FWF....SOTW...Unity

It's a Holiday weekend here in the states. And here in the midwest it is going to be HOT, HOT, HOT!
I've got a friendly SOTW  reminder up over onthe Unity Blog this afternoon. Here is a card with the amazingly cute cupcake image!

I used this week's Deconstructing Sketch and some pretty 

Lily Bee papers. 

Of course there's some MFT Die-namics, too.

 Love those dies...

the Mini Scallop, the circle Stax 1 & 2, and even a few Simply Scallops!

I colored the cupcakes with my Copics and finished them off with a bit of stickles!

I've got it listed with FWF, too!

Check out the Unity Blog for that inspiration. 

The SALE with Unity Stamp Co. Is HOT, HOT, HOT!!!
Check it out. 

Have a great weekend!!!Stay cool and safe!

WSC73-STRONG

Welcome back....it's VIP day still, so be sure to check out my post from last night. Don't miss out on the VIP Kit. 
It's also Wednesday, and we wouldn't leave you hanging without a new WSC sketch challenge. I'll keep it short and sweet. 

I used the Vertical Greetings 1 set and matching Die-namics for my card today. This one is for my neighbor and friend Maria...she's fighting a recurring melanoma...and let me tell you this chic IS STRONG! this sentiment is perfect of her! 
The large rectangle is from the Rectangle Stax 1 Die-namics. I added some mini brads to each of the corners. I also tucked in a row of Paper Doll border (yes, I am loving this Die-namics right now! It is trendy, and just the cutest accent for lots of different occasions). 
I added some Mini Rolled Roses to accent the main panel. 

here is this week's Sketch! Have fun!

Kim's Blog has the DT line up for today. Be sure to stop by and check out all the inspiration. 
Don't forget to join us in the MFT Forum on SCS.  You can find all the details of this week's challenge HERE. 

MFT VIP....Fun in the SUn

Bring on the sunshine!!! I loooove summer. Everything about it. I would take being hot over being cold any day. This moth's VIP is sure to heat up your stamping! Grab it quick....so you don't miss out. 

Pure Innocence Fun in the Sun VIP Collection $34.90

Pure Innocence Hula Girl stamp set

Pure Innocence Sprinkler Girl stamp set

Fun in the Sun Sentiments mini (VIP exclusive stamp set - will never be offered for sale or be available again $9 value, FREE)

Hibiscus Die-namics

Notched Border Die-namics

 Let's kick things off tonight with a look at the adorable Sprinkler Girl stamp set. I used lots of summery, fun colors (sno cone and banana split, and some sweet tooth for the card base) and designer paper from the Lily Bee paper pack-.  My card is quite large, 5inches square. 


I created a sweet little outdoor scene with the Circle Stax 1 Die-namics and some Flat Bottom Clouds Die-namics. There is a touch of the new NOTCHED BORDER Die-namcis along the bottom. 

I cut a little hill, freehand, for my ground. The sweet girl was stamped on x-press blending cs, colored with copics and her swim suit was paper pieced. I added a touch of shadowing with a copic marker for depth. I then added her to the circle panel and added more shadows with a few of my grey tone copics. 

I thought you'd like to know a tip about how I did the clouds. If you notice, they are cut in different directions. 

Normally I cut my clouds face down on my card stock. Like I show here in this picture. If I did this, then they come out both facing the same direction. Which is fine, but I wanted them to float opposite on today's card. 

So to get them to face opposite, I place one face down on my card stock and the other I placed face up, under my card stock. Then I ran them through my Vagabond.  

Here you can see the difference in the way the clouds lay. The one on the left, is how I normally cut my clouds, they lay the same direction.  The one of the right has the facing opposite. 

 It's a subtle thing, but sometimes you just want your clouds floating a little different, and this is how I did it. 

Here is the inside of my card. I  completed the sentiment on the inside and added lots of the same Die-namics. I also wanted to really show off that cool new NOTCHED BORDER DIE-NAMICS.  I inked up only the sprinkler image and added that to fill in the bottom half of my circle. 

While I still had out these pretty papers. I decided to cut one of the gorgeous, and I mean GORGEOUS, Hibiscus flowers and make it my focal point of a card. 

I had been wanting to try this sunburst technique for a while now, so a Happy Vacation card (sentiment is from the FREE MINI set included in this month's VIP kit!) was a perfect excuse to give it a go. 

Check out this flower up close. YUM-O!!! The Die-namics cut and emboss at the same time.  I swiped a little ink the outsides of my flower and leaves for added dimension. The petals are just slightly curved up on this card. 

NOw let's looks at the sweet HULA GIRL PI. She is sooo, so sweet. Love that grass skirt. I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch from last week for this one. Helped embellish the Circle Stax 1 Die-namics by placing a pretty, Decorative Doliy Die-namics behind it.  

If you look closely you can see a bit more of that new NOTCHED BORDER DIE-NAMICS down the middle, behind the circle panel. 

Of course I couldn't have a Hula Girl without that beautiful new HIBISCUS FLOWER! LOOOVE! Check it out again. This time I added a trio of black rhinestones to the center and curved the petals down. 

Here is what you get with the VIP KIT! 

The flower is a MUST HAVE...just sayin'! 

Kim's Blog has the line up for tonight's VIP Blog Tour. 

Here are the graphics for the Die-namics I used used with tonight's VIP projects. 

Be an MFT GUEST DESIGNER

Did you know that you now have a whole month to play along with the MFT GUEST DESIGNER Contest each month???  Jody and Joanne posted the challenge a few weeks ago and you still have plenty of time to get your entry in. 
It is such an amazing opportunity, and an OVER THE TOP prize! We sure hope you'll check it out. You can read all about it in the SCS MFT FORUM. 
But here is the jist of it: 
The winner of this contest will win over $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, AND have the opportunity to play along with the design team for the next release and all the Wednesday Stamp Club Challenges for the next month. MFT always has amazing stamp sets around the corner and getting (and stamping with) them early is a special treat.

This month, Joanne and I are challenging you to Get Sketchy. Yep, that's right... we are providing a sketch for you this month! You may enter as many times as you would like, but you may enter ONLY a CARD. One card per entry. 
It is a GREAT sketch this month and I decided to give it a go.  I'm a sucker for a sketch, AND I needed a Grad card, so I mixed and matched some of my MFT Die-namics and stamp sets and got busy.  The Echo Park paper-Take Note was my inspiration for the card. 

I swapped out the rectangle panel and used the Tag You're It Die-namic instead....keeping with that office/school theme.  I embellished the tag with a Pinking Edge Die-namic strip, some Paper Doll Border Die-namics and added a congrats to the Mini  Tabs Foursome Die-namics.  The sentiment is from the Notched Tag stamp set. Those teeny little stars come from the All Star Stamp  set. 


I added some Chevron Stripes to the background. 

I stamped the Grad Cap image from Inspired by Knowledge in Soft Suede ink onto fossil cs and then cut it out. I added it the edge of my tag, in place of flower in the sketch.   You can do that you,  know....that flower could be any embellishment you choose. 

Good Luck with this month's challenge! I always look forward to seeing who wins! 

Check back tonight....it's VIP time and you don't want to miss this month's kit!

Here are the Die-namics I used on today's post:

Happy Birthday Jessica!

It's a Surprise Birthday hop for Jessica Knutsen from There She Goes!  I am honored to be a part of all the fun.  I am big on making birthday's special, so I didn't hesitate to join this birthday celebration. 
Jessica's actual birthday isn't until the 24th, but we are hopping early due to the TSG release going on this week!! Jessica is SO special to all of us, and we wanted to make sure that her special day wasn't overshadowed by any other stuff!!
Here is my creation for Jessica!

I used the super cute and super-sized stamp set, Make a Wish! Yes! this set (as are many TSG stamp sets) is chuck FULL of images and words that you can mix and match to make any celebration special. 

I kept my card fairly simple, allowing the images and papers stand out. I also am mailing this card, so I wanted to keep it flat (although I couldn't help myself and added some dimensionals-what's a card without some depth!).  There is a big group of us, that are taking the time to say thanks and happy birthday to this top notch crafty lady! 
Follow the links below to see all the fabulous TSG Birthday Card Surprises for Jessica!

Sweet Sunday Sketch with a PI Birthday

If you have been around here long enough, you know I have a few favorite sketch challenges I LOVE to play along with. Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch is one of those.  I used her sketch from the other week, 158 for today's card. 


I had this PI-Cute-a-tude (she's one of my favorites from a recent release. I have re-named her Sassy pants, though. lol) half colored and she kept staring at me, asking for a home on a card. So I finished her up and made a birthday card for my stash!

I used some Echo Park papers (For the Record) and prettied it up with some Circle Stax 1 & 2Die-namics and a sweet little scallop edge with the Mini Scallop Edge Die-namics. 

That flower...pretty cool, huh?!! Is one from the rolled flower line up. It's the Rolled Mum. I forgot how pretty this one is. I dare you....flip through your stash and see what you find.  It's always a treat to rediscover something you've had for a while. 
Leaves come from Upsy Daisy Die-namics and the sentiment is from the latest MFT Release, it's the PI-All Occasion Sentiment set. 
here are the graphics for the Die-namics I used today.