Friends of Speedy TV Challenge

This week's challenge on Speedy TV is to use your favorite sketch. I like color blocking, and I've used this sketch with both squares and circles as a background. I'm in full Christmas card mode, so I used the challenge to make another card for my stash.



Unfortunately, this particular Mark's Finest Papers' set is retired, but I do love these cardinals. I stamped the smaller cardinal four times for the corners, and the larger cardinal I cut with a Labels Thirteen die, using my matting technique for the green layer. The cardinal images were colored with Copic markers -- R43, R29, R59, G40, G82, E33, E35, and outlined with BG10. It's hard to see, but I used some gold Smooch paint to outline the large cardinal panel.

If you aren't aware, Technique Junkies Newsletter is having a blog hop this week. Several MFP design team members are participating on Thursday. Be sure to check out all the projects this week. You have a chance to win the Grand Prize.

Featured Stamper Challenge and More

Today's challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is the Featured Stamper challenge. I CASEd this card from JBgreendawn's gallery because I liked the "woodsy" feel of it. I kept that theme and also the layout -- although I did add another layer (the blue one).

I love the "airy" feel of this forest scene with its little stream and icy trees. I tried to increase the icy feeling by adding some Stickles. This image is from a new set from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, called What a Fox.



These two cards were made for both of Friday's SCS challenges -- the Ways to Use It challenge (to make a Christmas card highlighting black, in honor of Black Friday) and the Queen for the Day challenge, whose Queen was Dawn Lusk, a very talented artist.



Both of these cards were made with Christmas in the Country, another set from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company. I just love that church scene. It reminds me of the little country mission church I attended back in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.



I've got a wonderful announcement to make here. Technique Junkies Newsletter is having a Blog Hop this week (Monday through Friday), showing many of the 3-D projects included in their new CD. Several members of Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, design team will be part of the hop on Thursday. Be sure to check out the hop all week.

MFP Blog - What a Fox

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

What I liked about this scene is the "airy" look of the bare trees and the reflection in the water. It did not require much coloring -- just the sky and the fox. I did add some brown to the trees, but I'm not sure that was really necessary. The Polar White Flower Soft brought some texture into it -- giving a little more sense of winter.



I fell in love with the sentiment I used on the treat box for this set! The large single fox is sitting there just checking you out! The trees in the background are from another MFP set -- A Walk in the Woods.



Here is the inside of the box. See -- he did bring you chocolate!



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! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - A Trip to Lancaster

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

Today's set is A Trip to Lancaster. I am originally from Pennsylvania, and one of my close friends when I was young was Mennonite, a Protestant sect similar but not the same as Amish. While sharing basic beliefs, Mennonites are not as outwardly different from other Christian groups as the Amish. (so much for the religious history lesson!) In doing my research for today's card, I came across many sites which listed "Amish Barn Stars." Apparently many Amish barns have stars on them, similar to the "hex signs" or "distelfinks" you find on Amish barns. So I used an embossing folder with stars as the background for my card.

My "cheese container treat box" today does NOT contain candy. While Amish children don't eat candy, the Amish do bake cookies. So my treat box contains cookies. I painted the box black and used MFP Hurricane Gray as the scallop layer. The buggy is popped up on pop dots. Note the "slow moving vehicle" sign on the back of the buggy. These are required to be attached to the buggies to alert other drivers on the road. Some of the stricter orders of Amish refuse to attach these signs because they oppose the use of bright colors.



And here is the box open.

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! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Peaceful Nuthatch

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

My first card for this month's hop is made with the sweet little nuthatch sitting on a fence. For my background, I took a sheet of designer paper from DCWV's Photo Stack 2 and reduced it to 50% and then matted it on MFP Dark Night Navy. I added a strip of diecut icicles cut from a Marianne Design die I found at StampFest last year. I thought the icicles would complement the icicles on the fence. The image was stamped on a piece of MFP Snow Storm Smooth and cut out with a rectangle nestie, matted in another piece of Dark Night Navy and angled on the card. The image is colored with Copic markers, the sky with Pebbles Pearlescent chalks.



Last month one of the former MFP design team members, Carol Hurlock, posted a video tutorial on how to make a cute little candy box using an empty Laughing Cow cheese box. I loved it! So I decided to make several myself. Here is my first try -- using the single nuthatch from this month's set. Because it's going to be used as a little Christmas favor, I used some glitter designer paper from a DCWV matstack. To provide some depth, I stamped the nuthatch three times, cutting the bird and the pinecones out and layering them -- popping up the layers on pop dots. Coloring was done with Copic markers.

Here's the box with the lid open. As you can see, I put some Christmas wrapped candy kisses inside. BTW, there is another red scalloped piece of glitter paper on the back.

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! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

Playing Catch-up -- Again

I admit it -- I have been very remiss in posting to this blog. Sometimes life in general gets in the way of publishing for fun. I won't say that I will be better in the future -- but I'll certainly try.

I did participate in this weekend's Virtual Stamp Night mini challenge on Friday night. I wasn't able to make all my cards as the challenges were posted, but I did follow the 45-minute rule. My first card also qualifies for this week's Friends of Speedy the Cat challenge on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog -- to use your favorite technique. I love to mask. You can obtain lots of depth on a flat surface this way. The VSN challenge was "A Marshmallow World," and we were to put clouds (marshmallows?) on our cards. Using several of the trees from A Walk in the Woods, I created a little bit of the forest, stamping and masking as I went along. The clouds were created by sponging against a scallop circle.



This VSN Challenge was "Let It Snow." We were to use a product like flower soft or flocking to create faux snow on our card. I used an old set from Lizzie Anne Designs called Christmas in the Country. I love that snowman and the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree! I added my Polar White Flower Soft on each of the panels.



One other VSN challenge was to make a card depicting your favorite Christmas song. I won't say this is my FAVORITE Christmas song, but it is the one that brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it -- Mary, Did You Know? Here is the last verse:

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I AM.

I used a Stampin' Up set called Holy Triptych along with some MFP Dark Night Navy and Sparkling Silver cardstock to create my card.



Finally, today's Featured Stamper is Itsapassion (a/k/a Anne). I didn't have to go very far in Anne's gallery to find something to CASE. I had placed her Butterfly Postcard in my Favorites earlier in the week. I changed her butterflies to cardinals and moved the postcard embossing folder a little forward. I had purchased that folder a while ago and had never used it. I sponged the postcard folder and the tulip folder with Tim Holtz Distressed Antique Linen.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I hope to be able to be a bit more consistent in posting in the future.