Friend to Friend: MFT Sketch Challenge #269

As a recent brand convert, I am thoroughly enjoying all of the new product that I'm finding from these great shops/brands on the internet.  It's like a whole new world that I've been missing out on!  

I was originally introduced to papercrafting, specifically card-making, back in 2000.  I had just moved to a new town for graduate school and hadn't had much of an opportunity to meet people outside of school or work.  My boss invited me to a Stampin' Up party that she had been invited to.  It was fun and right up my alley, but not so much for my boss.  She made a purchase to be nice and I was a poor grad student.  Eventually, her purchase became my new crafting tools.  

For 15 years, most of my supplies have come from Stampin' Up.  I have always loved the broad lines of their stamps and the array of designs.  And, the color coordination they offer in inks and cardstock always made things easy for me.  As I've moved across Texas, I've hopped from demonstrator to demonstrator and participated in multiple stamp camps, classes, and crops.  

I won't go into why I'm no longer a loyal SU customer, as it doesn't really matter.  I still use the products that I have, but I doubt I will make as many purchases from them in the future.  Instead, I want to share my most recent purchases from the other brands!  

Lawn Fawn:  I just adore Lawn Fawn.  Their little critters are adorable and so versatile. These are some of the sets I've purchased recently.  My local scrapbook store, Scrapbook N More, carries some of the Lawn Fawn sets and is where I originally discovered their line.  I purchased Winter Alpaca there.  I purchased the others from ScrapbookPal.com (great customer service and prices).

    





















Simon Says Stamp:  What a great resource!  Not only am I in love with the store, but the multiple blogs definitely keep me on my toes!  I've participated in some of their weekly challenges and am constantly checking out their design team blogs.  These are my 2 SSS purchases.  I'll have to admit that the Circle Loops die really through me for a ... well, a loop.  I couldn't figure out how to pop the die cut out of the die.  Took quite a while to find the holes on the back that you poke to pop out the die cut.  Doh! 

 

WPlus9:  My mom is a birder, so I thought the Happy Birds set from WPlus9 would be a lot of fun!  And this is the set that I used for for my next card.  Yay! 



My Favorite Things (another great brand, but I haven't purchased any of their fun products yet) came out with Sketch Challenge #269 this week.  At first, I wasn't sure if I could come up with any way to use the sketch.  Really stumped.  

After many failed attempts to make my ideas come to life, I ended up with this card. 

Instead of adding a flag to the top, I used a 2nd bird from Happy Birds.  Not sure if it flows as well, but it allowed me to use the "friend to friend" stamp from SU.
And I used the small solid heart stamp from LF's Into the Woods in light pink.  I didn't want something too bright and didn't want to take away from the blue bird and banners that are popped out of the page.  

Thanks for stopping by for a look!

Wishes to You: MFT Color Challenge #39

Jumping online for a last minute card submission to the
My Favorite Things Color Challenge #39.
The color challenge includes these colors (or the closest thing you have to them): 

I dug out some of my favorite Stampin' Up colors: Cardstock in Real Red and Coastal Cabana, and Coastal Cabana for the ink.  And I colored the cutie patootie elephant and his balloon with colored pencils.  The elephant and sentiment stamps are from Simon Says Stamp Birthday Celebration. And the die cuts are Circle Loops from Simon Says Stamp.

                          

I'm home  tomorrow... a lucky, middle-of-the-week reprise from work.  So, I'm hoping that I get some time in the craft room to play with some other new stamps!  

Just be... SSS One Layer

This weekend allowed me some time in the craft room, but most of that time was spent working on a large order of Color Me Thankful cards for a friend.  

In between stages of card-making, I ventured to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog to see what Simon Says this week...
Simon Says One Layer!  

Layering mats of cardstock is such a great way to add depth, color and texture to cards, so making a card with just one layer can be more difficult that you think.  

I decided to use WPlus9's Happy Birds set that came in the mail this week for this challenge, and came up with several different ways to use these fun birds for this challenge.  

First, I used this funny little guy as the focal point.  He has the same pose that I use to soak up the sun when we haven't seen it in a while! 

The clouds, also from Happy Birds, are great for masking to double them up.  I used VersaMark Dazzle for the clouds, but they just didn't come out dark enough for me... next time, I'll pull out the ink that coordinates with the SU Marina Mist cardstock.  Verve's "just be" at the bottom of the card is also stamped with the VersaMark Dazzle.  


 Since this card didn't turn out quite as well as I hoped, I tried again... 
I used another of the cute Happy Birds and posed him sitting on a wire again.  The "trees" at the bottom are made using the same wire and the two leaves that come with the set.  












Since I chose to keep the solitary bird again, I kept with the "just be" sentiment.  I placed it inside with a few clouds.  

I can't wait to play with Happy Birds more!  

On another note, did you notice the cute box in the photos above?  I came across an old iPhone box the other day and just couldn't bring myself to throw it away. Turns out, it's the perfect size to store sponge daubers.  

Because the box is so tight, and fairly difficult to open, I glued ribbon on either side as tabs.  This gives more of a finger hold and makes it easier to open.  

With this crafty little upcycle, I'm entering the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  The SSS Monday Challenge theme is vintage, and this week they prompted participants to upcycle/recycle something that otherwise would've been trash.  Perfect! 

Time to RRR: MFT Color Challenge #38

It's been a few weeks since I've spent time in my craft room.  Sometimes, I get so swept up in the whirlwind of my busy life work-life that I forget to take time for myself to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate (RRR). And, as an introvert who works in an extroverted world, I recognize when it's time to slow down and take the time to RRR.

With that in mind, I jumped at the chance to spend a quiet hour in my craft room last night to work on a new challenge.  I stumbled upon the My Favorite Things blog and their inspiring challenges.  The one that caught my eye was the MFT Color Challenge, as I've not participated in any type of color challenge before.  Usually, I steer towards sketch challenges for my card making and scrapbooking.

The My Favorite Things Color Challenge this week is shown below.

MFT Color Challenge #38

And here is my take on the color challenge...

In the post, they share that we can use the closest colors we have to the MFT colors that they use.  I have not had the opportunity to purchase any of the MFT inks, but was able to substitute in some Stampin' Up colors that I have.  For the watercolor effect, I used SU Tangelo Twist, So Saffron and 

Yo Yo Yellow.  This was a fun - and somewhat frustrating - process.   For the bird silhouette and the card stock, I used SU Blackberry Bliss.   (I'm an old school Stampin' Up customer, so many of my colors are from the older catalogs and may be retired.)

After a couple of stressful days at work, this time spent crafting really did calm me down and allow me to relax and sleep better last night.  It serves as a good reminder to step back from the daily whirlwind and RRR!