Trying something new

Swing z-fold card

Split Coast Stampers has the best tutorials and really is the NUMERO UNO stamping community.  They offer a variety of tutorials and challenges and help and chats….it’s just so much fun to scope on there.

So the daily challenge I chose this week was Monday’s Try a New Technique.  It’s called a Z fold card with a swing to it.  It was challenging and I don’t know how the Beate, the gal who does the tutorials got her cut out to be so smooth.  I was trimming and trimming again on those cut out edges.  It is a nice effect.  I put a smaller photo down in the bottom corner and if you click on the picture you will be able to see that better.

This card features Butterflies and Wisteria from MFP.

Thanks for looking. 

Technorati Tags: MFP,MFPDT,BUTterflies and Wisteria,Swing Z fold

Speedy the Cat Challenge #68

Use a distressed edge

Carol wanted us to use a distressed edge.  It adds a bit of texture to a card when you do that and just helps things not look so flat.  I like to do this occasionally and was glad for the challenge.  This is a new set by Mark’s Finest Papers and Stamps.  The entire set called Fun on the Farm is adorable. I hand cut the grass strip and used a bit of raffia for the “hay” I cut the curve on the cow’s mouth to give her a bit of an opening where I stuffed a bit of hay.  (tee-hee) I stamped her twice and cut the head out, then outlined the underside edge with a stencil tool to give the head a bit more dimension.  if you click on the image you will be able to see this better. The clouds are die cut stencils from Nestabilities which I placed on a strip of blue that i distressed with the edge of a scissors. The paper and ribbon came from a rummage sale. (love when that happens)

Technorati Tags: Speedy the CAT,MFP,MFPDT,RAFFIA,FUN ON THE FARM,CUT OUT

On Using up Leftovers

Some people call left overs, plan overs.  But I don’t because I don’t plan ahead what I am going to do with the left overs.  I don’t plan to have leftovers, sometimes there just are!    So I investigated the refrigerator today and the only thing I knew was I wanted to use up that large chicken breast that I had grilled on Sunday.
Here's what was in the fridge:
1/2 cup of flat green beans
1/2 cup of cannellini beans                                          
3/4 cup of corn removed from the cob
1- 8  oz grilled chicken breast
3 TBLS grated parmesan cheese
1 cup of canned artichoke hearts (drain them)
I stirred this altogether and added garlic powder, garlic salt, a couple TBLS chopped fresh basil and parsley. I cooked one cup of high protein penne pasta, ran cold water over it, drained it well,  tossed it in with the above mixture and squeezed half a lemon and poured about 1/4 cup of olive oil over it all. It was SUPER yummy. 

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Recipe,Artichokes

Favorite Summer Salad

We were invited to a potluck and this is my GO TO recipe for taking a dish to pass.  It’s simple, healthy and very tasty.  You can change out the cans of beans for whatever you have on hand.

SALSA SALAD

1 can of Black Beans

1 can of Pinto Beans

1 can of Garbonzo Beans or Chick Peas

2 cups of frozen corn kernals

1/2 cup diced sweet onion

1/2 cup sliced celery pieces

3 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro

2 cups Pace Picante sauce

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

juice of half a lime

Mix all together, don’t thaw the corn. Decorate with a lemon skin turned backside out and piece of tomato and a couple of parsley sprigs.  ENJOY!!

Technorati Tags: Salsa Salad,Recipe

SPEEDY THE CATS CHALLENGE 67

ANY SHAPE BESIDES REGULAR  4X5

Making shaped cards IS a challenge for me but when the challenge comes from my friend Colleen, well, that makes it kind of fun. This is the old diamond shape cutter from Creative Memories.  I wanted to give you a sneak peak of the new Wisteria set coming out this month but this shape just said SEASHELLS to me.  The cute little ribbon was something I learned while scoping Carolina’s website.  She shows you how to do it here.
These images are from Mark’s Finest Papers and Stamps called Sand, Surf, Relax.
You don’t need stamps from MFP to play along and if you join us this week your name will go into a random drawing and you could be the winner of one of the new sets for Sept.  It’s fun!  Come join in. Thanks for looking.

Technorati Tags: SPEEDY THE CAT,BOW MAKING,SAND SURF RELAX,MFP,MFPDT

Stamping for fun

GKD challenges

Stamping just for fun is relaxing.  I always love the chance to win a free set of stamps.  StampTV always has some fun challenges up so I jumped on over there to see what would fire up my mojo.  I did have fun putting both of these together.  They were relatively simple.  I already had the bear colored and cut out.  I tried something new with using gum arabic mixed with water in an aqua painter.  You mix equal parts and then use water color pencils.  It gives a glistening effect to the color.  I would definitely use that again.  It works best on water color paper as it helps to move the color around smoothly, keeps the color more liquid as you work with it.  I got the gum arabic at a rummage sale but I think you can get it at a baking store more reasonable than at a stamping store. Thanks for visiting.  I appreciate all your comments and always take the time to read them.

Speedy the Cat Challenge #66

Anything but a ribbon

Use anything but a ribbon, hmmm, I’m tired of using raffia.  Aha, this beautiful cord came in one of the DT packs from Faith.  Everything on this card can be purchased from Mark’s Finest Papers. I love this shimmery pink cardstock and the images are all from the Brick Wall set.  I love the serenity of this set.  Remember to play along with us and link your card up here to be in the drawing for a free stamp set being released in Aug.

Technorati Tags: MFP,MFPDT,BRICKWALL,SPEEDY THE CAT

MFP Summer Card Swap

Win a free mini stamp set

Swaps are fun.  I like the one that Mark’s Finest Paper has over at Speedy TV, hosted by my friend Patty Penn because we only send in four cards. The cards I received from the Spring Swap were gorgeous.

For the August swap we were to make a card that references something we like about summer.  I love the birds and don’t get enough of watching them and hearing their cheerful songs. I chose this set, Little Birds with Big mouths to make my card.  EVERYONE who enters receives a free stamp set.  Come and play with us.  You have until Aug 31 to play in the summer one and I see the post is up for the fall swap too!

Technorati Tags: MFP,MFPDT,LITTLE BIRDS WITH BIG MOUTHS,SUMMER SWAP,MFP SWAP

Thank You Cards

Norwex party

A couple of weeks ago I hosted a Norwex party. It was great fun.  If you haven’t heard about these cleaning products, do yourself a favor and check out Lana’s FB page here.  You will cut your cleaning time in half and not use any harsh chemicals while doing it.  The products actually make cleaning fun as you keep wanting to try the cloths to see if it will clean up ________________  You fill in the blank and most likely it will work.

The party was a huge success and I wanted to thank all the ladies who came with a special Thank You card. I didn’t have enough purple gingham paper and I switched to green but I like both of them. 

And here’s a couple of close-ups of both of them.

I put little googly eyes on them for attention getters.  The set is from Mark’s Finest Papers called Little Birds with Big mouths.  It went pretty quick.  I made twenty two cards and it took about an hour to make six of them. I did six at a time, assembly line fashion.

Technorati Tags: MFP,MFPDT,LITTLE BIRDS WITH BIG MOUTHS,NORWEX

PRACTICING WITH COPICS

ODBD CHALLENGE

This card started out just on a little piece of scrap paper that I wanted to practice with my copic markers. Thanks so much to Suzanne Dean who has many youtube videos posted on how to shade with these wonderful markers. As I worked with it I remembered I need a card for my friend JoAnn, co-owner of The Stamp Shoppe.  No pressure there, right?   It all came together nicely but the top just looked, well, tooooo white.  I remembered Rebekka Reeds post on paper piercing.  Check out HER blog.  WOW! I’m always impressed with her gorgeous creations. Then there was a post on the Flybabies SCS site to create a card using your scraps, well, that’s how this card came to be.  Isn’t it fun??

  I do believe Copics are my newest favorite thing, now that I have a few more of them. 

Did you know, Hobby Lobby and Michaels carry Copics now?  Think 40% off coupon.   Another tip, if you have a Smart Phone and you can bring up the Hobby Lobby web site, they will let you use the coupon right off your phone, how fun is that???

Technorati Tags: SU,Paper Piercing,ODBD,Copics

, Tips

Hearts, Hearts, Hearts

Speedy the cat’s challenge #65

We were challenged to use at least three hearts on our project.  I was saved by having this Cuttlebug embossing folder in my stash!  I have no heart  stamps from MFP yet.

The images are from the Planted with Love set from MFP. So many ways to use this set, I’m having so much fun with it.

I took my ink pad and ran it over the inside of the embossing folder before running it through the Cuttlebug.  It gave the impressions a nice soft green color, reminiscent of a garden, don’t you think?  The strips are some plastic ribbon I still have in my stash.  It’s almost gone now, hooray!  But I did have fun with it.  And the final touch, the twine bow.  THIS is by far the best twine I have found anywhere.  It’s soft but still has structure, it’s easy to work with, and ties beautifully. I tell you, MFP has some really nice things besides stamps and paper.  Check them out for great deals.

Technorati Tags: MFP,PLANTED WITH LOVE,MFPDT,SPEEDY THE CAT

Speedy the Cat Challenge #64

Color challenge- pink, green, yellow From Lori

 

Did you have fun with the blog hop?  Congratulations to the winners. What a fun way to win and absorb new ideas at the same time. 

Ah what a fun stamp set to use.  Here, you have the seed packet for sunflowers from Planted With Love.  Don’t you agree, these little ladies have THE cutest faces?  I chose to make my first easel card.  Here’s a link for you. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/easelcard/  I wanted the flowers to look like they were sitting in a garden and I used three different color markers on a portion of the flower stamp from the Brick Wall set also from Mark’s Finest Papers to make it look like a vine. The very pretty ribbon is from there.  Check them out for all your stamping needs.  They DO have everything.  It’s convenient.

Did you know, Mark’s Finest Papers has THE best prices on paper anywhere? The quality is really right up there and they give you a great deal compared to retail online or brick and mortar stores.  Check them out if you want to save money.

Technorati Tags: SPEEDY'S CHALLENGE,EASEL CARD,MFP,MFPDT,PLANTED WITH LOVE

Whatcha doin' this weekend?

When I was at the store, I overheard the cutest conversation and it just gave me the giggles inside. Young girl to young boy, clerk, prbly 17-18 yrs. Her: What are you doing Friday night? Him: Going to the fair, I'm going to watch my girlfriend show her pigs.

I don't know why but this tickled my funny bone. We live rural but I just thought it was sweet that he was going to do that. It was so clean cut. Not, uh, i dunno, go hang out and have a beer party with my friends. "OINK"

Marks Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 2

I'm not part of the official hop today but I did want to share this wonderful set with you. It's my favorite of this month's release. Isn't this little sunflower gal just the cutest? On the top card, I added the label from the Seed Packet image and tucked it behind the metal tag also available from Mark's finest papers.

I water colored the images and masked them to look like a field of sunflowers and drew my own stems and leaves. I used Staedler water color pencils. The one in the front on the left, I stamped, colored and cut out with a scalloped die cut to add some interest, then popped it up a bit.

I do love how this card turned out. So happy looking.

Here's the blog hop details. Hop along and comment to WIN!

Hello! Welcome to the July 2011 MFP New Releases Blog Hop!
This week's new releases are: Little Birds With Big Mouths, Planted with Love, Lilacs in the Summer, and Adirondack Summer.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: Planted With Love? (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 Planted With Love. We will announce the winner's name on tomorrow's blog post.
Lois
Vicky
Dawn
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Mark’s Finest Papers

Blog Hop Day One-Little Birds with Big Mouths

Hello! Welcome to the July 2011 MFP New Releases Blog Hop!
This week's new releases are: Little Birds With Big Mouths, Planted with Love, Lilacs in the Summer, and Adirondack Summer.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: Little Birds With Big Mouths? (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 Little Birds With Big Mouths. We will announce the winner's name on tomorrow's blog post.

Lois
Vicky
Dawn
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Mark’s Finest Papers

Speedy the Cat Challenge #63

Baby Robins-use a die cut on your card

This set, Little Birds with Big Mouths is such a fun and versatile set. This will be available for sale on Tuesday.  Watch for the BLOG HOP @ Mark's Finest Papers.  When challenged to use die cuts I chose to use my spell binders circles and make them kind of look like holes in the tree.  The BG is embossed with Tim Holt’s embossing folder.  I really like the deep impressions they make. We have had such a great time with baby birds in our yard this summer that I just had to share these little nestlings with you.  Remember to visit the Design Team and leave them some love.  We love comments as much as you do.   If you use stamps from Mark’s Finest Paper you get your name entered twice and everyone has a chance to win one of the new release stamp sets. (and guess what? You get to use yours before we do)  This one didn't photo too well.  If you click on the picture you can see the detail and separation of the little birds better. 

