Stampin'B Challenge - Birthday

Both of my sons celebrate birthdays in August, so I was happy to make a card for Vicki’s Stampin'B's DT Blog challenge this week -- a birthday card.




Masculine cards are never easy, but I managed to put this together using images from Mark’s Finest Papers' new set Southwest Cowboy. The DP is from a cool Basic Grey pad called Basic Krafts. I used a plastic canvas circle as a guide for my piercing. Thanks, Vicki, I’m half done with my birthday cards for August.
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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers - Southwest Cowboy, (sentiment) Take Time & Father's Day
Paper - MFP Deepest Mahogany, Desert Sand, Naturals Ivory; Basic Grey Basic Krafts DP
Ink - Palette Burnt Umber, Tim Holtz Distressed Vintage Photo
Accessories - Circle Nestabilities, Paper Piercing Tool, Corner Rounder, Twine, Eyelet

Featured Stamper - Ravengirl

I did two CASE cards based on Ravengirl's (a/k/a Toni) gallery for today's SCS Featured Stamper challenge.




My first card is a sneak peek of a new Mark's Finest Papers' set called Tweet Blessings, to be released in August. I kept the layout and colors of Toni's A Krafty Sketch for Hip Hop. Because it was a sketch challenge I changed it up a little by making it an A2 card and moving the sentiment. In addition, I used different stamps. You can't see much of the image on the blue-matted panel, but it is the weave stamp from Background Fun.
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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers - Tweet Blessings and Background Fun
Ink - Palette L'Amore Red and Burnt Umber; Tim Holtz Distressed - Barn Door and Vintage Photo
Paper - MFP Desert Sand, Ripened Tomato, Bang Up Blue, Snow Storm Smooth
Accessories - Ribbon Prima, Brad, Sponge daubers






I used my favorite MFP butterflies for this card, which is a CASE of Toni's Dirty Little Butterflies. I kept her layout but made the following changes: different images, different colors, stamped background instead of DP, and added scoring.
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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers - Daffodil and Anise, Background Fun
Ink - Palette Noir Black, Tim Holtz Distress inks - Wild Honey, Orange Marmalade
Paper - MFP Snow Storm Smooth, Florida Peach
Accessories - Sponge daubers, Scor-Pal

Stampin'B and SCS Challenges

Vicky Gould was the hostess for this week's Stampin'B's challenge, and she wanted us to make a card using a background stamp rather than designer paper. And over on SCS this week, we've been playing along with the Dirty Dozen (current and past). Kittie747's challenge (Lost and Found) was to use something that may be lost, old or that may even appear unusable.





I used the chicken wire background from Mark’s Finest Papers’ Chicken Scratch set and stamped it with Palette Noir Black on a paint chip sample I picked up at Lowe’s some time ago and found in a drawer. The hen in the basket is colored with Copic markers, cut out, and popped up with dimensionals.

Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers Chicken Scratch
Paper - MFP Snow Storm Smooth, Speedy the Cat Black
Ink - Palette Noir Black
Accessories - Copic markers, Paint chip, Ribbon, Pop dots

Z-Fold Cards

I enjoy doing fun folds, so I have a couple of cards to show you today, using the Z-Fold. It's a pretty easy technique. Cut your cardstock 4 1/4 inches by 11 inches, and score at 2 3/4 inches and 5 1/2 inches.



My first card was made for one of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges on SCS -- Just Faux You. The challenge was to use ONLY embellishments, ribbon and/or designer paper that you had created yourself. I made my DP from two background images Background Fun and Chicken Scratch, gingham ribbon which is actually paper run through the Cuttlebug using Tim Holtz checkerboard embossing folder and then rubbed with red ink, and two faux eyelets punched from copper paper. All materials, including the Tim Holtz folder, available at Mark's Finest Papers.
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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers Chicken Scratch, Background Fun and (sentiment) Ladybugs & Carnations
Paper - MFP Ripened Tomato, Desert Sand, Snow Storm Smooth
Ink - Palette Noir Black, Tim Holtz Distressed Walnut Stain, Tea Dye, Barn Door
Accessories - Copic Markers, 1/4 & 1/2 inch Circle Punches, Labels Two Nestabilities, White Gel Pen, Sponge Daubers, Cuttlebug, Tim Holtz Checkerboard Embossing Folder

My second card is actually using a set from Mark's Finest Papers that will not be released until next month. I made this card at my sister's, so I don't know the name of the designer papers I used. The image is stamped with Palette Noir Black and sponged with Tim Holtz distressed inks. The "snow" at the tops of the mountains is actually Polar White Flower Soft.

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Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers Regal & Proud

Ink - Palette Noir Black, Tim Holtz Bundled Sage, Tea Dye, and Tumbled Glass

Paper - SU Garden Green, GP White, DCWV patterned paper

Accessories - Sponge daubers, Flower Soft, Labels Eight Nestabilities dies

MFP Blog Hop - Day 4

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop. Our very talented Design Teams have created exciting paper crafts for your inspiration. With the addition of New Design Team members, we’re going to have a really fun-packed Hop! Sit back, and hold on to your mouse! This is going to be a FABULOUS ride! Come Hop along with us! We have 4 New Stamp Sets Released today: Background Fun, Southwest Cowboy, Flourishes & Frame, and Apples & Camellia. For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs on July 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th. On Saturday, July 17th, a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! Four different winners, one winner for each day. THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

The 4 Winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on July 17, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month.

We end the Blog Hop with a very pretty set, Apples and Camellia.





