Cottage Cutz Blog Hop

Hello everyone and welcome to The Scrapping Cottage Blog Hop for April.  We have lots to share with you today featuring the darling Cottage Cutz die cuts.  So grab your favorite drink, relax, and enjoy visiting the design team to view their awesome creations.  You should have arrived here from Janice.  If not, be sure to start at The Scrapping Cottage so you do not get lost along the way.

For my blog hop project I chose the Filigree Butterflies.  I created a lattice background to showcase these awesome butterflies with a spellbinders die.  You will find a video at the end of the post showing how I did that.

I heat embossed my butterflies with Blue Tinsel embossing powder to make them sparkle and shine like this.  Please refer to the video at the bottom of the post where I show how I did that as well.

You can form your butterflies while they are still warm to give them dimension and they will stay in that shape after they cool.  You can find this beautiful die cut here.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today for The Scrapping Cottage Blog Hop.  Your next stop is Kelly to check our her fabulous creation.  Be sure to leave a comment on each of the Design Team members blog and at The Scrapping Cottage Blog to have your name entered to win one of three fabulous prizes.

Challenges Entered
Crafts 4 Eternity  -  Spring
Crafty Ann's  -  Stitching
Crafty Catz  -  Anything Goes
Prairie Fairy Fridays -  Anything Goes with Flowers
Fussy and Fancy Friday  -  Die Cuts and Punches
Stampin' for the Weekend - Sparkle and Shine
4 Crafty Chicks - No Stamping
Charisma Cards  -  Blue, Black, and White
Moving Along With The Times - Garden or Flowers
Pixie Dust Studio  -  Embossing

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 1-Autumn Glory

Hello! Welcome to the September 2011 MFP New Releases Blog Hop!

This week's new releases are:Autumn Glory. Boo To You, Covered Bridges, and Get Your Broom On.For your convenience, all these sets are available TODAY at Mark's Finest Papers.

So, do you want to WIN today's Featured Stamp Set: Autumn Glory? (If you don't want to wait to win, you can always purchase the sets right away! We'll substitute a set from NEXT month's release if today's winner has already purchased this set!)

For your chance to win: Comment on the following Design Team members' blogs TODAY before midnight EDT. There will be ONE random winner chosen from the comments on today's Blog Hop blogs. That winner will win Autumn Glory. We will announce the winner's name on tomorrow's MFP blog post.

Lois,
Vicky
Dawn
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Linda
Karen
Patty
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Debbie
Mark’s Finest Papers

For today's card I used pretty flocked paper from last years Autumn collection from Me & My Big Ideas. The image was colored with Copic Markers. Martha Stewart Laure Leaves punch around the page was used along with Spellbinders Scalloped and Oval Die Cuts. The leaves are also Spellbinders shapeabilites sponged with Ranger Distress inks. The Chrysanthemums were made with a Martha Stewart Punch. Please check the bottom of this post for a tutorial. The butterfly was a RAK from a special friend.

Don't you just love the rich colors of fall. This image brings out the best of fall colors. During the fall I see fox all the time crossing the road on my way home from work.

In closing, here is the card with the envelope I made to match. Hope you enjoyed viewing this new release from Mark's Finest Papers today. There is another image with this set that I plan on using soon that has a pheasant. Love it. Thanks for stopping by. See you tomorrow!

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge-Boo To You

Aa-Ha.....here is a little sneak peek of a new release coming next week at Mark's Finest Papers. Our challenge this week was to use a punch. So please join us here in the challenge for a chance to win a fabulous stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers. I couldn't resist showing you these boxes I made for the guys at work for Halloween. I am going to fill them with candy and give them away. I made 6 total in no time.

So I bet by now you are wondering how I made these, right. I told you they are easy peasy right? Well, I have created a tutorial for you. It is posted on Speedy TV here is the link. Be sure to bookmark Speedy TV as we will be posting some tutorials for you. I will be posting how to make the Dandelion from this card and the Black Eyed Susan from this card soon. You don't want to miss the fun happenings and swaps over at Speedy's.

So here's the video with all the deet's. Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you have a great weekend. I will see you soon.

Mark's Finest Papers Challenge-Pink, Yellow, Green

Welcome to my blog and this weeks challenge at Mark's Finest Papers. The challenge is to use the colors yellow, pink, and green. I hope you enjoyed the blog hop and all the new releases. This image is another from Planted with Love.

Here's a little tut about making this card.

1) Cut 3 circles of your base color (black show here) at 4-1/2 inches-For this card I used a Martha Stewart Circle Cutter-but use whatever you have on hand.
2) Fold a 11 x 5 inch piece of main color in half. make sure whatever you are using to cut another 4-1/2" circle is on the fold so that you can leave about an 1-1/2 uncut at the top to create your easel.
3) For your designer paper cut 3 circles at 4-1/4".
4) Cut 3 accent colors at 3-1/2" (black seen here).
5) Cut 3 Die cuts of your choice (Spellbinders Lattice Pendant here)
6) Assemble like a regular easel card with the third circle attached with a brad so that it will slide under the middle circle.
7) Decorate as you wish and enjoy!

Challenges Entered
Crafts 4 Eternity - Embellishment Recipe (3 roses, 2 butterflies, 1 image)
Patties Creations - Glitter or Bling
Stampin' for the Weekend - Wings and Things

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge-Die Cuts In the Background

Guess what time it is? Yes, it's Saturday and time for Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge. Our hostess with the mostess Patty challenges us to use die cuts in the background this week. I have used Mark's Finest Papers "Sand Surf Relax" images this week. It's summer time and what an awesome set this is!So let me tell you a little about my card. Be sure to watch my video where I show you how to make your own Glimmer Mist for a fraction of the price! My husband was cleaning out the garage this past weekend. While I was walking by I saw this piece of cheese cloth that he was going to throw away. I rescued it from the trash bin and brought it to my craft room. Sassyscraper (Bonnie) had used some cheesecloth one time on a card and I love it. I'll tell ya girls, this piece is pretty old..... probably 17 years old because I remember why I bought it!!! lol But I love it that way. See what I did with it on this card?! It looks pretty cool and goes with this beach scene!!! I have enough to last me a while-I think I should buy more to put back in the garage to "age" naturally.... Oh my gosh my husband will have a fit!! lol

Here's the video. It cost $1.47 for the paint and you can make at least 4 bottles of glimmer mist with it. WOW!!!!

Challenges Entered
Card Makin Mamas - Summertime
Floweret Stamper - Vacation
Fuzzy Wuzzy - Get Punchy & include an Animal
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
Mami Doodles - At the Beach
Totally Paper Crafts - The Beach
Crafty Purple Frog - Summer
Dutch Dare - Summer Fun
Stampin' B's - Beach Scene-must include Sand (real or imagined)
Creative Belli - Make your own Embellies
Divas by Design - Die Cuts and Punches
The Pixie Cottage - Wet and Wild
Going Grey:Scrap Creations - Summer
The Stamping Boutique - Summer Scene
The Crazy Challenge - One the Beach
House of Gilli - Lots of Sparkle
My Partner in Crafting Crime - Let's Hit the Beach
Squigglefly - In the Good Ole Summertime
There She Goes - Glitter, Glitz and Bling

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge-Patriotic

Happy 4th of July and welcome to another edition of Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge. Today we are challenging you to make a Patriotic Card. Here is mine using Mark's Finest Papers Stamp called American Made. Isn't this the an All American image. It was so much fun to color with my copic markers.

The banner behind the image was made with ribbon and paper that was punched with a border punch. Becca Freeken at Amazing Paper Grace has a tutorial on how to do this beautiful design feature for your card. The roses are made by me and I am attaching the video to make these roses at the end of this post. I make these in my spare moments and keep them in containers for when I need them. I use distress ink and stickles to color them. I just love them!Here is the inside of my card. This stamp set is so much fun as it has so many different sentiment to choose from plus the American Flag stamp I used to make my own Designer Paper.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!

Challenges Entered

Card Makin Mamas - Red, White, and Blue
Clearly Inspired - Punches, Die Cuts, and Cut Outs
Fairy Knoll - Red, White, and Blue
Fuzzy Wuzzy - Let's Get Punchy must include a Critter
Guylou's Inimitability - Stars and Stripes
Pattie's Creations - Use your Flags Colors
Craft Us Crazy - Red, White, and Blue or Summer
Delightful Challenges - Red, White, and Blue
Pixie Dust Studio - Be Proud (Red White & Blue with the Option of Stars)
Rainbow Lady - Patriotic-Red, White, and Blue
The Rubber Cafe - Red, White, and Blue
Stamp Insanity - Stars and Stripes
Amber's Crafts - Red, White, and Blue
Cooking It Up With Katie - Colors of your Flag
Crafting for All Seasons - Red, White, and Blue
Little Red Wagon - Patriotic
Penny's Paper - Red, White, and Blue
Celebrate the Occasion - Red, White, and Blue
Throw Down Tuesday - Red, White, and Blue
Use It Tuesday - Red, White, and Blue
Die Cut Dreams - Red, White, and Blue
Stamping Scrapping Challenge - Red, White, and Blue
Sugar Creek Hollow - Patriotic

New Year's Card with Wine Topper

You just got a last minute invitation to a New Year's Eve Party. Oh my gosh, what do you do. You need a hostess gift and your need one fast. Well, here it is!!! Right at your fingertips and you will be ready to go to the party and impress your hostess with this very cute gift combo.

This is from the new release of New Beginnings called Little Dumplings New Years Girl. You can find her right here. She's perfect for your New Year's paper crafting needs.

For this creation, I used the Cuttlebug Clockworks embossing folder and the Spellbinders Timeless Heritage die for the clock. The champange glasses are a Martha Stewart punch called Flute with Bubbles.Here is a close up of the Wine Bottle Topper. This is so easy to do. Here are the directions:

WINE BOTTLE TOPPER

Cut a piece of cardstock 3-1/2 by 10-3/4
Score at 8"
In the middle of the 2-3/4 " side punch or die cut a 1-1/2 hole for the neck of the bottle.
Cut your designer paper 7-3/4 by 3-1/4
Cut another coordinating Designer paper 7-1/2 by 3
You can use a corner punch to fancy up the edges.
Layer one on top of the other and decorate as desire.


Here are the new releases

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Be sure to stop by the fabulous Design Teams blogs to see how they created some fabulous projects with these images.

Challenges Entered:
Mojo Monday - Sketch
A Crafty Little Place - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Embellish It
Gingerloft - Bows
Paper Cutz - Anything Goes
I Did It Creations - Surprise Me
Paper Cupcakes - Anything Goes
Woodware USA - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes

Paper Angel Ornament Tutorial

This is a Angel Ornament that I have created from paper. The image you see on this Angel is from the Fred She Said Winter Bird Series Digital Collection that can be found here. The Chickadee image was used for this Angel, but any of the birds would look absolutely lovely on this ornament. This is a lovely gift or hostess thank you item for all those special people in your life. Why not make up a bunch of these for your Christmas tree or display on a stand as a table centerpiece. So many uses for these beautiful Angels.

 NO TEMPLATE NEEDED:
The base is half of  a 7-3/4 inch circle and the arms are half of a 4 inch  circle. The half circles are curled into a  cone shape and glued.  That's it-easy peasy.

Here is another Angel in a different configuration. This is actually the first one I made. I cut out my pieces, ran it through the cuttlebug with the swiss dot folder. I punched the border with the Martha Stewart Corner Gothic Arches punch. Stickles were applied to the bottom of the skirt and the bottom of the sleeves. I glued on a small Christmas bulb for the head, used a pipe cleaner for the halo, and tied a bow and attached at the neck.

This is the snowflake Angel. The spellbinders snowflake die was used for the wings and the Martha Stewart Arctic snowflake punch was for the decoration. I sprayed glimmer mist on the snowflake embossed angel. I glittered all the snowflakes with Martha Stewart glitter.

This one was my attempt at making an Angel that would look antique or vintage. After cutting out my pieces, I used my decorative scissors to cut a fancy edge (yes, those scissors still come in handy even after all the punches and die cuts!), I ran it through the cuttlebug with the Textile Texture embossing folder then sponged on some Rangers Tea Dye ink. I used mica flakes for the glitter around the borders. Martha Stewart Branch and Snowflake punches were used for the decorative treatment at the neck.
This angel is called my "Woodland" Angel-Supplies for this are Martha Stewart Branch Punch and Sizzx Leaves die, Cuttlebug Leafy Branch embossing folder. This was sponged with Rangers tea dye distress ink. The leaves and branches were sponged with Vintage Photo distress ink and diamond stickles applied.
For this Angel, I cut out my pieces, punched the edges with the Martha Stewart Corner Gothic Arches Punch. I used white feathers on my wings and stickles and pearls for the borders.

Challenges Entered
Allsorts - Monochrome
Craft Your Days Away - Texture (On White and Antique Angel)
CES Challenges - Vintage
Mark's Finest Papers - Add a Bow
One Stop Craft Challenge - Christmas Cuties
Our Daily Bread Designs - Snowflakes
Alphabet Challenge - E is for Embossing
The Character Cafe - Neutral Color with Glitter/Sparkle
Christmas Stampin' - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Christmas
Fairy Tale - White
Mami Doodles - Gift Items
Crafty Sentiments - Christmas
Hodge Podge - Anything Goes
Stampinsanity - Challenge Yourself
Crafty Creations - Christmas
Freshly Brewed - Winter/Christmas
Inktegrity - Anything Goes
Creative Belli - R's (Ribbon)
Fab 'n' Funky - Go with the Flow
Gingersnap Creations - Vintage Hue
Anything Goes - Animals
Tuesday Taggers - A decoration
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Christmas Not a Card
Stamps R Us - Sparkle and Scallops
Die Cut Dreams - Anything But a Card
Flutter By Wednesday - Thank You (Can be a Thank you Gift)

Fred She Said Design Team Spotlight

You can't believe how excited I was when I saw this fabulous Digi from Fred She Said Designs. With a houseful of baseball fans and players it is the perfect image for a Valentine's Day Card!!! Tracy's images are some of the best on the net. This wonderful image is called "Catch Your Heart" and can be found here at her store!

I LOVE shaker cards and knew this image would be a perfect shaker....but with a twist. If you look closely, you will see a package of Terrifically Tacky Tape. I am forever throwing out that nice domed piece....and suddenly in December it hits me that I could use that...and so this shaker card was born. You too should save that piece, because I am going to tell you how to use it for your next easy peasey "Shaker Card".
The size of my card is 6 x 6. You can see here that I cut around the plastic and left about a 1/2 inch or so. I filled the bowl with this shaker material. Hint: If you are having problems with static electricity inside the plastic dome, you can take a dryer sheet and wipe the inside before placing your shaker material. You are going to glue this to your image....you can see mine in the foreground. I use 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue for my adhesive.

Once that has dried, you are going to make the portion of the embellishment that slips over the dome to hide the edges. In this picture, I cut a 5" x 5' piece of designer paper. This is so easy to do as long as you have your measurements correct. In the middle of that piece of paper, I used Martha Stewart's round circle cutter and put the blade of the knife in the 3-9/16 hole and cut out the circle. I then used the heart around the page punches from Martha Stewart. I used the same 3-in-1 glue to attach it to the card. I love inking the edges of my cards...so I have used the Rangers Tea Dye distress ink around all the edges. The hearts are a Martha Stewart punch and I cut a plain heart to line the underside of this lattice heart.

Here is my card with the envelope I created. Keep in mind you will need a thicker style envelope to place your card in. I used the 6 x 6 Envelope Kit from "Priscillastyles" found here.You can see in this picture what I am talking about with the thickness.

The kit comes with a template to help you cut out the envelope. I have lined the inner part of my envelope and all the flaps, and this is how you form your envelope around the form. I hope you enjoyed viewing my project and will start using those pieces of plastic you would normally throw away. Just think about all the fun and fascinating things you can create with them and reuse these items to help save the earth!
Thanks for viewing my project!!
Carol


Challenges I am entering in as follows:
Paper Sundaes - Valentines
Pile It On - Other the Winter Colors
Practical Scrappers - Die Cuts
Saturday Spotlight Challenge - Bigger is Better
Saturday Challenge - Hearts

3D Pumpkin-Scalloped Spellbinder Tutorial

Hello everyone! As promised from the Midnight Madness Blog Hop, I am going to show you how to make these adorable pumpkins so that you can make them in time for Thanksgiving to have for your table place settings to impress your guest!For 1 (one) pumpkin you are going to need the following material.
1 sheet of your choice of orange card stock (1 sheet will yield 12 scallops-you need 11 scallops for 1 pumpkin
Scraps of brown and green cardstock for leaves and stem
1 scallop spellbinder nestie, I used the next size down from the largest- it measures approx. 3-1/2 inches end to end.
Distress Ink-I used tea dye
A small brush to apply distress ink
Some type of instrument to roll your cardstock- I have a piercing tool here, or a toothpick works well.
Any leaf punch from your collection (you can see mine has really been loved...LOL)
Paper trimmer
Glue Runner
Any kind of bottled glue

Optional-Cuttlebug embossing folderYou will need to cut your 12 x 12 orange card stock into four (4) - 3" strips.Run your cardstock through the cuttlebug with the scalloped die cut. You will run lengthwise and get three cuts per strip. Cut 11 scallops.

It is optional to emboss the pieces, it's up to you. For the blog hop pumpkin, I did not emboss. I left them plain. You can fit two per folder as shown here.I distress inked all the edges of my scallops (total of 11) with a brush. I like to have control of the ink so that is why I used the brush. It's just a matter of preference.Once you have your scallops distressed, you are going to fold all of these scallops in half. Make sure that they are truly in half. You are going to fold these with the raised embossing and the distress inking to the inside of the fold so that it will show in the end result to the outside.Now we are going to start to assemble all of these scallops!Run you tape at along the folded end and start putting your folded scallops one on to of the other. Be sure to use your tape on each one and line them up evenly.It should look like this once your get them all lined up together.Now take the top and the bottom and join together as seen above. Run some tape as close to the edge as possible and seal.You see it starting to take shape here nicely. Tape each of the 11 loose ends together.Here is another close up where you see I am taking my time to line them up nicely so that the scallops will match.Once you get all the loose petal attached we are going to flip the pumpkin to the bottom and cut out the middle scallop, this makes the bottom flat and will allow your pumpkin to stand straight.

Now we are going to make the stem, curly vines, and leaves. You are going to cut a piece of scrap brown approx. 1 inch by 3", wrap around your toothpick tightly, tape the end and secure the roll, place some glue on the end and push it down into the middle hole of your pumpkin and leave about 5/8" showing.Cut your scrap green cardstock about 1/4"-1/2" x 4" and roll on a toothpick.Take the end of each of the curly vine and glue one on either side of the stem.Cut out two leaves and glue opposite the vines on either end.And here is your end product. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you use my tutorial, I would love to see a picture of your pumpkin. I would be happy to come and visit you at your blog or the place where you pictures are hosted. Just leave me a comment on my blog at Chocolate Crafts and Bears Oh My and I will visit. Thank you all for all the wonderful comments regarding this little pumpkin from the blog hop, it was so nice to see how much you enjoyed it and I am happy to help you make your own!

Hugs,
Carol