Thursday Sparks Challenge Frames

Happy Thursday!

This has already been a LOOOOONG week for me.  I am about to collapse. LOL!! Last night was Open House and I was at school from 6:30 a.m. till 8:30 p.m.  Tonight I have my tennis drill practice so I can't wait till Friday! LOL!!

It has been a long time since I have had some free time to enter challenges.  I don't know about you but I LOVE challenges because they really get my mojo flowing and they really jumpstart my creativity!  So I was able to play along with the Paper Smooches Sparks weekly challenge.  It is a photo inspiration.  Here is a look.

To see all the rules please go HERE!

I just loved this inspiration. I just recently bought some photo frames in the Silhouette store so I thought they would be perfect for the challenge.

Here is what I came up with.

For my card first I splattered some mist on.  I then cut out some frames using the Fancy Pants Wonderful Day collection.  I then randomly placed them on the card and then broke out 2 different sets of Paper Smooches stamps.  I stamped and colored my little lady bug with my spectrum noir markers.  I love how this turned out and now I am motivated to use these frames on a scrapbook layout!

supplies
neenah solar white cardstock
Fancy Pants
Paper Smooches
spectrum Noir markers

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back on Monday with a week of all new projects.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!
mp

Tuesday TAWS # 35 Challenge

Happy Tuesday!

This weekend I was able to get into my craft room and work on several projects.  One of them was a project all for myself.  It has been AGES since I was able to enter into a challenge from The Alley Ways stamps.  You know I love to enter these challenges.  To see all the details of the challenge you can go HERE!

From the inspiration photo I took away the black board and white color combo along with the stripes and the color yellow.  So here is My take:

I used some Core'dinations cardstock and lightly sanded it exposing the black core and making it look like a blackboard.  I then stamped my TAWS sentiment and then added some bling to the center of all the flowers.  Next I stamped and colored my cute little bumble bee with my spectrum noir markers.  I cut him out and pop dotted him onto the card.  I just LOVE how it turned out!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back later this week.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Monday Moxxie Garden Card

Happy Monday,

Did you have a nice weekend?  We sure did here.  It was really nice.  Had a lot of relaxing time in and then just a lot of family time.  I so love that!!

Today I have for you a card that I made for Moxxie.  It is a take on my sketch that I made.  Here is the sketch again:

Obviously when I made this sketch I was making a 12x12 layout; however, just because it is a layout doesn't mean that you can't take bits and pieces from it and make a card.  So I took away from the sketch the 3 pieces of vertical paper and the horizontal piece going across. Here is how my card turned out.

supplies

paper- Moxxie- Quite Contrary

sticker- Moxxie -Quite Contrary

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

mp

Friday Core'dinations Back to School

Happy Friday!

Well, first week of school down the tubes!!!  It has been a big adjustment for all of us- lots of tired kiddos and mommies!!LOL!!  Going to have to rest up for a full week next week!

I have mentioned several times before that I leave the house for school well before anyone else wakes up in the house.  So I miss out on all the fun with back to school first day. So I like to leave Jack a little note for him to read that tells him that I love him and that I am thinking of him ALL day long.

This year I made a Core'dinations card for him that was on his placemat waiting for him.  I took a Silhoutte image and turned it into a card.  I cut the card base out in white.  I then cut the apple, stem and leaf out uisng Core'dinations.  I then embossed the three parts using different embossing folders.  For the apple a Cuttlebug dot embossing folder, for the stem a Darice woodgrain folder and for the leaf a Cuttlebug folder.  I love all the different textures.  I then cut down a Core smooth tag and stamped the sentiment and bus using some older Paper Trey Ink stamps.  Finally I attaced it to the card using some yummy twine from the Stringery!  As a final touch I added some black gems to represent seeds.  I love how it turned out and Jack LOVED it!!!

Too see some more of my back to school projects head on over to the Core'dinations blog.  I even have a how to video on how to use the Core Cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back next week with new projects.  See you then and have a wonderful and crafty weekend.
mp

Thursday Core'dinations DT Monochromatic Challenge

Happy Thursday!

Well, even though I started school on Monday, they have all been teacher inservice and training days.  Today is the first day with students.  I am a bit overwhelmed at my numbers this year.  I have close to 150 students this year!  Wow, I don't even want to think what it will be like to grade this many tests!  LOL!

The DT of Core'dinations had a challenge- to create a monochromatic project with embossing. I was so excited when I found out I won!  I am featured in their August newsletter this month.  You can see all the directions on how I made this card in the newsletter!

supplies
cardstock- core'dinations
embossing folders- darice
fiskars paper crimper
stamps- some odd girl
pearls- recollections
marker- spectrum noir

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day.
mp

Wednesday Birthday Card for Mom

Happy Wednesday!

I needed to make a quick card for my mom's birthday.  She loves cards that are very clean and simple.  Sooooo I broke out some older Hero Arts stamps and I stamped them and colored them with my Spectrum Noir markers.  I then fussy cut them out.  I pop dotted them on and then stamped my sentiment.  It looked nice but I knew it was missing something--- bling!  So I added a couple of pearls that I colored to match the blue flowers.  I love it when things match! LOL!

She loved the card! Very quick and VERY easy!

supplies
 cardstock- neenah solar white
ink- hero arts, memento
markers- spectrum noir
pearls - recollections

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Tuesday SOG Polar Cubsicle

Happy Tuesday!

If it is Tuesday than we know it is Digi Release Day for Some Odd Girl!.  When I saw the Polar Cub I just about flipped because this little guy is just about the cutest little guy ever!!!  For my project I wanted to mix things up just a bit and make a tag.  I used some October Afternoon and then enlarge the Polar cub and colored him with my Spectrum Noir markers.  I added some Stickles for his hat tassel and rim just to give him a bit of sparkle.  To finish it off I added some yummy twine from The Stringery and some wood veneer pieces!  I just adore him!!

Be sure to stop by the Some Odd Girl Shop and pick up this little cutie!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

MOnday Back to School with Imaginisce

Happy Monday!
Well, this post is very timely because I am back to school myself today.  Today and tomorrow we have meetings and getting our classroom all set up and ready!  Trying to get positive here for another school year.  Last year really wore me down and I haven't really recovered yet from it!  So crossing my fingers that this year is better.

Imaginisce gave the DT an assignment to come up with a project with a Back to School theme.  I knew exactly what I was going to make.  Michael's pocket layout in which I will keep all his important papers from Preschool 4!

I started out my layout with a piece of Core'dinations cardstock and scored the edges and lightly sanded the paper to give it a distressed look.  I then made my pocket using one of my favorite collections from Imaginisce Geek is Chic!  I used all my scraps on this layout.  I then sewed the sides shut with my trusty little sewing machine.  Finally I decorated it with some coordinating embellishments and I did a lot of stamping using some Paper Trey Ink school stamp sets.

 A close up of the embellishments and the stamping.

supplies
cardstock- Core'dinations
paper- die cuts- Imaginisce
stamps- paper trey ink
ink- staz on, hero arts
punch- ek success

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the new digi release from Some Odd Girl.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Friday Moxxie Sketch and Good Times

Happy Friday!
Today is bittersweet for me.  It is my last day of summer vacation.  I am very very sad about this. Usually I am ready to go back to work but this is my first year that I am not excited.   Monday I am back to work.  This will be year 25 for me.  Wow!  Time sure does fly!

Today I have a new sketch and layout to share with you using some yummy Moxxxie, Core'dinations and Some Odd Girl cut file!!  So let's get right to it!

First the sketch!

And now the layout!

For my layout I used the Midway collection from Moxxie.  I made my strips of paper from the sketch into banners.   Next I took my Core Cardstock and scored a border around the edges and then sanded them.  I then took my Sand It gadget and sanded the entire piece to give the paper a more distressed look.  I like how it turned out.   I then used my Some Odd Girl Cut File with the arrows and then used the arrows in my layout.  I love the use of the negative space!  Finally I added some tags from Elle's Studio and Moxxie.

supplies
paper- Moxxie
cardstock- Core'dinations
cut file- Some Odd Girl
tags- Elle's Studio
wood veneer- studio calico

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back on Monday with a Back to School project from Imaginisce.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!
mp

Thursday Imaginisce Monthly Challenge

Happy Wednesday!

Imaginisce is having their monthly challenge and there is still PLENTY of time to enter to win!  Here is a look at the sketch by Diana.

You can go HERE to see all the details!

I decided to make a card using some of these elements.  Here is my take:

I used the stickers and popped them up using the Imaginisce Foam tape and then made a banner and stamped the sentiment using a Paper Smooches stamp.  I added a bit of bling using my I Rock ( You have to have a little bit of bling. Right???)  I like how it turned out.

So what are you waiting for?? There is still plenty of time to enter and you could win some awesome prizes!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow with  a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful  and crafty day!
mp

Wednesday Blog Hop with Core'dinations and Tombow

Happy Wednesday,
 Tombo and Core'dinations have teamed up all this week to bring you some amazing inspiration!  So I hope you are ready for some Fun Ideas and some Great Prizes this week from Tombow and Core'dinations.

For my layout today I made a really got crazy with  my Core'dinations!  I picked out 4 different Core'diantions cardstock ( Core Essentials Darks, Spotted, Vintage, and Black Magic).   I embossed the Vintage and the Black Magic with my embossing folders from Darice and Lifestyle Crafts.

When adhering all these different textures and layers it is great to use different types of adhesive and Tombow is so perfect for all your needs.  I used many different types:  The Tape Runner, The Power Tabs, and the Glue Pen.  All of them a so perfect for all your scrapping needs!

supplies
cardstock- Core'dinations
paper - Moxxie
Tag- Core'dinations
embossing folders- lifestyle crafts, darice
tombow- stamp runner, glue pen, power tabs
alphabet- jillibean soup
wood veneer and cork- studio calico
washi tape- ???
twine- the stringery
Sand it gadget
Dust Buddy
Sewing machine

Now there are some AWESOME prizes all this week for the blog hop.

To be eligible to win, please comment on each of the designers projects and don't forget to "Like" the Core’dinations Facebook Page and "Like" the Tombow Facebook Page. If you don’t have a Facebook, still comment on the projects and Tombow will select someone to win a prize just for playing!

So what are you waiting for?? Let's get hopping!  Here is the complet order for the blog hop.  

Jennie: http://earthyscrap.blogspot.com/
Mary Pat Siehl http://siehledwithakiss.blogspot.com
Vivian Keh http://contadinak.wordpress.com/ 
Debbie Standard http://debbiestandard.blogspot.com/
Kate Nolan-Denham http://scissorsspatulasandsneakers.blogspot.com/

and of course don't forget these!

Tombow: http://blog.tombowusa.com/
Core’dinations: http://www.coredinations.com/index.php/cat...scrapbook-blog/

Do you want to see what you are playing for?

From Tombow:

and from Core'dinations:

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy all the inspiration!  See you tomorrow with a new project!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Tuesday SOG Sweet Deer

Happy Tuesday

Today is the new digi release for Some Odd Girl.  Introducing Sweet Deer!  This little one is just about the cutest little deer ever!

For my card I made a window card.  This is the complete look.

I cut a circle out from the front of the card.  I then adhered some clear plastic ( I used the packaging from some pearls).  I then added a couple of pearls on the plastic.

This is the inside of the card.  I colored Sweet Deer with my Prismacolor Pencils and a little bit of Gamsol.

supplies
cardstock- neenah solar white
paper- mme
stamps digi and clear- some odd girl
pearls- doodlebug
Prismacolor Pencils

Be sure to stop by the Some Odd Girl SHOP to pick up this awesome digi stamp!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the Tombow and Core'dinations Blog HOp.  This is going to be super fun and lots of awesome prizes!  See you tomorrow and have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Monday Banana Phone

Happy Monday,
Did you have a nice weekend?  We sure did here.  I hosted the O'Brien family reunion (my father's side) party at our house and we had a blast.  We host every year and it is so great to see my family.  Then on Sunday I literally was on the couch all day! LOL! It was so awesome but now I have sooo much to do! LOL!!

A couple of weeks ago I went to Archiver's to scrap with my friend Jill and I was able to scrap just for me and this is what I came up with.

There is a song that is played during rain delays for Cincinnati Reds games called Banana Phone and we always sing it.  One day last summer the boys grabbed a banana from inside and came out singing the song.  Of course, I had to capture them being silly!

For my layout I used the new Cameron collection from Elle's Studio.  I love this boy collection and the bright yellow worked so well with the bananas!

supplies
paper, tags, elle's studio
stamps and digi cut files- some odd girl
alphabets- jillilbean soup
arrows- studio calico

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new digi release from Some Odd Girl.  See you then.  Have a wondeful and scrappy day!
mp

Friday SOG Owl Day

Happy Friday,
I am writing this on my ipad so I am going to make this quick. The newest clear stamp release from Some Odd Girl is this  little cutie. It is an adorable owl set. For my card I colored with my Prismacolor pencils. I paper pieced his adorable hat. The sentiment. Is also part of the set !

Supplies
Paper jillibean soup
Stamps some odd girl
Cardstock core'dinations

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I will. Be back next week! Have a great crafty weekend.
Mp

Thursday SOG Snow Bunny and Mouse

Happy Thursday

Some Odd Girl is having their clear release and today I have TWO new stamp sets for you. The first is Chris Mouse and he is just about the cutest little thing EVER!  I colored him in with my Spectrum Noir markers.  When I was coloring his hat I used my stickles and used the stickles on the pom pom and the hat trim to give it a little sparkle!

supplies
cardstock-neenah solar white
paper- bella blvd
markers- spectrum noir
gems- hero arts
ink- memento

The next stamp is Snow Bunny.  This little guy is having a blast!  He is so cute!  For this card I used some Core'dinations cardstock in White and embossed it using an embossing folder.  I then took coordinating distress ink and used the foam applicator all over it giving the embossed areas a darker color.  ( I just love this technique with the Core'dinations.  You can really change the color of the cardstock!)  I then added some Moxxe paper and stamped my sentiment.  For my Snow Bunny, I colored him with my spectrum noir markers

supplies
cardstock- core'dinations
paper- moxxie
markers- spectrum noir
ink- memento, hero arts

Be sure to stop by the Some Odd Girl Store and pick up these TWO new CLEAR STAMPs for all you winter cardmaking!  I think you will LOVE them.  I will be back tomorrow with some more adorable little critters from SOG.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Wednesday Imaginisce and Core'dinations Blog HOp

Happy Wednesday!

Today I am back with another project from the amazing team up of Imaginisce and Core'dinations!!

For my project today I have used the Outdoor Adventure collection and I used the Core'dinations Core Impressions paper.  I first sanded my cardstock to expose the embossing.  I then misted it with some spray paints.  I then layerd my paper and broke out some of the amazing die cuts.  I popped them up a bit with the Imaginisce foam tape.  My photo is of Jack making Smore's at a friends camp out party.  They have a large fire pit in their backyard and all the boys were having fun!  For my journaling I used one of the awesome journaling cards and for my title I used the alphabet stickers and banners.

So this is a full blog hop so here is the complete list just in case you missed someone.

Core' Team:

Ellen Sosnoski  http://closeyourears.blogspot.com
Kim Moreno  www.livingthecircuslife.blogspot.com

Jill Lebbin  http://everydayisanoccasion.com/

Imaginisce Team:

Fleur Smith http://fleursbydesign.blogspot.ca/ 
Marcia Dehn-Nix http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.ca/ 
Apryl Holland http://onescrappysoul.blogspot.ca/ 
Mary Pat SIeh http://siehledwithakiss.blogspot.ca/  -- YOU ARE HERE!

Be sure to leave comments and you could win one of the amazing prize packages from Imaginisce and Core!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with more NEW RELEASES FROM SOME ODD GIRL!  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

mp

Tuesday SOG Clear Release and NING Challenge

Happy Tuesday,

This week is HUGE over at Some Odd Girl because Kristy is having her August Clear Stamp Release.  I have to say these stamps are just awesome!! All week I will be showing off the new sets.  They are just so awesome!!

Today I am showing Holideer.  This little deer is just so dang cute!! For my card I used some Core Impressions.  I lightly sanded it to expose the woodgrain effect.  I then lightly rubbed some Tim Holtz distress ink just to give it a bit of a pop of color.  I then cut out a circle to expose the deer!  I colored this cutie with my Spectrum Noir markers and then added some fun bling.  Don't you just love the sentiment that comes with this cutie?  I know.. just perfect!!  Stop by the shop today to order this fun new stamp.

I also have a fun challenge for you over at the NING Community!  This one is to break out your SOG Fairies and create a project.  The SOG fairies are some of my favorite images to color.  I broke out my little Pixie.

I used my Core'dinations Gemstone cardstock and embossed it.  I then layered a doily along with yummy jillibean soup papers.  I stamped my sentiment using a SOG sentiment on a jillibean banner strip.  Finally I colored my little Pixie with my Spectrum Noir markers and pop dotted her on my card!  I just love her!  So be sure to stop by the NING community and join in on the fun!

I made a quick video for you on how to color this little cutie using the Spectrum Noir markers.  I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks so much for stoppign by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the Imaginisce Core'dinations blog hop.  I have another project featuring these two amazing companies!  See you then.  Have a wondeful and crafty day!
mp

Monday Core'dinations and Imaginisce Blog HOp

Happy Monday!

This is such a fun week because Core'dinations and Imaginisce have teamed up!  The DT members have been so busy getting busy with all the fun products.  You are going to want to check out the blogs all week.

I am up today for Core'dinations!  Here is my project!

For my project I really broke out the Core cardstock.  I started it all off with the Tim HOltz Kraft Core Shattered Collection.  I love the look of this cardstock.  I then layered some Pattern Paper from the Take  a Hike collection from Imaginisce.  I then added in a die cut background using the Silhouette and I used some Kraft Core Nostalgic Collection and Adirondack Collection.  I then added some of the Core Tags in the Dark Collection.  I lightly sanded them to give the distress look.  I also then added some photo frames and title work using the Silhouette and the Adirondack Collection.  I lightly sanded them as well.  Finally I added some of the amazing stickers and chipboard embellishments from Imaginisce.  Finally I added some bling using the I Rock!

The photo was taken on my annual Mother's Day hike.  I love it when my 3 favorite guys get together for a photo op!

So this is a blog hop so here is the complete list of all the members for today.

Core' Team:

Mary Pat Siehl  http://siehledwithakiss.blogspot.com  --YOU ARE HERE!
Vivian Keh  http://contadinak.wordpress.com/
Debbie Standard http://debbiestandard.blogspot.com/
Imaginisce http://www.imaginisceblog.com/

Imaginisce Team:

Regina Mangum http://thestampinbean.blogspot.ca/
Guiseppa, Gubler http://guiseppagubler.blogspot.ca/ 
Jennie McGarvey http://jenniemcgarvey.typepad.com/scrappy-wife-happy-life/
Monique Liedtke http://moniquesscrapbook.blogspot.ca/

Core'dinations http://www.coredinations.com/index.php/category/scrapbook-blog/

Leave a comment on the blogs and you will be entered to win some amazing prizes.  Here is the prize from Core'dinations

and here is the prize package from Imaginisce

So let's get hopping!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the ALL NEW CLEAR RELEASE STAMPS FROM SOME ODD GIRL!!!  It is going to be so fun!  Kristy's new release is AMAZING!!  See you tomorrow! 

Mp

Friday August Moxxie Blog Hop

Hello Moxxie fans!  This month we are featuring one of our brand new collections Quite Contrary.   So dig out your garden photos and get ready because the Muses will be planting some great ideas in your creative minds for this beautiful line of papers and stickers.     

The blend of muted tones is perfect for outdoor garden photo pages.   And if your thumb is not so green you can create fabulous cards and/or home decor projects.  

Here is my project with this beautiful collection.  My friend Amy Cloud has the most amazing garden.  I used 2 photos and then used a photo frame to focus on the most beautiful butterfly.  I then made my own journaling card using my Silhouette.  For embellishments I cut the pattern paper and made little inserts and used the fun coordinating stickers.  I also misted the page using paint sprays.  

supplies

cardstock- core'dinations

paper and sticker- moxxie

doily- michael's

wood veneer and mist- studio calico

photo frame die cut and banner- elle's studio

alpha sticker- october afternoon

sewing machine

Silhouette

If you are familiar with the Moxxie Blog Hops then you know you can have a chance to win this brand new line.  All you have to do is leave a comment on all of the following blogs.    International fans are welcome to play along if they agree to pay shipping in the event they win.  Comments can be made until Midnight Tuesday, August 6th and the winner will be announced on the Moxxie Blog on Wednesday, August 7th! Enjoy!

Susie Bentz

 Patti Hamil  

Cathy Harper 

Michelle James 

Rebecca Price 

Misty Rushlow 

Mary Pat Siehl 

Dana Tatar 

Rhonda Van Ginkel 

Ange Weisbeck

 Got Moxxie 

Thanks so much for stopping today.  I will be back next week with another week of all new projects.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

mp

Thursday SOG August Monthly Challenge

Happy Thursday!

So it is the start of another month.  Can you believe that it is August 1st already?  Boy, I can't.  School starts for me in 18 days.  I am just so sad!!  Why does the summer have to fly by??  But, with the start of the month that means I have a new Some Odd Girl challenge for you!  Here is the sketch.

For my take on the sketch I used the some of the Some Odd Girl clear stamps.  I used Big Day Tobie and a sentiment stamp from one of the sentiment collections.  You can see them HERE in the shop.  I colored Tobie with my Spectrum Noir markers and I used some paper scraps from the Cameron collection from Elle's Studio.

You have all month to get your project in.  Be sure to link it up and you could win the August challenge!!  For more inspiration please head on over to the Some Odd Girl Blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the Moxxie August Blog HOp.  This one is going to be fun featuring the new Quite Contrary collection!!  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp