tuesday!!! I had some stamp time yesterday afternoon so I thought I'd play along with the current Wednesday Stamp Club challenge for My Favourite Things...it's a sketch! I {{{heart}}}sketches!!!

I inked up my sweet Miss You a Latte A-la-mode. This line of stamps is so cute and fresh, and seriously, who wouldn't love to carry around gallons of lattes like these! LOL!!! She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copics. I added some shimmer to her shirt and hair band with my turquoise Spica glitter pen. The patterned papers are all from my new MME Fine & Dandy True Blue paper pad...swoon!!! I used my flower trio die-namic on some cork and orange cardstock to create the flower embellishment and my scalloped scallop die-namic adds the fun edge to the two vertical panels.

That's it for me today. Thanks for stopping by!
Karen  :-)

PS: I think this is THE shortest post I've ever written!!! I didn't even type enough to get the scroll bar on the blogger compose screen before I added photos! LOL!!!

Sweet Sunday-a Beautiful Day

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC83. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

This week's sketch is compliments of Nancy McKinney, so you'll see that she's playing along too. I can't remember how the topic of sketches came about, but during CHA in Chicago we were all together sitting at the bar laughing and having a fabulous time, then Nancy started sketching layouts on the back of napkins. I know there's more to the story than that, but the wine from that evening seems to have clouded my memory. ;)

I knew when I saw this sketch that I wanted to focus on a sentiment in the circular panel, and when I saw the MFT guest designer challenge (to focus on a sentiment) I figured I'd use my Framed Greetings set with the coordinating Die-namics, and throw my name in the hat for the contest. I used a couple other Die-namics too, the jumbo scallop border with a piece of denim, and the flower and leaf trio with patterned paper from October Afternoon. The background circle is cut from a cork sheet and I used some pink felt with my Sizzix 3D flowers die for the pink flower. I adore how this turned out, with the bits of stitching and the pleated ribbon along with all the neutral colours.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers have created.
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Lynn Put
Nancy McKinney
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Geek Guy Hits the Books-Electronic Style

I can't believe it...I woke up this morning finally wanting to head to my stamp room and create something. I haven't been feeling crafty at all lately and I was happy to have that feeling back. To make sure I didn't get stumped along the way and loose my mojo I decided to play in a couple of challenges.

The layout for this card is SC294 from Splitcoast and the theme is this week's MFT Wednesday Stamp Club challenge...Hitting the Books. I know my geek guy doesn't have a book in his hands but seriously, in this day and age is it even possible to hit the books without including a computer in the list of necessities? Maybe in kindergarten, maybe...but that's about it. Even I don't read paper books anymore since I got my Kindle last year, and now I can read on my computer and iPhone too! Ok, wait a second...I'm starting to wonder who the real geek is in this equation! LOL!!!

My hubby's always on his computer...he'll finish with his work laptop then pick up his personal laptop for "fun" surfing, as he calls it, so when I saw Who's That Geek Guy? from MFT stamps I knew it was the perfect set for him. The image is mostly paper pieced with patterns from Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend 6x6 mini deck and I coloured a little of it with copics. I always find it difficult to incorporate accessories into guy cards so I stuck with a black button and some grey Divine Twine. None of the sentiments were what I was looking for so I decided to leave it blank...now I can use it for just about anything.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Happy Birthday Joanne!!!

Yup, that's right...today is my friend Joanne's birthday!!! I'll be on her doorstep later today with a birthday Mocha in hand...see you later GF! Be sure to pop over and wish her a VERY happy day!!!

In honour of Joanne's birthday I decided to use my favourite MFT birthday set, You Take the Cake from the Who's That Girl line. Since this card is for Joanne I decided to incorporate a few "Joanne-ish" things, like pink, paper piecing, and ruffled ribbon. :)

I used Mojo109 for the layout. I started by stamping the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto the Doodlebug striped paper from the Cupcakes Collection, then I stamped it again onto Choice Snow White. I coloured the girl and the cake with copics then cut her out with scissors and adhered her to the striped panel...voila...instant striped wall paper! I added some Yellow Stickles to the candle flames and some pink glitter to the cake...doesn't it look yummy! I layered the image onto a thin mat of black before adhering it to the scallop square of Prism Razzleberry Medium.

I stitched the polka dot paper from the Cupcakes Collection to a mat of Razzleberry Medium then I added some fun ruffled ribbon and topped it off with the pink loop ribbon. The Moxie Fab blog has a fun ruffles challenge that's ending today, so hurry over and get your ruffled creation linked up! The bottom of the card was looking a little bare so I jazzed it up with my new Bling it On. They're rubons with coordinating bling...sooooo cool and easy to apply!!! I added a fun Doodlebug cupcake brad to the sentiment for just a little more bling! Really, can you ever have too much bling?!?

This card is also my entry for the MFT So You Think You Can Stamp week 3 challenge over on Splitcoast. The theme this week is "Waltz". Huh??? I know what you're thinking...what does a birthday card have to do with the waltz? Well, for starters, the ruffly ribbon and curlicue rubons remind me of the flowing dresses dancers wear when they waltz. But I did a little Google search and discovered that it's a tradition in a few countries for girls to dance the waltz on their 15th birthday, and in one country it's a tradition that she wears a pink dress! Now do you see the connection?!? Here's the link in case you're curious as to what the birthday traditions are in other countries. Oh, and I'm Canadian and I've never had my nose greased on my birthday...don't know who came up with that one but it sounds yucky!!! Wish me luck! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

I Need More Memory...

This week's challenge in the MFT forum on Splitcoast is to create something with a back-to-school theme. Instead of making a card I decided to alter a mini composition book.

When I was flipping through my pile of MFT stamps searching for just the right one, Digital Girl from the Who's That Girl line jumped out at me, especially the "I need more memory" sentiment. After all, schools are about more than just books these days, the kids all use computers too, but I chuckled to myself at just how funny it would be to use Digital Girl and the sentiment to alter a paper book...it still makes me chuckle! Although, I'm a paper-lovin' girl...up until just a few months ago I was still using a paper planner for my appointments and stuff...hubby laughs at how long it takes me to embrace a new gadget, then I plow ahead full steam commenting on how much I love my new 21st century gadget! LOL!

This book is little, only 3.25 x 4.5 inches big so I chopped the image at the bottom of the desk to fit better. Digital girl is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copics. I can colour so much faster with copics than I can with pencils, so I still tend to reach for my copics first. The desk is paper pieced.

The patterned papers are from Jillibean Soup, the Minestrone line. I adhered them directly to the composition book then added some orange ribbon. I used an EK border punch on some chocolate chip to create the spine piece and attached it with Score Tape so it's very secure. The only embellishment I added was a small ghost flower and an orange bonbon.

Since we don't have kids and I'm not going to school any time soon, I think I'll tuck this into my purse for when I need to make a note, or maybe jot down a sketch or idea that comes to mind when I'm out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Black & White Flopsey

It feels so good to be back in my stamp room after our vacation. I didn't take any stamping stuff with me this time because we were moving around a lot, driving to visit both our families in Ontario, so I really wouldn't have had time to stamp anyway.

But, when we got home, my Bubble Bunny from MFT was waiting for me in the mailbox so I decided to get him inky right away. I thought it would be fun to use this Flopsey with the Black & White challenge in the MFT forum on Splitcoast.

I started by rooting through my paper collection and pulled out all the black and white patterned paper...I have way more than I thought I did! I ended up using some Bo Bunny paper along with solids of black, grey and white. The challenge says it's ok to use shades of grey and there can be some colour in the image, but everything else must be black and white.

Flopsey is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Lyra pencils. I wanted to keep the colours on the image soft and I find it's easier to do that with pencils instead of copics. If you look closely you can see that the bubbles have a hint of light pink. I added some Hero Arts gemstones to the bath tub...shouldn't everyone have a sparkly tub?!?

The card base is 5 inches square. I ran the grey piece through my Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder then added some ribbon from my stash. I layered some Primas onto a ghost flower and finished it with a black brad.

I don't often think of using only black, white and grey, but I really like how this turned out! Thanks for the challenge Joanne and Christina!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Flopsey Birthday

It's been quite some time since I participated in any of the challenges in the My Favourite Things forum on Splitcoast, and when I saw this paper piecing challenge I knew it was calling out to me. I LOVE paper piecing, almost as much as I love my copics. But I cast my markers aside for this one and befriended my paper snips. 

I decided to use my new Birthday Flopsey (which appears to be out of stock at the moment so here's a link to all the Flopsey sets) from My Favourite Things. I pulled out some cool suede paper that I've been hoarding since March and I paper pieced Flopsey with two shades of brown. It's so cool IRL...feels just like suede, soft like a bunny! For the cake I pulled out my Bloom & Grow papers from My Mind's Eye. I even cut out the teeny tiny candles...I know, I'm crazy! But I like cutting...grin! The Mojo Monday #92 sketch seemed to fit nicely with my vision. 

The card base is Choice Buttercream. Then I layered baja breeze and patterns from Bloom & Grow. I sewed around with chocolate thread and I love how it stands out. I was originally going to use ivory thread cause I was nervous to use the chocolate...what was I thinking...how could I be nervous to use chocolate!!!???!!! I added some chocolate and cream ribbon and tied on a pumpkin corduroy SU button. The little square element was absolutely perfect for one of the sentiments in the set. You can't tell from the photo but I added some orange Stickles to the candle flames. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen