New Bella Blvd & Doodlebug

Hi Everyone,

We just got these two great lines in from Bella Blvd and Doodlebug.  It is like they called each other both designed things that match.  These lines are great for spring, baby and even zoo photos.

Humor me

Check out this adorable and funny card I made with MFT stamps and Fancy Pants paper.  Apparently I have the sense of humor of many young and adolescent boys (funny, I live with young and adolescent boys) because the sentiment from this stamp set just cracks me up!  Leave it to MFT to pair and adorable stamp with a tongue-in-cheek sentiment.  If it is hard to see on this post, it says "That's Just Crappie".  There are some other cute ones in this set as well, and this set is on order and should be coming in soon.




















I practiced shading with my Copics which is something I am continually learning, and of course had to add a little ribbon and some bling.  Also attached to this post is better pictures of the cards I posted the other day.  My camera does so much better than my scanner!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Cindy

A big card and a butterfly

Wow, can you believe the weather today?  It was 85 degrees here in Howard County and I (shamefully) had to put my air conditioning on.  I am very heat sensitive and all the pollen flying through the house these past weeks has made me and my kids miserable.  How is it that hubby Kevin has lived in this area his whole life but never developed allergies?  Not fair I say!  While the kids were at school today and I was in air conditioning heaven, I had an opportunity to play with my stamps and the Fancy Pants paper we are featuring for Design Team this month.  My camera is busy having it's battery charged so I used my scanner to get pics of these cards.  Trust me, they look better when you see them in person as the scanner really washes the colors out.

My first card is a big one, measuring 5 x 7.  I used a "back side" of a Fancy Pants paper as my background.  I always think of the plain colored flip sides of paper as the "back sides" mainly because of their lack of pattern.  The calla lily image is from Impression Obsession.  I think I brought this stamp home a year ago but never took the time to play with it.  Calla lilies are my absolute favorite flowers (my wedding bouquet was made solely of calla lilies and greens) and finding stamps made of them is rare, so I snatch them up whenever I can.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers and added some bling, a big bow, and a Hero Arts sentiment to finish the card off.  A couple of things about this card...1) it would make a great birthday or sympathy or Easter card...2) I used the FABULOUS Imaginisce Imagicut ribbon tool to cut and seal the ends of my bow.  It cut through both the organdy and the satin like butter!  This is a must have tool for anyone that does not like the ends of their ribbon fraying.  Word of caution...do not use it on twine.  Apparently natural, tiny cotton fibers do not like having heat applied to them :)

My second card is a butterfly card based on sketch from which I was asked to create something.  I moderate an online stamping group and one of the activities we do is weekly sketch challenges where we post a sketch and then a card or ATC that we created with that sketch.  For this card I used several different patterns from Fancy Pants (loving these bright happy colors!), a little bling, an Impression Obsession butterfly stamped in Ranger Watermelon ink (a favorite color), and a little Hero Arts sentiment.  Again, I used the Imagicut to cut and seal the ends of my bow.  Following a sketch really helps in the creative process because half the work is already done for you.  There are lots of fabulous sketch sites out on the web on which to base your cards and layouts.

The sketch:

My card:

Remember to peruse the Design Team section when you are shopping in the store to see our projects in person.

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cindy

Awesome new tool - I'm in love!

Anyone who knows me knows that my absolute favorite embellishment is ribbon.  And anyone that has ever taken any of my classes knows that I always seal the ends of my ribbon with a lighter so that the ribbon does not fray.  Imaginisce, creators of adorable paper lines and terrific tools, has come out with a new tool that is a must for anyone that likes ribbon and hates the ends fraying.  It is called the Imagicut and I am in love with it.  This little tool cuts and seals the ends of your ribbon at the same time!  It is small, light weight, battery operated, and works like a dream.  Imaginisce says it cuts and seals all kinds of ribbon up to 3" wide and can cut straight, on a diagonal, and like a chevron.  I brought mine home just this past weekend and have been happily playing with it for days while trying to keep my 8 year old away from it (he thinks it is cool too).  I will be bringing it along to my upcoming classes so that you can try it also.

This is just a little enabling from me to you.  I always like to share tools and products that I love.  I am not a paid sponsor for any company (heck, Imaginisce does not even know who I am); I'm just a stamper and a card maker who loves good product.

Want one of your own?  We're happy to order it for you!

Cindy

New American Crafts & Jillybean Soup

Hi Everyone,

A lot of card makers came out to play today.  We will still have cards available to make all day Saturday from 10-6 PM and Sunday 12-5.  There are still Free paper packs available with a $25 purchase too.

Our American Crafts order showed up early today and somehow they managed to get it all entered an out on the floor.  We got a lot more than this line but I am not at the store to take photos.

New Jilly Bean Soup.

My Mind's Eye has a nice online newsletter with great ideas.  Our restock order will be in on Monday if you want to get any of their great products.
http://issuu.com/mymindseye/docs/2012_03_mme_newsletter?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=3A2614&showFlipBtn=true

More Dare to Share samples

Katie Ford made this fun funky folded card.   She added some great stamped and Copic colored images.  I love that she "sewed" the twine through the die cut eyelet circles.

Jackie P. also had the idea to sew her photo mat and make a cute spiral embellishment out of the twine.

Helen W. made this fun layered card.  She used the paper to punch the cute butterflies she used as a boarder and also to make the Tim Holtz rosette flower center.

Kathy B. combined both sides of the double sided paper on her card.

Alice created a fun notepad cover with her paper and made the butterfly into a button for her twine to go through. 

In like a lion...

If this is March's way of coming in like a lion, I say bring it on!  I am loving the awesome Spring weather and have been enjoying wearing sandals and flip flops again.  Spring makes me happy, happy, happy!  And March's Design Team pick, Fancy Pants's Be You and Childish lines make me happy too.  Bright colors, fun and playful designs, double sided paper, what more could you ask for!

I've had a chance to make 2 cards so far, one of the cards is doing double duty because we will be making it in my class on March 31st.  Here is that card.  It uses a delicate yellow pattern from Fancy Pants, some MFT stamps and a bit of Copic coloring.

My second card was just so much fun to make because I busted out my Distress Stains (boy do I love these Stains!) and colored up my paper flowers with them.  Once I colored them with the Stains, I spritzed them with homemade pearl spray (Perfect Pearls mixed with water) then hit them with the heat gun to dry them quickly.  I paired the flowers with the front and back sides of a paper from the Childish line, added a punched border, some ribbon and twine, a button, and a Hero Arts stamp and my quick, cute card was complete. 

Make sure to see all the Design Team creations when you are shopping in the store!

Cindy

MFT Floral Cards class samples!

Join me Saturday March 31st from 12 - 3 pm as we make 5 cards using a variety of beautiful floral stamps from My Favorite Things's "Inspired By" series.  These are some of my favorite floral stamps because they are realistically drawn.  We will be doing lots of Copic coloring as well as the Faux Letter Press technique on one of the cards. 

This class will be repeated in April as seats are going fast.  Call soon to reserve your spot!

Here is a list of Copic colors we will be using in class.  Please bring these colors with you if you own them:

Y06
Y11
Y19
YG03
YG13
YG17
YG61
YG67
RV000
RV02
R89
R29
R27
BV29

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cindy

Dare to Share

Once again we have received lots of great shares from our talented customers.

Brent got creative with the twine.  She sewed it thru her layout visually tying together all her embellishments.

Vanessa did some Hero Arts stamping combined with some creative layering on her card.

Carol G. created this fun card.  I love the pearl embellishment she used for the edge of the skirt.

My March Demo Day card

It will be purplicious at my table for Demo Day on Saturday March 17th!  Join us from 11 - 4 pm to make a bunch of great projects on our always popular Demo Day.  We will be making a card at my table using the gorgeous Hero Arts Dogwood stamp.  I will have a variety of sentiments on hand in case you want something different from what mine says.  This card is perfect for Easter or birthdays or thank you or really just about anything.

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cindy