Technorati Tags: LITTLE BIRDS WITH BIG MOUTHS,MFP,MFPDT,SPEEDY Challenge

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

Speedy's Challenge #62 Patriotic

Please be safe this holiday week and have fun in all you do.  We are thankful for the freedoms we have in our country.  What a privilege.







   Speedy the Cat’s friends has a fun Patriotic Challenge going on this week.  Come and join us.  You could win a free stamp set and they stamp SO nicely. Here’s a sneak peek of one of the really fun sets being released this month.  The music notes are from the “Silent Night” stamp  in the Musical Christmas set .  It’s fun to combine sets together.
I’m just getting started with copic coloring and I do love how they shade so nicely.  I used flower soft on the vine to give it a fun look and kind of incorporate that fun little birds ruffly new feathers.  The Martha Stewart punch created the fence edge, which I thought suited the bird house.
I hand lettered the sentiment.  Everything on the card can be purchased from Mark’s Finest Papers except the ribbon which came from Michaels;  oops, and the eyelets were from my stash too.  (we do have eyelets at MFP) just sayin’
Thanks for stopping by. I do appreciate each and every comment and thank you for leaving them.

Technorati Tags: MFP,MFPDT,LITTLE BIRDS WITH BIG MOUTHS,MUSICAL CHRISTMAS

Speedy’s Challenge #61

Carol challenged us to ~ make it sparkle

Beach Scenes mmmmmm what a wonderful thought; a day at the beach.  Faith captured it with her set Beach Greetings. And isn’t that font for the sentiment beautiful?

I love this card and all it portrays. I have to admit though that I CASED it from LuvLee over at SCS. I glittered up the shells with Holographic Embossing Powder and used Heat and Stick for the glitter on the turquoise shells.  A glitter pen highlights the waves and scallops.  And what’s a beach scene without raffia? A Pearl Pen is a fun little thing to have.
Have fun taking a look at what our Design Team created and be sure to leave them some loving comments.
You get a chance to win a gorgeous set of stamps when you play along with Speedy the Cat.  Join in the fun.  Remember if you use stamps from Mark's Finest Paper you are entered twice.

Technorati Tags: Speedy Challenge,MFPDT,MFP,BEACH GREETINGS

Speedy’s Challenge #60

Use buttons on your card

Wouldn’t this train make an adorable New Baby Card?
The challenge is to use a button on your card and I snuck one in as the center of the flower.  A little squarish one that I tied with green embroidery floss.

The All Aboard set from MFP is such a versatile set that you will use for many different applications.  It’s going to be one of my favorites, I can tell.
Recipe:
Card Stock:   White and green  from MFP
Stamps:  All Aboard MFP, Argyle Background stamp from SU.
Tools:  Cuttlebug and Fancy Labels Nestabilites Dies
Accessories: Two varieties of flowers, button, embroidery floss
This fun card is pretty self explanatory.  Very easy to put together and can be made in minutes.  Love those kind.    Thanks for looking and remember to add your submission to Speedy’s blog for a chance to win a stamp set that will be released next month. 

Technorati Tags: Speedy Challenge,All Aboard,MFPDT,MFP

more on A few of my favorite things

cloud stencil

This has been sitting waiting on my computer for over a month.  I wanted to post it shortly after my other favorite things post but….I realized I had made the tutorial with stamps that I had to wait to be released from MFP before I could show them.   This cloud stencil came from a rummage sale and I think it was Stampin’ Up. I use this thing ALL the time.  It does make the most gorgeous skies.

Here is the image just stamped, then I

use the Encore Metallic lightly with a sponge. you are looking at the first lay down of the ink.  It looks like the image is on top of the cloud but it’s not.  The cloud stencil is on top of the image, just sponge softly.  I just barely tap my sponge onto this ink pad, it picks up quite a bit of ink right away.

So here is the first layer done.

Place the stencil over the image again and lightly sponge with the remaining ink on the sponge to get a soft looking sky, turning the stencil at a different angle each time you sponge. That’s it, and it is a great effect.  You will notice I use this a lot on many of my cards. 

Just a simple piece of plastic but it really adds a nice touch.  You an just cut some extra heavy cardstock with cloud shapes  and use that.  That’s what I did before I found this stencil. That works well too. This just holds up better over the long haul.  Here’s the finished project.

Technorati Tags: MFPDT.STENCIL,TUTORIAL