MFP Blog Hop Day 1 - Chinese Take-Out

Welcome to the Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company

July Blog Hop! 

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

 Featured July 15
Chinese Take Out 

Featured July 16

Coneflowers
Roses

 Featured July 17

Snowflakes

Featured July 18
Sun and Moon
Heavenly Harmony

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on today's participating blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All six winners will be announced on 

July 19, 2014, on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win; and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) 
The deadline for 

commenting is 10 PM EST on Friday, July 18, 2014.

I have two projects for you today -- one of them is a card and one is something different.  I'll start with the card.

I actually stamped the images on another piece of white card stock, colored them, and cut them out.  I laid a piece of oriental designer paper down to look something like a tablecloth then placed the three cut-out items (the take-out box, set of chopsticks, and the fortune cookie) on top.  I shaped the fortune cookie a little bit using my bone folder and stuck it on with a foam pop dot.  Then I stamped the sentiment and added the oriental coin.

I had fun making my 3-D project.  I went on-line and found a template for a Chinese take-out box.  

After I printed the .jpg file and cut it out (four pieces), I embossed two sides of the box and stamped the lotus and words on one of the unembossed sides.  Please note that the words "Take Out" are part of the take-out box stamp.  I carefully cut out those words with a craft knife so that I could stamp just the words on my box.  I punched holes in the sides; and, after assembling the box, I ran a ribbon through and tied knots on the inside.  As the box could be used for a small gift, I decided to make a little gift card to match.

Be sure to check out all of today's blog hop and see what the rest of the team has created with this set.

Here's the Design Team:

Lois (that's me)

Kelli Jo

Karen 

 Kathy

Toni

Janine

Shirley Q

Vickie
Sandy

Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

Come on back tomorrow for more creativity.

Card

Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Chinese Take Out

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Mark's Finest Papers - Black Linen, Snow Storm Smooth; DCWV Far East DP

Other:  Copic markers, Oriental coin, Brad, Foam pop dot

Take-Out Box & Gift Card

Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Chinese Take Out, Oriental Joy

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Mark's Finest Papers - Snow Storm Smooth, Black Linen, ABC Bubblegum

Other:  Ribbon, Embossing folder, template

Tutorial Time - Beyond Borders

Today's Tutorial Time on Speedy TV challenge is "Beyond Borders," based on a tutorial written by Jane Chambers.   When I first read the title of the challenge, I was not quite sure what was in store for me.  But when I read Jane's tutorial, I recognized it as something I had done before -- called "out of the box."   Here's my card -- you can see where portions of the tiger lily are outside the edge of the oval Nestabilities die.

If you'd like to play along with the rest of the team, link up your card at the end of the post over on Speedy TV.  You could win a free stamp set.

CCEE1428 - Let's Repurpose Something

Shirley Quarry, this month's CCEE Stampers Blog hostess, asked us to repurpose something.  As she said, "We all have bits and pieces of things we have saved in our stash for those 'just in case we need it moments.'"  I have a container full of die cuts -- some were left over from a previous project, while others were cut using a die that I borrowed and returned.  My card contains some of each.  On a visit some time ago, my sister brought her rolled roses die, and I cut a bunch of them out in different colors while I had access to the die.  The same goes for the Fleur de Lis Square.  The little tag, on the other hand, was left over after I cut a tag using a large piece of cardstock with a Sizzix die that had about seven or eight tags.

If you'd like to use up some of that stuff you have laying around, make a card and show it off over on the CCEE Stampers blog.  We'd love to see it.

Tutorial Time - Flower Pounding

This week's Tutorial Time challenge was brought to us by Cheryl Miller.  Check out her tutorial for Flower Pounding.  I tried it with some crepe myrtle that grows in my front yard.  The first time I worked on the leaves, I left them attached to the stem.  However, I didn't like the results.  So I did it again with just the leaves, and then I brushed in the stem with a marker.  The results were much cleaner.

What I found interesting when I did this technique was that the color of the flowers changed.  Here is a photo of the crepe myrtle from which I cut a sprig for my flower pounding.

As you can see, the flowers were definitely PINK not PURPLE.  I'm not sure how that happened!  I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, but I'm not going to go look for it!  I'm just going to enjoy my pink crepe myrtle tree.

We hope you stop over at Speedy TV and try this interesting technique.  Link up your card at the end of the post and you could win a free stamp set.

Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Bring on the Sun
Ink:  Memento Teal Zeal
Paper:  Mark's Finest Papers - Groovy Grape, Premium Heavy White; scrap of DP
Accessories:  Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Pearls, Marker, Crepe Myrtle flowers and leaves

CCEE1427 - Red, White, and Blue

Shirley Quarry is the CCEE Stampers hostess for the month of July, and she's starting off the month with a bang!  Tomorrow is Independence Day in the U.S., so she asked us to make a red, white, and blue card to celebrate.  As some of our team members are not from the U.S., the cards do not necessarily have to be patriotic.  Mine definitely is!

If you'd like to play along with us, link your red, white, and blue card at the end of the post on the CCEE Stampers blog.

I'm also entering this card in Scor-Pal's "More Than One Score" challenge for July, which is "Colors of Your Country/Patriotic."  It's called a Double Display Card, and I found the directions on the Technique Junkies Newsletter CD called "Move It."  There is definitely more than one score on this one!

Tutorial Time - Pocket Greetings Card

Barbie Dobson hosted the Tutorial Time challenge on Speedy TV this week.  She wrote a very nice tutorial on how to make a Pocket Greetings Card.  Here's mine:

And here's the inside showing the pocket and the extra greetings card.

Check out Barbie's tutorial and make one of these unusual cards.  Link it up at the end of the challenge post and you might just win a free stamp set.

Stamps:  Mark's Finest Papers - Flower Blocks, Butterfly Sayings
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Mark's Finest Papers - Morning Sun, Snow Storm Smooth, Black Linen
Accessories:  Copic markers, Ribbon

CCEE1426 - Sunglasses

For her last week as hostess of the CCEE Stampers challenge blog, Anne Harmon wanted us to get ready for summer -- and pull out those sunglasses!  I also had to pull out some flip-flops to go with them!

Come have some fun in the sun and join us over at the CCEE Stampers blog.