maria's craft room

Loonie Stampers Challenge #101

Hi there!  Welcome to the latest Loonie Stamper Challenge...the one where our girl Dee has lost her mind!  She picked our least favorite color (plum) and combined it with my personal second least favorite, lemon tart.  In the spirit of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' I decided to add in lavender moon, too!!!  

I finished unpacking my suitcase yesterday (I know, it's been long overdue) and I went through all of the pretty papers I picked up on our trip.  I came across this cute image that I colored and paper-pieced while sitting next to the Queen of Paper Piecing herself, Wendy.   She gave me the stamp set as a gift, too:)  And Regan taught me to color it using Prismacolor pencils.  Ahhh...good times.  So I had to use it on today's card even though the colors aren't exactly what Dee had in mind.  

Given today's challenge colors I can't wait to go see what the girls created:

Char   Dee   Jewels   Regan   Wendy 

Play along!  Link up your creation to the comments section under any of our blogs...we love to come visit you.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Getting Dirty...Garden Style

Hi there!  Can you believe it's Monday already?  My eyelids are in denial, as always:)  And I have not one but two cards to share today - here's the other:

So I was playing around the other day and I paired up October Afternoon 'Farm Fresh'  patterned papers with the My Favorite Things 'Can You Dig It' stamp set.  Kind of fall-ish, kind of cheeky...all depends on how you look at them, right?!?  Oh - and the sentiment on the first card doesn't come curved...I set it up that way when I put it onto my acrylic block.  Easy peasy...sort of.  If you try this at home, be sure to practice on scrap paper before you go inking it onto the finished circle.  I wasted a few trowel images before I could get the sentiment to stick to my block while curved.

And of course I stayed up super late last night watching the Phillies in the World Series.  *Sigh*  I probably should have just gone to bed.  Darn Yankees.  Now I'm off to brew some hot tea to get me through my day.  I predict an after-work nap and pizza delivery for this evening!!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:  Ink - Memento rich cocoa, Ranger walnut stain, Papertrey chai; Cardstock - all Papertrey; Stamps - My Favorite Things 'Can You Dig It'; Other - Fiskars border punch, Papertrey ribbon, twine and buttons, Labels Eight and long rectangle Nesties, blue Marvy circle punch, October Afternoon paper, Copic T1 marker and QuicKutz embossing folder
 
 

Loonie Stampers Challenge #64: Using Copics

 

Hi there! TGIF:)  It was Regan's turn to pick our challenge and she went with using Copic markers...fun!  I decided to go with one of my recent Bella/My Favorite Things combinations.  Of course, it goes without saying that I must speak with Em @ Stamping Bella.  She's used me yet again as her inspiration for a stamp.  Really...can't she find someone else with a cute figure and perky rear end?  (This is where Regan will spit out a little coffee while reading this.) 

Enough about me for now!  Let's go see what my Loonies created:

Char   Dee   Jewels   Regan   Wendy

Play along!  Link up your creation to the comments section under any of our blogs...we love to come visit you!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:  priceless
 

So Very Me

 

Hi there!  Hope your weekend is going well:)  We're having a quiet one round these parts, though we're pretty excited that the sun chose to come out today.  I'm sure it won't be long before our dog is laying on his bed in a patch of sunlight streaming  through the back door.  And today's card!  It came about because I'm determined to cross-reference my stamps and get more use out of them.  So what do you get when you cross Stamping Bella with My Favorite Things?  A card that is so very me!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by...I might be back tonight for Papertrey's monthly blog hop.  We'll see what the day brings:)

Until next time...M
 

I'm Back...and I'm Feeling Sassy

Hi there!  Hope you enjoyed the long holiday weekend.  I certainly did:)  And now that I'm getting ready to start the work week I'm feeling a little...ummm...shall we say...less than excited?  Oh the toes are dragging this morning!  So to give myself a lift I thought I'd finally share these cards with you.  I've had them ready for a while but I didn't feel sassy enough to post them...'til today! 

 

I really do like this 'Twisted' sentiment set from My Favorite Things.  There are so many possibilities for cards to send to girlfriends, sisters...or even cards to just make me smile on a rainy Tuesday.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:  Cardstock, ink and ribbon:  Papertrey; patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket; stamps from MFT; Cuttlebug tag die

Going Green Can Be Pretty: Repurposed Card Packaging

Hi there!  Ok...you're probably looking at this first picture and going 'whaaa?'.  Here's the short story:  my friend Kathi is about to participate in her third Breast Cancer 3 Day walk and she needed thank you notes to send to all of the people who have sponsored her.  Ha!  Bet 'cha thought I couldn't tell a short story!  Well...you're right.  Here's the rest:  so I made up a batch  for her and hit a bit of a snag when I went to package them up for delivery. 

The snag?  I'd forgotten to come up with a packaging plan.  Yep.  See, when I do wedding invitations, etc. I immediately know I need to obtain a box for packaging and I'll purchase a special memory box for presentation (functional and professional).  Easy peasy.  And when I fill smaller orders I utilize clear, vinyl card boxes.  But somehow I just didn't make the connection in my head that the order for Kathi put me somewhere in the middle ground.  What to do, what to do?  Seriously, I sat in my craft room with my finger on my lip as I said that out loud.

And then my eyes landed on an empty shoebox that I have been saving.  Never knew exactly what I was saving it for, I only knew that I didn't want to throw it out.  Eureka!  The only problem?  I couldn't hand my good friend her order in a box that proclaimed it held size 7 and a half mules!  So I sat back down and put my finger back on my lip.  What to do?  What to do?  The solution?  One sheet of 12 x 12 My Mind's Eye paper.  See, it's a good thing that I have so many craft supplies.  I took the opportunity to tell my husband, too.

Note to self:  don't bring up the subject of craft supply purchases with the husband. 

Back to the box:  so I cut out one of the blossoms, curled it a bit and popped it on foam dots, added some May Arts and Papertrey ribbons and wrote Kathi's name on a Cuttlebug tag.  Here's the inside...turns out this shoebox is a perfect fit for standard A2 cards and envelopes.  I added some fresh tissue paper to ensure that they didn't move around and become damaged in transit.  Done!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Too Early For A Cocktail?

Hi there!  Happy Monday to you:)  And thank you so much for all of your kind comments on my blog hop card!  After all of the work that went into that card I'm sort of embarrassed to share this one.  It's just simple one layer stamping!  It's part of a set, actually, that I made for a co-worker of mine.  She jokes quite frequently about how she enjoys a cocktail after work and when I saw that Twisted Two sentiment set from MFT I immediately knew I was going to make something like this as a little gift for her.  And the best part was that she loved them!  Well...this vacationing girl is going to bop back into her craft room and have some fun.  So much better than going to work on a Monday morning!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink and Cardstock:  Papertrey

Stamps:  My Favorite Things Twisted Two and Papertrey's A Day At The Beach

A Card For My Husband

Hi there!  Happy Saturday to you:)  I made a little card for the husband and thought I'd share it with you.  I'm having such fun digging through my stamps and mixing and matching manufacturers to find fun combos.  And, gee, for some reason, the husband really looked at this card.  *giggle*  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Check back at 8pm tonight 'cause it's time for Papertrey's monthly blog hop!

Until then...M

Supplies:

Ink, Cardstocks, Buttons and Twine all Papertrey, patterned paper from BasicGrey's lemonade collection, SU edge distresser, Copics, Penny Black bunny stamps and sentiment from MFT

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #12

Hi there!  Dawn McVey's latest color challenge was too good to ignore; I had to play:)  Considering that the inspiration photo (graphic below) was of Dawn's garden, I went with the obvious connection - gardening!  I paper-pieced the dress and colored the rest with Copics.  Such fun...I just wish I looked this good when I tend our garden!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink and Cardstock:  all Papertrey

Stamps:  My Favorite Things (Can You Dig It)

Other:  Nesties, swiss dot Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders slider tag die, Papertrey raspberry fizz ribbon, Copics, Basic Grey lemonade paper

Pink Ribbons

Hi there!  Hope you had a good weekend...I did.  One of the things I did was have brunch with my girlfriends.  There are four of us in the group, we originally met through work, and we've been brunching (is that a term?) together for over ten years.  We share our news with each other, seek support, gain advice...it's everything you could ever hope for in a bunch of friends.  And we're all so different from each other!  And yet...very alike, too.  Well, one of us - Kathi - is in training for her third Breast Cancer 3-Day walk.  This one is even more special than the first two because

this time Kathi is walking for herself.  I can happily say that she caught her cancer early and has been successful in her battle.  Perhaps more of us should get a baseline mammogram at 35?  That's how they caught it for Kathi at 40.  (Or was it 41?  I try to mentally block out scary things and having a friend so young get cancer...well...it's scary.)

Anyhow, I surprised Kathi with a little package of these polka-dotted notecards yesterday and she loved them so much she asked me to make a pile of them that she can use as thank yous,  Variety being the spice of life I also threw in some minor variations.  Hope she likes them!

The cards are pretty simple - I used the Labels One Nesties to cut the focal pieces (Papertrey and MME papers), stamped the ribbon image and sentiment from MFT and then colored with Copics.  I did try to add a teeny bit of interest by swiping the edges of the focal piece with that new chai tea dye ink from Papertrey.  And that's it!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Sunday Evening

  Well hello!  Bet'cha thought I wouldn't be back tonight, huh?  How was your weekend?  Things were quiet around here today, but I did get to see all of the nieces/nephews at dinner tonight.  Cute stuff...nothing new to share there, but dinner was a fun, crazy mess!  And I'm finally out of my crafting slump.  Whoo hoo!  And I finally organized myself so that I have posts lined up for the mornings.  Tonight's card is another one I made using My Favorite Things' Think Pink set.  Those ladies' sure did copy my hourglass figure, didn't they?!?  (snort)  I'm really into the kraft/light pink combo right now but I threw in some blue at the last minute.  Living on the edge as always.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll be back tomorrow morning - hope you'll be in the mood for something warm and homey!

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink:  Ranger antique linen distress ink; Papertrey dark chocolate

Cardstock:  Papertrey select white, sweet blush and kraft

Stamps:  My Favorite Things Think Pink

Other:  small square Nestabilities, Papertrey ribbon, small Cuttlebug tag die, SU markers, Foof-a-la buttons

Think Pink

  Hello and happy early morning to you!  So this was the card I meant to share with you yesterday morning.  One of my good friends is recovering from surgery related to her fight with breast cancer.  I've had a little light going off in the back of my brain for a while and last weekend I finally remembered that I'd seen a breast cancer awareness stamp set put out by My Favorite Things.  The set is named 'Think Pink' and I went ahead and purchased mine from All That Scraps.  I stamped this image in Palette ink and colored it with SU markers (yep...still no Copics on my desk.  Santa?  Santa!  I've been a good girl!).  I added some scoring lines for accents and then decided it was finished.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Next I'm putting up the latest Loonie Stampers Challenge.  Oh what a doozie it is this week! 

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink:  Papertrey dark chocolate

Cardstock:  Papertrey select white, kraft, sweet blush, berry sorbet

Stamps:  My Favorite Things Think Pink

Other:  SU markers, Scor-pal