MFTeaser - Comtempo Cage

Welcome to day four of seven fabulous days of MFT teasers. Today I have a card using the new Contempo Cage stamps and die-namics set, but I'm sure you'll also see samples using Bon Appetit stamps and die-namics as you hop around the design team blogs.

I used the cage and bird die-namics and stamped the swing and the bird's wing. I love that the clear stamps are a little flexible and I took advantage of that to curve the sentiment to follow the curve of the new oval tab die-namic.

Here are the details about the upcoming release on October 4 at 10 PM EST:

• The MFT release is on October 4 at 10 PM EST. You can attend the release party from 8-10 PM EST here in the forum for fun, games, and prizes! All the new sets and dies will be available October 4 at 10 PM EST.
• The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win over $100 in stamp sets and play along with the DT for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to Kim's blog NOW! Be sure to leave comments as you go for a chance to win one of 2 $10 vouchers being given away daily, just for leaving a comment. :) Check Kim's blog every day for the winners.

Here are the die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

MFTeaser - Clearly Sentimental about Abundance

Welcome to day three of seven fabulous days of MFT teasers! I'm sharing a card I made using the new Clearly Sentimental about Abundance set, which is this month's Triple Scoop set!

I knew the sentiment would work perfectly with the layered labels die-namics, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the layered labels work with the new Oval Decorative Doily die-namic! Doesn't it add just the perfect detail around the labels? Sweet!!!

This is such a pretty main focal point that I kept the rest of the card super simple and just added a Rolled Gardenia die-namic flower as an accent. The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie, the green layer is MFT Sour Apple and the brown layer is MFT Hot Fudge.

Here are the details about the upcoming release on October 4 at 10 PM EST:

• The MFT release is on October 4 at 10 PM EST. You can attend the release party from 8-10 PM EST here in the forum for fun, games, and prizes! All the new sets and dies will be available October 4 at 10 PM EST.
• The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win over $100 in stamp sets and play along with the DT for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to Kim's blog NOW! Be sure to leave comments as you go for a chance to win one of 2 $10 vouchers being given away daily, just for leaving a comment. :) Check Kim's blog every day for the winners.

Here are the die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

MFTeaser - Fred Bear and the Megaphone and Inspired By Autumn

Welcome to day two of seven fabulous days of MFT teasers. Today the design team is sharing samples created with Inspired by Autumn and Fred Bear and the Megaphone.

I happen to have a sample with each set, so let's get started.

Our beloved bear is back and he's cuter than ever holding a megaphone. This is a fun little set with the perfect mix of sentiments that you'll use over and over. I used SSSC132 for the layout.

Fred is coloured with copics and the megaphone is partly paper pieced. The patterned papers on both my projects are from the Lost & Found Breeze collection by My Mind's Eye. I added some grass for him to stand in with my fresh cut grass die-namic and used the new tag from the Bon Appetit die-namics for the sentiment.

On the inside I stamped Fred again with Memento Rich Cocoa then used the new Oval Tab die-namic for the sentiment.

Next up is Inspired by Autumn.

I cut out the new Oval Decorative Doily die-namic then stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured it with copics. To jazz up the front a little more I used the bird from the new Contempo Cage die-namics and I sat him on a 'branch' cut out using the new Vintage Flourish die-namic.

On the inside I stamped the leaves with Memento Potter's Clay then added the sentiment in black. The new Postage Border die-namic came in handy for adding edge detail to the patterned strip.

Here are the details about the upcoming release on October 4 at 10 PM EST:

• The MFT release is on October 4 at 10 PM EST. You can attend the release party from 8-10 PM EST here in the forum for fun, games, and prizes! All the new sets and dies will be available October 4 at 10 PM EST.
• The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win over $100 in stamp sets and play along with the DT for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to Kim's blog NOW! Be sure to leave comments as you go for a chance to win one of 2 $10 vouchers being given away daily, just for leaving a comment. :) Check Kim's blog every day for the winners.

Here are the die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Welcome Home {MFTWSC39}

It's time to get sketchy with the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club and sketch 39.

I had a vision for this card using Homespun Birdhouse stamp and die-namics set, which lead to quite a liberal interpretation of the main panel and the strip at the bottom. I used the branch with leaves die-namic to create the divide on the main panel, then stamped the sentiment below the branch.

I cut out the birdhouse from some corrugated cardboard and the rest of the patterned papers are from A Beautiful Life 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye.

I wanted a little more texture on the image so I used the small scallop border die-namic to cut out some yellow felt and added it to the striped roof.

I kept the inside super simple with lots of space to write a message. I'm sending this card to a friend who is in France right now and I can't wait to hear all about her vacation when she gets home.

Here are the sketchy details:

There's a prize each week for one participant, chosen at random. You may use any stamps and supplies that you wish. Each week a keyword is assigned to the sketch, and this week's keyword is MFTWSC39. All you need to do to enter is upload your card to the gallery at Splitcoast and enter the given keyword in the keyword box during the upload process. After the deadline (noon Eastern on Tuesday) we randomly choose a winner from that week's entries and the winner will receive a $15 gift voucher. If the winning card uses MFT stamps, the participant will earn a $5 bonus, for a total of a $20 gift voucher!

Be sure to head over to Kim's Blog to view the entire list of design team participants...there's plenty of inspiration for you with today’s sketch!

Here are the dies I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

MFTeaser - Who's That Girl

It's day one of seven fabulous days of MFT teasers, and today we're showcasing Who's That Girl Chooses Hope. You may have seen her a couple of weeks ago in the VIP package, but in case you missed her, here she is.

I did lots of paper piecing with patterns from the Authentique Uncommon 6x6 pad and coloured her skin with copies markers. I used the decorative doily die-namic to cut out the grey circle behind the image, and on the inside of my card you'll see that there's another addition to the decorative doily family...an oval!

I used the new oval tab die-namic for the sentiment and the new postage border die-namic for a fun edge...cut out of postage paper. I crinkled up some cream seam binding for a little dimension.

Isn't the oval decorative doily die-namic gorgeous!!!

Here are the details about the upcoming release on October 4 at 10 PM EST:

• The MFT release is on October 4 at 10 PM EST. You can attend the release party from 8-10 PM EST here in the forum for fun, games, and prizes! All the new sets and dies will be available October 4 at 10 PM EST.
• The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win over $100 in stamp sets and play along with the DT for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to Kim's blog NOW! Be sure to leave comments as you go for a chance to win one of 2 $10 vouchers being given away daily, just for leaving a comment. :) Check Kim's blog every day for the winners.

Here are the die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

MFT Creative Chat - card stock storage

It's time for the MFT Creative Chat. The My Favorite Things Design Team Creative Chat is a monthly feature, where we are challenged to explore our creative spaces and share valuable organizational methods, tools, and shopping strategies with you. You'll be able to peek into our creative spaces, ask questions, and share your own ideas in the MFT forum.  This month, we were asked the following questions:  

How do you store and organize your card stock?   

How do you store your scrap card stock? 

Visit Kim's Blog for a full list of designers that have taken up the challenge and get ready to delve into the minds of our creative team!

Cardstock can easily get out of control, so it's important to have a storage system in place. I actually have two storage solutions to share, mostly because I outgrew the first system and needed more space.   ;-)


There's nothing fancy about my first card stock storage system...it's a plain 'ole file cabinet with letter sized hanging file folders. I should also mention that I only have 8.5" x 11" card stock...I don't own 12" x 12" card stock anymore.

The top drawer houses the four families of Stampin' Up! card stock colours. I added tabs to each of the file folders and placed a small piece of the card stock in the tab so I could tell what colour was inside each folder. To separate the colour families I placed all the tabs of one colour family in line, then offset the tabs of the next colour family.

When I needed more space for the in-colours and the neutrals I moved into the bottom drawer of the file cabinet, and found another place for household files.  :-) 

The right side is more SU card stock, but you can see I was a little more ambitious with the labeling and also wrote the name of the colour on the tab, in addition to putting the actual card stock into the tab.

Here you can see my open pink pirouette folder. I love the folder system because it's perfect for housing both full sheets of 8.5" x 11" card stock and all the scraps. 

The left side of the bottom drawer is my collection of Prism papers. I was short on folders when I had to put this card stock away so I grouped them a little. Prism card stock came in three hues of the same colour, so that's how I grouped them. You can see in this folder I have full sheets of blush red light, medium and dark, with scraps in front of their respective full sheets. 


Then I started collecting MFT card stock and I needed a new solution because there's no more space in my file cabinet. 

So I turned to the cubes in my stamping space and added Cropper Hopper plastic file folders to house packages of card stock. 

I knew I wanted to keep the scraps with each colour again, so the only way to do that was to leave the plastic packaging on the bundle of card stock. What I do is I carefully cut off the top inch of the plastic packaging (and I've drawn the line here with a sharpie to show you where I cut it all around the package) and this leaves the rest of the package intact so I can slip the scraps into the front. I also use the sharpie to write the name of the card stock on the plastic packaging.

Here are a couple of packages of MFT card stock that I've been using and slipping any cut pieces back into the front of the package.


I can't wait to see how everyone else stores their card stock.
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Christmas Tree

I'm back with my card for today's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC136. After nearly 2.5 hours on the phone with Apple Care, it appears the issues with my new computer have been resolved...fingers crossed. About an hour ago I was wondering if a new computer was worth the hassle, but I think I've come to my senses now.  :-)

As promised, this is a Christmas card, and in fact it's card #18 for Project Christmas 2011. You'll notice that I flipped the sketch upside down to accommodate the tree image.

I used Sparkle & Cheer from Taylored Expressions and added some light pink Twinkles to give the tree a little sparkle. The offset circle element happened by accident when I put the two circles down...that's how they landed and I really liked it so I kept it!

The patterned paper is Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Chowder. Love the non-traditional colours for Christmas. I used my medium scallop border die to cut the strip of pink then topped it with some green velvet ribbon. I used the small dots from the lots of dots impression plate to emboss the striped background paper and of course I couldn't finish the card without a little stitching.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. If you haven't already done so, be sure to hop around to see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers created.

Dana White

Jen Tapler

Lynn Put

Sarah-Jane Kalé

Vicki Burdick

and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen