Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!!

I had to schedule this post just in case we lost power during Hurricane Sandy...which is highly probable since we are surrounded by woodlands and trees normally come down during any storm. As I write this post on Monday night, we've already heard the news that Wednesday evening's trick or treating for the kids has been postponed to Saturday evening. My Syd is a little peeved at that since we've been counting down for 15 days now. At least she will be safe doing it now though. The hurricane will have passed by then. :)

So in honor of Halloween night going on everywhere else in the world, I made this card using the new Toadally Awesome set from There She Goes!

I didn't color up this cutie during release week because I wanted to show you all the other image in the set (remember Mr Frogs??) She is SOOOO much fin to color!! And I am envious of her gorgeous locks!

As always, I colored her up with my SU reinkers and Distress Inks. The papers are left over scraps from MME's Boo To You Collection. I sponged each layer with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and machine stitched it to some black cardstock. Then I added the border created with MFT's Open Bracket border die and the hearts were cut from glitter paper with PTI's Heart Prints dies. The banners were done freehand and stitched to some scrap cardstock, then adhered to the base. Last, but not least, I added some jute twine and a black button from PTI.

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween evening! And take care!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Toadally Awesome'

{Papers} PTI Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Recollections Black Glitter Paper, PP - MME 'Boo To You' Collection

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Lucky Limeade, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Morning Marigold, Sahara Sand, Cool Caribbean, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Inks - Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Black Soot and Frayed Burlap

{Access} PTI Heart Prints Die, MFT Open Bracket Border, PTI Button - True Black, Jute Twine, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG178: One Flake At A Time...a Sneak Peek!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Another Monday; another weekend gone! lol

The Pumpkin Festival was spectacular this year! We had the most gorgeous weather (70deg) and blue skies, but sadly we were 1500 pumpkins shy of smashing the world record. Bugger! Not sure what Highwood, Illinois got for a total, but if you want to check out what a real pumpkin festival looks like, then tune into HGTV at 8pm on Halloween night (October 31st)! Pumpkin Wars is a television special on the two towns, hosted by the Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott. I can't wait to their shots of Keene! 

It's release week at There She Goes again, but before we share those sneak peeks, I've got an itty bitty one for you today! Are you prepared for some SERIOUS CUTENESS!??

Adorable right?! Who doesn't love snowmen?? And for those that do, we've got an awesome set being released this week! I can't wait for you all to see it! You're going to MELT when you do! lol

I used this week's There She Goes challenge (#178), which is a sketch, for my layout and some old papers from Chatter Box (do they even exist anymore?!) and MME. See that sentiment?? It's from another set we're releasing this week too! Ooo! You guys are in for a treat this week, that's for sure! I hand drew the swoop along the bottom, cut it out with my scissors, then cut my patterned paper into 4 equal pieces. Then I lightly trimmed each corner off the pieces. Then I sponged each piece with Antique Linen Distress Ink and sewed each piece to the white cardstock base. Next, I cut a banner from some scrap MME paper, matted it to some white cardstock and adhered it to the base. Then I added some red baker's twine and a button to balance out the other side of the card.

We'd love for you to play along with us this week! Here are all the deets:

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project with a Fall/Halloween theme, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (October 22nd). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated:)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG178 so we can check out your beautiful work!

As always, thanks so much for popping in today! See you tomorrow!

Supplies

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Snow Buddies' and 'Snowman Sentiments'
{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Avalanche White, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, PP - Chatter Box 'Light Snowflakes' and MME scrap
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black, SU's Cool Caribbean, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Morning Marigold, Really Rust, Soft Suede, Antique Linen Distress Ink
{Access} Bakers Twine, PTI Button, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

You're So Wise!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Happy Friday everyone!

Are you looking forward to the weekend as much as I am?? I am so done with this week! Keene has their annual Pumpkin Festival and this year, it's being filmed for HGTV's Pumpkin Wars show, to air on Halloween night! They're pitting Highwood, Illinois against Keene, NH to see who can have the most lit pumpkins in one place! It's going to be a pumpkin showdown!! Wooohooo! I can't wait!

So, all week long on the TSG's blog, we've been showcasing three older sets (Hauntingly Delightful, HSH-Halloween Additions and You're A Hoot!) and if you pop over there today, you'll see a ton of new card creations made by the Trendsetters using these sets! But before you do that, here's a peek at what I made!

I love a good owl stamp! And this one is CA-UUUUUUTE!

To make this card, I used Canson Manga cardstock to stamp the image on. Then I colored the owl in with SU reinkers in Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa and Chocolate Chip, a combination of Pretty In Pink, Blushing Bride and Regal Rose and Morning Marigold for his eyes. The background was sponged using Soft Sky and Rosies's Roadshow Cloud Template.I used papers from Basic Grey's Out Of Print collection and a little bit of Bo Bunny scrap. Each panel was stitched to Bazzil Basics Bitter Chocolate cardstock and sponged with Vintage Photo or Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Add the twine and buttons and it's all done!

Don't forget!: It's release week again for There She Goes so keep Tuesday morning free and get ready to check out some holiday cuteness!!

Have a fun-tastic weekend! And thanks for stopping by this week!


{Supplies}
{Stamps} There She Goes 'You're A Hoot'
{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP - Basic Grey's Out Of Print Collection and Bo Bunny scrap
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink, Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, Soft Sky, Distress Ink's Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo
{Access} Rosies Roadshow Cloud Template, Jute Twine, PTI Button, Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles, Sponges, Sewing, Dimensionals

TSG 177: Full (or Halloween!) Fun

Monday, October 15, 2012

Good Morning Sweet Peeps!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I spent most of it catching up on my chores, but it felt good to get on top of them again. We did find some time to play though; Friday night we on a haunted hayride in Vermont! It was a lot of fun! Cold, but fun! :)

Last week's delayed There She Goes release was such a blast! I can't wait for you all to get your new stamps and dies....you're going to love them! Continuing on with the fun, it's There She Goes (Again!) week over at the TSG blog, where we showcase 3 sets released some time ago. So pop on over to the blog this week and check out the eye candy! We also have a great challenge (TSG177) for you all this week! Angela Thomas, one of our fabulous Trendsetters and awesome Dirty Girl has challenged us all to create a card or project with a Fall or Halloween theme! Awesome right??

 It would be an understatement if I said I loooooved Halloween! Yeah, I kind of have a teensy-weensy thing for it. :) Which is why I didn't have to think twice about which set to use for this challenge! I HAD to use Hauntingly Delightful! She's the cutest little witch I've seen! To make this card I used this week's Deconstructing Sketch #73, together with some papers from MME's Mischevious collection and Basic Grey's Erie collection. The web border was made using TSG's Spider Web Die. I added a little button detail to balance out the layout and some adhesive rhinestones for some...SPARKLE! Which works perfectly for this week's Basic Grey #79 challenge and Sugar Creek Hollow's #33 challenge!

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using this week’s challenge and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (October 15th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :) 

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG177 so we can check out your beautiful work!

 I hope you find some time to play! Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Hauntingly Delightful'

{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock, PP - MME Mischievous and Basic Grey's Erie collection

{Ink} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Old Olive, Concord Grape, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Soft Suede, Antique Linen Distress Ink

{Access} TSG's Spider Web Die, Spellbinders Large Circle Die, PTI Button - Black, Jute Twine, Adhesive Rhinestones, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG's October Release Blog Hop Challenge - Day Three!!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Welcome back to Day Three of the There She Goes October Release Sneak Peeks!! I can't WAIT for you to see this set!!

We have been begging for it, and finally, Torico gave us what we wanted…our very own NINJA set!! Woot! Woot!! From colds to birthdays, this set is sure to kick whatever you need a card for’s butt!!
Just stand back; he’s got this!

Ninja Skillz is a 6x8 set that includes a total of 26 stamps and will sell for $24.00.

Is this not an awesome set?!! This set is perfect for all those boy cards we never make but need from time to time! And every ninja needs a sidekick, so Torico whipped one up! But not just any sidekick - it's puppy power to the rescue! lol This isn't too far removed from what goes on in my family at the moment. My little girl really wants to take karate lessons and her 'shadow' around the house...is Stella, the family dog!

To make this card I used this week's Retro Sketches #32 and some paper from MME's Indie Chic 'Ginger' Collection. The images were colored with my SU and Distress Ink reinkers and an aquapainter brush.

Would you like to win the new Ninja Skillz stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, October 13th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Now here's the list of blogs you HAVE to check out....unless you want a Ninja on your back! ;)


Thanks so much for hanging out with us this week! See you at the release!!


Supplies
{Stamps} There She Goes 'Ninja Skillz'
{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock, PP-MME's Indie Chic 'Ginger' Collection
{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Going Gray, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Distress Inks 'Black Soot and Frayed Burlap'
{Access} Ric Rac Ribbon, PTI Button - Black, EK Success Corner Punch, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG's October Release Blog Hop Challenge - Day Two!!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

It's the second day of the There She Goes October release sneak peeks!!

Created by Torico to go along with the original Just For You set, this Halloween Additions set is perfect for all your Halloween gift giving needs. Not only has she created some of the CUTEST images and sayings, there are now DIES to go along with it!! 

*The circles can be punched out with a 1 3/8 in. punch

*There will be a total of four dies to go with this set. One for each of the big shapes and then a set of nesting banner dies.

Just For You-Halloween Additions is a 6x8 set that includes a total of 28 stamps and will sell for $24.00.

Just For You Dies are a 4 piece set and will sell for $31.50.

I spied these Halloween gift bags on Pinterest last week and knew they'd be a perfect pairing with these tags! They're made from brown lunch bags and tied to a twig with raffia. But aren't these tags adorable?! I love how easy they were to make - perfect for Halloween school treats!

Would you like to win the new JFY-Halloween Addition stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, October 13th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Here's the list of blogs you should check out to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


Supplies

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Just For You - Halloween Addition'

{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, PP - Recollections Spook Alley

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Going Gray
{Access} TSG's 'JFY-Halloween Additions Dies, Jute Twine, Dimesionals

TSG October Release Blog Hop Challenge - Day One!!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

G'day everyone and welcome to the There She Goes October release sneak peeks!! It's day one and we have a fabulous set to start the sneak peeks off with!

The name pretty much says it all…but this new set from Melyssa really IS Toadally Awesome! From Halloween to Birthdays, with a princess AND a frog, along with several punny sayings, this set is so versatile and CUTE!! Use it for birthday’s, Halloween, and whatever else you see fit!!

Toadally Awesome is a 4x4 set that includes a total of 8 stamps and will sell for $12.00.

TOADALLY AWESOME right?! And if you've popped in from one of the other Trendsetter's blogs, then you know the other image from this set is equally as fabulous! (I resisted as hard as I could to color her up!) This one might have a subtle Halloween theme, but just like all the TSG's sets, it's perfectly suitable for other occasions too! I made a Thank You card and used this week's MOJO Sketch #262 for my layout. Mr Toad was colored up with my reinkers and aquapainter brush and I used papers from Crate Papers Pretty Party Collection as well as MME's Mischievous Collection. The banners were easily done with the banner die in the TSG's Worlds Best die set. Add some sewing, a PTI button and some twine, and I was done!

Would you like to win the new Toadally Awesome stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, October 13th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

 Here's the list of blogs you'll definitely want to check out!

Be sure to scoot on back tomorrow for day two of the sneak peeks!!

Supplies

{Stamps} There She Goes 'Toadally Awesome'

{Papers} Canson Manga Cardstock, PTI Kraft Cardstock Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP- Crate Paper 'Pretty Party' and MME's 'Mischievous' Collections

{Inks} StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Old Olive, Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks

{Access} TSG's World's Best Die set, PTI Button - Soft Stone, Jute Twine, Spellbinders Large Circle Nesties, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals 

Easiest Pajama Pants Tutorial!

Friday, October 5, 2012

TGIF! Ain't that the truth?!

As promised, I'm back to share the super easy tutorial I found to make pajama pants!

While lurking on Pinterest one day, a few weeks ago, I started to think about the upcoming holidays and how Christmas is only two months away (yikes!). After my mini freak out, I decided I wanted to make my little girl a pair of flannel pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. So I searched for a few tutorials and by far, this one by Nancy, of My Cotton Creations, was the easiest to follow! Since my little one has movie night at her school once a month, I thought she could use a cute pair of PJ's for them too! And as luck would have it, Joann's was having a sale on their flannel fabric - a serious sale - like, $2.99 per yard kind of sale! They must have known I was coming! lol So I bought enough to make two pairs of PJ's!

Here's how they turned out! Cute aren't they?! For my 7yr old, I bought 1.5 yards of fabric, half a yard of some coordinating fabric for the waistband, tie and cuffs.

Instead of using elastic, I went with ties and I added some buttons on the front...just for looks!

I sewed on the coordinating cuffs and waistband after cutting the front and back panels and before sewing those two pieces together. I also double stitched the seams to give them a cleaner look. The best part about this project is that it isn't a hard thing to make and in fact, even with the double stitching and coordinating fabric, I still made these in just over 3 hours!!

I didn't have time to take a good picture of the other pair I made before my little one insisted on wearing them to bed this week...so here's a photo of her wearing them!

She LOVES them so much that she has begged me to take her shopping for flannel this weekend so she can have a few more of these in her closet! lol

To save you from scrolling to the top again, here's the tutorial I recommend using...

Christmas Eve Pajama Pants Tutorial

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!

Happy Birthday!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Hi Peeps!

I know I've been quiet lately (I sound like a broken record lately, don't I?!), but it's not because I haven't been creating. I've just been creating with different materials! I've had the urge to use my sewing machine on something other than cards, so this week I bought some flannel and made my little girl some pajama pants! I used a tutorial I found on Pinterest and the best part - they only took me 3hrs to whip up! That's less time than I usually take to make a card! lol I'll get a better photo of them and post the tutorial tomorrow.

But today, I have a card I made a couple of weeks ago.

Look Ma! I didn't color anything! lol

It was a little strange not coloring anything up for a card, but refreshing at the same time! :) The background paper was a little busy, and I know I've made the mistake of stamping a sentiment on busy paper before and not being able to read it. But this time, I heat embossed the image to make it stand out on the paper. You can click on the image to get a better look. I love the strip of different paper across the middle of the card - it really draws your eye to the images! The dress form image is from the TSG's Cute As A Button set and so is the sentiment. The banners were made using the banner die from the World's Best die set.

It's a quick and easy card, but sometimes those are the best ones! :)

Just a reminder, the TSG's October releases start next week, so mark your calendars!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Cute As A Button'
Papers: Bazzil Basics, PP - Sassafras Lass, Cosmo Cricket
Inks: SU's Chocolate Chip, Versamark Ink
Access: TSG's World's Best Die, PTI Buttons, Jute Twine, Adhesive Pearls, Fiskars Decorative Scissors
Machine Stitching