teacher thank you- a perfect CASE !!

i awoke at almost midnight this morning, panicking that i need a quick thank you for my daughter's after school computer class teacher-TODAY! i knew i wanted to use Apple For You (from my beloved Pure Innocence line from MFT) for most of the teacher thank you's this year, but my brain was still sleeping so i hit the SCS galleries to find some quick inspo ideas & found this completely perfect card to CASE by the amazing Lisa Henke (current Splitcoast Dirty Dozen design team member, fellow MFT junkie and MFT guest designer and all around super awesome crafty-girl!) i mean come on- it even uses the same stamp! no brainer, right?! so i got busy stamping & paper piecing & pulling it together- i simplified it by adding my sentiment to the inside & not using the punched border paper layer so i could go back to bed quicker LOL!
the card is very small- approx 3.75x3.25"and the base was cut from kraft cardstock using Nesties (labels three)- i think it's so sweet- huge thanks to Lisa for her awesome card- you totally saved the day for me and taught me a fun new embellishment technique (LOVE the thread over the ribbon- way way cool- that's the best part of CASEing someone- the learning!!)

stamps: MFT Apple for You

ink: memento tuxedo black

color: copic markers

paper: kraft cardstock, Basic Grey patterned papers from Kioshi 6x6 pad, MFT perfect paper panels (cream)

accessories: ribbon scrap, TCP ivory linen thread, vintage button, dimensional boosters & red line sticky dot (Jody's fantastic dimensionals and sticky stuff!), quickie glue pen, nesties, 1/8" scor-tape.

quickie deets: stamped the image twice onto the cream MFT paper panel with memento ink. stamped the dress onto the purple kioshi patterned paper. cut out the patterned dress, cut out the arm, hands and apple from one of the stamped images. colored all images with copic markers. using the quickie glue pen, assembled pieced image, then cut out final image. card base was made using nesties by cutting a pre-folded card base, with the edge of the nestie overshooting the top of the fold slightly. the image was popped up on the card base after i added ribbon to the base with scor-tape. i rolled several lengths of thread over top of the ribbon, knotted it and secured it thru the button. i also added a red sticky dot to hold the button down (forever- these red dots rock!) more patterned paper & the simple sentiment finish the inside:



ready to take RIGHT THIS MINUTE ;)


thanks for looking!
{{BIG HUGS}}
-g
^o^

MFT Earth Day

hello & happy start to another week!
my awesome new MFT stamps arrived last Friday- just in time for the weekend! the WSC challenge this week was to make an Earth Day themed project! Kim's Giving Tree project is fantastic- check it out & play along with us! The brand new Sheltering Tree stamp set and digi paper collection made this super fun! i was also inspired by Mel's amazing work in her fabulous new box template-love it!

paper: kraft cardstock, sheltering tree digi paper collection, MFT banana split cardstock

inks: memento tuxedo black, CTMH stamp pads in Cocoa, Chocolate, New England Ivy

accessories: copic markers, lots of pop dots, nesties, paper piercer, TCP linen thread, buttons

this one's pretty straightforward & fun to do- i just stamped the images with colored inks onto the digi papers & cut them out.
The tree & squirrel are on the woodgrain, the owls are on the yellow checkered paper.
i cut the round card base using my nesties (overcut slightly on the edge folded card base to keep the shape together). i added copic marker to the stamped images, and used pop dots for lots of dimension. the digi papers built the background sky & ground.
a happy button sun finishes it off along with some pierced holes around the edge of the card!

here's the inside:

and a better peek at the dimension:


thanks for looking!
{{GIANT HUGS}
-g
^o^
xo

such a sweetie!

please click image to enlarge


i couldn't refuse this sweet pinto pony digi stamp from the greeting farm- i saw a tiny part of her in a recent pre-release sneek & i knew she'd be one i had to have! it just screams 'girlie' card so i had to make one right away LOL! i'm not sure if it'll be a birthday or a 'just because' card so i kept the sentiment off the inside until i decide!
i do need to find a better paper to print my digi's on- my current stack of heavy-weight paper prints beautifully, but the copic markers tend to bleed on it. my printer ink dries too fast to try & emboss it- so i'll just have to keep experimenting! i'd love any paper suggestions!
i colored her with copics, and of course she had to have some sparkly spica red put on her bows too. the glitter pen doesn't seem to photograph well, so i took the card out into the full sun so you can see some of the shine- please click image to enlarge it:

i cut her out with a new nestie (labels nine).
i used an MFT Fossil note card as the base (i just love these!) and added a pink cardstock mat, some Scenie route dp (black polka dot from the Surprise line) and a scrap of an ancient CTMH 'tea time' paper that i've had forever. a quick bow (MFT white saddle stitch ribbon) with a button finished it off.
this image is so sweet & whimsical- really makes me smile! i think she's just adorable! thanks for looking!
hope you're having a great start to the week!
{{BIG HUGS}}
-g
^o^

*edited PS- Ooopsie! forgot to give you a peek at the inside- silly me!! -{{HUGS}}

happy friday!

hope the kick off to your weekend is in full swing! it's 8:30 & we're all just about ready for bed LOL, but i wanted to share a quick little card i made today. i tried to make a shaped card with my new nesties and 2 out of the 3 scallops cut correctly, but one didn't. it was still cute & i couldn't bring myself to throw it out, so i added a previously colored PI girl that was decorating my desk & made a sweet mini get well card. anyone that i may send her to will totally overlook the fact that this card has a mistake and will feel all the love in it (at least i hope so!)

the inside is very simple:


thanks for looking & have a great night- off to bed to try & get over this headcold! ooh- but quick deets first:
stamps: Better Get Better (MFT Pure Innocence)
ink/deets: she's stamped on a perfect paper panel in memento tuxedo black, colored with copics.
her hands were stamped twice, cut out & glued on top of the bear for dimension (they are tiny little things!)
paper: MFT Red Hot cardstock, Bazzill kraft cardstock,
pp is Garden Variety mini deck from Cosmo Cricket
other: MFT baby braddies, Michael's ribbon, Stampin' Up! corner punch & scallop circle punch, Big Scallop Rectangle Lg nesties (s4-255)

ok- off i go! big soccer game in the morning- hope the nyquil doesn't keep me too groggy! ugh-i 'better get better' soon! night all!
{{GIANT HUGS}}
-g
xo
^o^

a new MFT WSC

please click photo to enlarge

There's a new April Showers theme challenge up for MFT's Wednesday Stamp Club- there's still almost a week left for you to join in & play along too- so please go check it out!

i am battling one fierce allergy-induced headcold- it kept me up almost all night long last night. i hung out in my crafty space and took my mind off it by stamping & coloring into the wee hours!
(on an icky side note- i even tried a sinus cleanse with a squeeze bottle of saline & it didn't help much at all- just miserable!)

i stamped one of my beloved Pure Innocence stamps- My Umbrella for this one onto a MFT perfect paper panel with memento ink, colored her in with my copic markers (i'm learning every time i use them-they are really fun to experiment with!) & cut her out. i had to make her boots match my daughter's pair, and there had to be a rainbow too, right?! ;)

i found a fun raindrop patterned paper in my stash from Bella Blvd (called April Showers even!)for the rainy sky, and a fun patterned paper scrap from the K&Co Girl Scout Specialty paper pad laying around (this particular paper pad has bright fun colors & patterns- Mimi is a Juliette Daisy this year so i was happy to find this paper!)that was perfect for a flowery, hilly 'ground'.
i added some cute baby braddies to the corners too.

i made some fun puffy clouds out of my newest nesties- the large scallop rectangles (great deals on ebay if you're looking for some!)- i then added some bumpy swiss dots with a 'bug embossing folder- oh & every cloud needs a silver lining right? so i drew one around the edge of each cloud with a krylon metallic paint pen. they are popped way up in the sky with thick pop dots. my sweet PI is double popped up so she's up in front of the clouds on the top, and her feet are grounded on the bottom. i just love how this turned out!



inside is fun too, with more clouds, the same fun papers and the 'happy spring' sentiments are stamped from another PI set called My Basket of Eggs.
a line from in Just- one of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings finishes the inside.

here's the whole poem for you:

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and
the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee


-e.e. cummings

speaking of Spring- i am LOVING my Picture Spring online workshop with Tracey Clark (founder of Shutter Sisters)i will post all my shots from the workshop after it ends & i've had a chance to edit & adjust everything.
hoping i can get a decent night's rest tonight- i'm beat!
thanks for stopping by!
{{GIANT HUGS}}
-g
xo
^o^

WSC for this week

i had time to play in MFT's Wednesday Stamp Club again this week and am so glad i did because Cindy & Frances gave us an amazing sketch to work with- YAY! You can read all the deets & see the sketch here and please play with us! Cindy is one of my very favorite designers in the whole world- i can visit her blog and be inspired every day! Recently, i saw a patterned paper combo she used in this fab card during last week's MFT April release, and i just love LOVED it so much! i knew i had these same papers so i made a note of the combo & today decided it was a perfect time to CASE her awesome paper combo too (hope she doesn't mind!)

i stamped the sweet PI girl on an MFT perfect paper panel, colored it with copic markers, added some sweet baby brads and cut her out. she was popped up onto a scalloped circle nestie cut shape (also popped). i used my new fave patterned paper combo which is from the Basic Grey sugar rush paper pad (6x6), and some gorgeous blue & a very light yellow cardstock that i had in my stash. the card base is MFT's fossil scalloped notecards i've had these sweet tiny heart brads forever-how perfect they were for this one! i used scraps & nesties to cut the small hearts for under the shaped button and on the inside, as well as scraps for the strip along the bottom. fiskars scallop punch was used on the blue strips.
here's a peek at the inside:


i really had fun making this one and just love how it turned out- my daughter called dibs the minute she saw it- that made me so happy!! thanks for looking!

go galaxy!!

today was Mimi's first soccer game! she plays on team Galaxy in a local youth soccer league- they won 12-4 over the SpeedKickers & it was so fun to watch all the little kids in a 3 on 3 game- they are just adorable & impressive to watch on the field! i had a great time cheering them on! here's a shot of the hubs & daughter right before the start:

they're so awesome!! to celebrate, i made my daughter a card that we gave her after the big game:

i didn't have a soccer or even a sports image in my collection, so i downloaded this adorable Soccer Anya digital image from The Greeting Farm (they have adorable rubber and digi stamps-i'm lovin' them!!). i enlarged the image quite a bit in Photoshop (the finished card size is 6x6) & printed it out on heavy weight (67lb) vellum. i colored it with copics in the galaxy team colors (orange-y yellow & black). i've had this sheet of patterned paper in my stash forever from an old kit sorry to say i didn't write down the manufacturer-but it's cute, no?! the heart is stamped from one of my favorite MFT stamp sets called Bling 'Bers- it's fun to fill these images with crystals (i used the team colors again!) i sponged on some light blue ink for the sky too- it's hard to see in the pic.
here's the inside-

just some scraps of the same paper & a sentiment from the same Bling 'Bers set. just quick & fun for the kiddo's big game! we spent a wonderful day together! thanks for stopping by!!
{{GIANT HUGS}}
-g
^o^

where the heck did March go?!

LOL- it's been a while! we've been crazy with oral surgery, a fabulous trip to NYC, joining a soccer team, signing up for school next year and at least 20 other things i can't remember at the moment! i will have a long picture filled NYC post soon- but i have over 10 gazillion photos to view & edit first ;)
it's been forever since i had even a moment to create something but i stayed up late last night & caught up on the last MFT WSC challenge which was to make a patchwork card (i'm only 2 days late- could be worse right?! the challenge was so fun & used up some scraps- LOVE that!
click images for a larger view!


i stamped Jolinne (Fairy Sweet) on an MFT creme paper panel, paper pieced her dress with some Basic Grey Sugar Rush paper scraps, colored her with copic markers and added the fabulous glitzy glitter to her gorgeous wings. i also added a clear swarovski crytal to her necklace. i cut her out & popped her up up up on top of a cute green nestie shape. i patchworked a bunch of BG Sugar rush scraps with my sewing machine to the yellow banana split cardstock (also by MFT), and added my favorite hoarded embellies- the glittered garnishes (From the Spring adornments-here'a link you'll want them too LOL!)

popped way up:


& a closer look at the sweet fairy girl:


inside:



for the inside, i used more scraps- a piece of the patchwork i had left after sewing and the yellow and the green- i added the boarder with my Fiskar's threading water punch. I used a circle punch to make a hole to hold a little gift card. i love how this one turned out & i think i'll pop a little target or visa gift card in it & send it off to my sister in law- the sweet image makes me think of her!
OK gotta run need to pick up a refill propane for the grill and some steaks- Momma's busting out some Blue Moon ale (or chardonnay depending on how the afternoon goes!) & getting her grill on tonight! Woo Hoo!