My card today is a fun fancy fold – a tri-shutter card. If you’ve never made one, here’s a link to the tutorial on SCS. My base is MFP Ripened Tomato and the designer paper is from Basic Grey’s Capella paper pad. After doing all the folding and cutting, I stamped the large apple onto Snow Storm Smooth and colored it with Copic markers. I cut the row of apples in half so I could place them strategically on the long panels. I love the sentiment, which is stamped directly onto the designer paper. I added some gingham ribbon and little apple charm, and I was done.

My second project is not a card at all, but a photo album, which I put together with my Bind-It-All. Before my mom’s health deteriorated and she had to give it up, she did volunteer work at a local botanical garden in town. She loved flowers, having been a floral designer for many years. I’m going to put some pictures in it from the 90th birthday party we had for her and give it to her as a remembrance. There’s not a whole lot of explanation need for this. I stamped the camellias onto Strawberry Freeze and Morning Sun and then embossed them with some Ranger Bridal Tinsel Embossing Powder and cut them out. I cut out the white panel with the next-to-the-largest Label Ten Nestabilities die. The layered piece was hand cut after tracing around the outside of the die. This gives a narrower mat. I still had yesterday’s set (Flourishes and Frame) on my table, so I used one of the sentiments from that set. The corner pieces were cut from a Cuttlebug die.

Be sure to visit the rest of the team to see what they did with this fun set and comment on each blog. You have one more chance to win one of the stamp sets to be released in August.

Here is the Blog Hop LINE UP:

July Guest Designer – Melisa Waldorf
Nancyruth

Lois - (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne
Anne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Susan
Judi
Patty
Karen
Connie
Roxie
Vicki
Liz

Claudine

Dawn
Mark’s Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop Day 3 and Stampin'B's Challenge

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop. Our very talented Design Teams have created exciting paper crafts for your inspiration. With the addition of New Design Team members, we're going to have a really fun-packed Hop! Sit back, and hold on to your mouse! This is going to be a FABULOUS ride! Come Hop along with us! We have 4 New Stamp Sets Released today: Background Fun, Southwest Cowboy, Flourishes & Frame, and Apples & Camellia. For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs on July 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th. On Saturday, July 17th, a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! Four different winners, one winner for each day. THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

The 4 Winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on July 17, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month.

My first card is serving two purposes – the Stampin’B’s challenge for this week and also Day 3 of the Blog Hop.

I was the hostess for this week’s Stampin’B’s challenge, and I wanted the sentiment to be the main focus of our cards. The only thing stamped on this card IS the sentiment – Happy Birthday – from Flourishes and Frame. I cut the frame from Autumn Greens cardstock, using the smaller of the two frames from Spellbinders Decorative Frames Frameabilities, sponging with Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Bundled Sage. The background paper is from Basic Grey Capella paper pack, which has such pretty patterns in muted greens and browns. I added a few pearls around the frame, and I was done.

My second project was a little more involved – a 3 ½” x 3 ½” box holding six 3” x 3” note cards. I thought it would make a nice thank-you gift, so that’s what I put in the center of the frame on the lid. Each note card has a different sentiment – my photo shows only four of the six cards. The patterned paper is from Basic Grey Two Scoops paper pad, and the matted piece is MFP Autumn Greens, as is the base of the box. The ribbon around the lid was originally white, but I sponged it heavily with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Bundled Sage. I learned the hard way some time ago, that you really have to wait a while for the ink to dry before trying to tie the bow. Otherwise, your fingers wind up VERY inky!

Don’t forget -- For another chance to win a free stamp set, be sure to visit the blogs of the rest of the design team and comment on each.

The Blog Hop line-up is:

July Guest Designer – Melisa Waldorf
Nancyruth

Lois - (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne
Anne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Susan
Judi
Patty
Karen
Connie
Roxie
Vicki
Joanne
Dawn

Claudine

Liz

Mark’s Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Day 2

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop. Our very talented Design Teams have created exciting paper crafts for your inspiration. With the addition of New Design Team members, we’re going to have a really fun-packed Hop! Sit back, and hold on to your mouse! This is going to be a FABULOUS ride! Come Hop along with us! We have 4 New Stamp Sets Released today: Background Fun, Southwest Cowboy, Flourishes & Frame, and Apples & Camellia. For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs on July 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th. On Saturday, July 17th, a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! Four different winners, one winner for each day. THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

The 4 Winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on July 17, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month.

Again I have created two cards with today’s set – Southwest Cowboy.

I decided to use a technique that I haven’t used in a very long time for my first card today – Shaving Cream background. You can’t see a whole lot of it, but I used Palette reinkers in Cognac, Raw Sienna and Moss Jardin. Then I carried the browns and greens into my stamped panels. After stamping the cowboy with Burnt Umber, I stamped it again on a post-it note and cut out the unstamped portion of his shirt. I masked the image and sponged Moss Jardin onto his shirt. The panel at the top right has one of the smaller images stamped on it; and then, after sponging in the desert, I added some Flower Soft Ultra Fine Sand to give it a little texture.. Don’t you love the rustic-looking font on the sentiment?

The background for my second card is a piece of Basic Grey Kraft DP, embossed with a wood grain Tim Holtz embossing folder and then sanded to bring out the wood grain. The moon, sky, and sand were sponged -- with the cactus stamped in Tim Holtz Walnut Stain.

Be sure to visit the rest of the team to see what they did with this lovely set and comment on each blog. You have a chance to win one of the stamp sets to be released in August.

Here is the Blog Hop LINE UP

July Guest Designer – Melisa Waldorf
Nancyruth

Lois - (that’s me)

Vicky

Jeanne
Anne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Susan
Judi
Patty
Karen
Connie
Roxie
Vicki
Joanne
Julia
Claudine
Mark’s Finest Papers