{MFT} Howdy!

I have a card today to share with you that uses this month's sketch for My Favorite Things Guest Designer Contest. You still have time to get your entry in and trust me- It is worth your time to submit! The prize package is beyond astounding and if your card is chosen as the winner, you'll also get to stamp with the MFT team for the whole month of March! Including weekly sketch challenges and Teaser Time for the next release!!!

I channeled my inner Calgary Stampede buckle bunny when I made this card! My SIL got us tickets to see the Dixie Chicks preform there this year, so I am pretty excited about that!! The trademark Stampede outfit is white Stetson and red shirt ;)

I used a new a la mode: Cowgirl at Heart. The die-namics used: Circle STAX 1 and 2, Fishtail Flag STAX, and mini tabs foursome,. I used Black Licorice ink for my sentiments and a Wild Cherry button.

Here is the inside (no idea why there is that weird glare coming off of the paper- nevermind that!) I stamped the sentiment on another Mini Tabs Foursome, same as the front.

{MFTWSC113} My Favorite Peep

Time for another amazing sketch from MY FAVORITE THINGS! I've used PI: One of my Favorite Peeps, coloured her with copics and paper-piecing that dress. She is adhered the a circle STAX 1 and 2 panel. I added the sentiment using the small dies from those two sets and Mini Doily Circles. I added some Hemp cord and brown brads.

I stamped the sentiments in Black Licorice ink. I added a little border in Hot Fudge CS using the Faux Crochet Border. 

Here is the lil treat basket I made to accompany the card. I used the new Trapezoid Treat Box and Woven Basket die-namic.

For more inspiration and challenge details, see the MFT blog. 

{RCC77} Love is in The Air

Have you played along yet with this month's Ribbon Carousel Challenge?!  We are now doing monthly challenges with a big 'ol prize at the end for one lucky challenge participant!  

Each month we are giving away a Ribbon Carousel 

to one of our randomly chosen challenge participants!

This month's theme is

Love is in the air...

Supplies: Stamp- MFT PI Owl Costume, buttons- SU!, CS- SU! X-press It Blending Stock, Copics, 1" circle punch, TE impression plate, jute twine and twill ribbon- RC, distress ink, memento tuxedo black ink, MFT Black Licorice ink (sentiment)
Retro Sketch #51

Ready to play?! 

There are three rules to be eligible for the prize:

1.  You MUST use ribbon or twine on your creation 

2. Your project must be based on the theme of the month

3. You must add  a NEW project  to the inlinkz and link directly back to your project on your blog or online gallery.

You have until February 28th to add your creation to the Inlinkz. The random winner of the ribbon carousel will be announced here on the blog on Monday, March 4th!

To link up your project, click HERE and go to the bottom of that post!    

Good luck & happy stamping!

{KKS167} Hang In There!

This week, our Krafty Girl Hostess is Amanda, and she wants to see some fussy-cutting! So get out your sharpened paper snips and join us!
I've used the lovely circus girl, Arielle, and I actually realized I was using a circus image while I was watching the movie Water For Elephants! haha! Funny how the mind works! It's a great movie if you haven't already seen it!

I coloured her with copics, adding glitter to her costume and a little glaze pen as well. She is popped up on foam dimensionals, except the top of her trapeze, which is glued down flat to prevent those skinny cut strips from tearing. She is sitting on a base cut with MFT Oval STAX. The sentiment was stamped on TCP cloud border die with MFT's Black Licorice ink and then I just snipped apart the clouds and adhered them with more dimensionals. Under the oval layer is more patterned paper cut with MFT's Fishtail Flags STAX and Layers STAX. I added some black brads also.

You can find more fussy-cut creations on the KKS Blog....don't forget about our Frugal Friday sale stamps that are deeply discounted for the weekend ONLY!

{TSG Release} Giddy Up!

Cowboys and western themes are all the rage right now, and we wanted IN on this super popular trend….and boy did Torico deliver!! Our new Giddy Up set is so fun, you’ll be roped in!

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

Supplies: Oval STAX die, doily die, country charms die, fishtail flag STAX (MFT); twine (TCP); button (SU)

Would you like to win the new Giddy Up  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, February 23^rd with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

{MFTWSC112} Attitude!

I've used a lovely set for this card, called Vertical Greetings II (it comes with a companion die, which I did not use today). Here are the Die-namics that I've used on my card today: Pretty Posies, Accent it: Labels and Tabs, Leafy Flourish, and on the inside: Simply Scallops Small. The flower stack was topped with a Wild Cherry button  tied with black jute. 

I stamped the sentiment in Black Licorice, and then the bolder words in Wild Cherry, Razzel Berry, Sno Cone and Sour Apple ink and the strips were adhered with foam tape for some added dimension. I like this look and it really jazzes up a sentiment!

The inside of the card was stamped with a quote from the set Clearly Sentimental About New Beginnings.

If you would like to see the other designers participating in today's sketch challenge, please visit the MFT Blog!

{MFT} Lovefest!

My Favorite Things is pleased and proud to be a founding Splitcoaststampers Member Company. My Favorite Things is hostessing a challenge today as part of the Splitcoaststampers LoveFest. The LoveFest includes 11 days of challenges, chatter, and prizes!  You'll increase your opportunity to win by playing along in each of the 11 challenges.  You can find all the details HERE.  

You'll find all the details on today's challenge from My Favorite Things HERE in the MFT Forum.

Please note: Gallery uploads must be completed by February 28th, 2013 at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time to be eligible.

I've made this card for a special friend of mine who is going through a mother's worst nightmare, and has been for the last few years. Her son just turned 9 years old and was diagnosed with a very rare form of Cancer a few years ago. He has been through all of the horrible things that go hand-in-hand with Chemotherapy and still has a pretty big leg of the journey ahead of him. She is such an amazing mom and lemme tell ya- She is a FIGHTER!!! I am going to pop this card in the mail, in the hopes that some 'happy mail' brightens her day!

Here are the card details: I've stamped the daisy from Inspired by Flowers #2 in MFT's Premium Dye Kraft ink directly onto the DP. Those circles were cut using MFT's Circle STAX. The sentiment (from the same set) was stamped in SU's Calypso Coral ink onto DP cut with the Fishtail Flags STAX. I sponged all of the edges with the Kraft ink, machine stitched around the card front and added a crinkled seam binding bow topped with a Hemp Cord button (SU) bow! I've used this week's SSSC sketch (178).

Here is the inside, with another sentiment stamped in the coral ink again.

Please upload your entry to the SCS gallery with the following keyword: LOVEFEST2013G

You will have the chance to win one of two prizes for participating in our challenge.  You can see what those awesome incentives are by visiting our FORUM on SCS!

Best of luck to all of you and thank you for your love and support of My Favorite Things.

{TSG Release} The Beary Best

Torico is at it again with her SUPER cute animals that we all LOVE and adore! This set has some of the CUTEST bear images, and the sentiments will bring a tear to your eye. This set is the perfect mix of sentimental and super cute!

The Beary Best is a 6x8 set that includes a total of 19 stamps and will sell for $24.00

Card Details: I coloured my bears with Copic markers. Mama bears apron was with copics as well, I just used the same colours as in the plaid pattern circle at the top and re-created a quick version of the plaid. I added white sharpie paint pen to the little bears blue dress for some interest. The cream twine is from The Cat's Pajamas and the flower die is by Mt Favorite Things. The circles were all cut using MFT Circle STAX 1 and 2 die-namics. The yellow button I found in my stash. I machine stitched around the edge of the card with white thread.

Would you like to win the new The Beary Best 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, February 23rd with the winner being announced during the release party chat. 

{MFT} Creative Challenge

Oh boy! This month's challenge was a doozy for some of the MFT team (the 'more is more' kinda gals like myself;) We went for Clean and Fresh or Clean and Simple! I don't even really understand the meaning of that! lol! I definitely am NOT clean and maybe I'm a little fresh, hehe! At times;) Hey- I can be pretty simple on occasion, so maybe that is a better title for me!

I saw a pretty brides bouquet on Pinterest...ummmm....where else? I thought to myself that a bouquet card might be kind of pretty and I seem to always be scrambling for wedding cards and trying to slap together a card when I should be doing my hair, then end up apologizing to the people at the reception about how bad my hair is because I was busy making the card....ahh....my life story! And this card would probably cost $10 to mail, so it's what I call a hander-outter. You can see a pic of how 'high' this is when you scroll down....

I'm not to sure if the experts would qualify this card as 'simple', but I think the bright pop of colour against the white card base makes this clean and fresh! What do you think?

I used various rolled flowers to create all of the blooms (Mini hybrid heirloom rose, Royal rose,  Rolled Rose, Mini rolled roses). The base for the bouquet was cut using the Dizzy Doily Die-namic and I added a Leaf filled Flourish with some tiny rhinestones glued to the vine tips.

The sentiment is from the set LLD: Off the Chart and was stamped onto the Bracket Tab die-namic, in black licorice premium dye ink.

And here is the inside. I used a nice sentiment, which I think is good marital advice, from Pearls of Wisdom. I added some more of those tiny twinkles to bling it up a bit.

For more inspiration from the MFT team, check out the blog HERE! Thanks for stopping by!

{TSG195} Slugger

This week, our challenge is to use the sketch provided. It was inspired by a card from our fabulous Trendsetter, Tobi Crawford!!

For my card tonight, I used my yet-to-be-inked Swing Big stamp set to make a boy's birthday card for my stash.  I stamped him onto X-press It blending CS with memento tuxedo black and coloured with Copics, adding some brown and black pastels for deep shading. I inked the edged with Tea Dye distress ink and used my sewing machine to add black stitching. The circle panels were cut with MFT's Circle STAX dies and the sentiment banner was created with MFT's Fishtail Flags STAX. I added some black brads to the bottom, as it looked a little bare. The sentiment was stamped with MFT's Black Licorice ink.

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using the provided sketch, 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 (February 25th). 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 TSG195 so we can check out your beautiful work!

{KKS New Release HOP!} Hi There!

Well welcome back!! It’s Krafty RELEASE Day at KRAFTIN' KIMMIE STAMPS!! And we’re celebrating with a KRAFTY HOP!!

Over the last few days in our Krafty Peeks, we have shared lots of AMAZING new stamps from all our artists! We’ve got something for everyone!! We've got TWO sweet new sets with the kiddos from Cheryl Alger........SOMEBUNNY LOVES YOU and LIL' BUCKAROOS! We also have a fun new set from Emilie Goulet called WORLD OF WONDER! And of course we have an amazing new set of SIX awesome stamps in our LOVELY LITERATURE collection from Annie Rodrigue that are simply A-mazing! OH and don’t forget the incredible new BOOKWORM TRINKET stamps and the new SPRING SWEETIES set by the lovely Nicole Aspinall!!! 

I used one of the kiddo's from the World Of Wonder set for my hop card. I just adore this set...my BSF and fellow Krafty Girl, Kim, said these kids remind her of lil Pixar kids! I think she's right :)

You will get to see most of the new images today as you sit back and enjoy our FEBRUARY Krafty Hop! As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of these incredible stamps from the new release!! And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’Kimmie shop, because ALL the new images are NOW available!

And of course, as always, we have our Gimme Kimmies Kits available for those of you who ‘need it all’!! The stamps are grouped together by artist and are available at a discount, but only for a limited time!!

The Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp shop now carries a selection of 6x6 paper pads!!! We are happy to offer these to our Canadian customers at the moment, due to the extra weight of the paper. But if there are any International/US customers that would also like to take advantage of the paper pads, please email us for a quote on the extra shipping costs involved! OH and to celebrate this new feature, we've even got a few of the pads ON SALE!!

**Who likes FREE? Well, the FIRST 30 orders of $30 or more before shipping and taxes, will receive a FREE package of either Pearl or Glitter Candy Dots by American Crafts!!! Just an extra special gift for our extra special customers!!! 

Now let's get hoppin' and shoppin'!!

{KKS Previews} Challenge 166

Welcome back to Day FIVE of the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps February previews!!! Now how CUTE were those sets by Cheryl Alger yesterday??? The Krafty Girls cards were SO awesome!! Wanna know the random commenter who is getting a set of those cuties?? Well, ALL the winners of this week will be announced at the LIVE online RELEASE PARTY TONIGHT!!! Go HERE to get all the details!!!

So are you here for a new challenge or are you here to check out the brand new ANNIE stamps for FEBRUARY 2013???? Well, not to worry! We've got BOTH!! Not only do we have a new weekly challenge but we also have SIX new AWESOME stamps!!!

This month we have a FABULOUS collection called...... LOVELY LITERATURE!!! If you are a total book lover, like most of the Krafty Girls, you are gonna LOVE these familiar characters!!!

Just wait 'til you see all the FUN creations by the Krafty Girls and Guests featuring Anne of Green Gables, Little Orphan Annie, Mary Poppins, Nancy Drew, Scarlett O'Hara and Sherlock Holmes!! It's another incredibly fun release!! You will love it!

Check out all the amazing creations on today's hop in combination with this week's challenge!! I am your hostess this week and my challenge is ANYTHING GOES!! We want EVERYONE to play along and have a chance to win the new Anne of Green Gables, as featured on my card!! We really hope you are inspired by this week's challenge and share your inky creations!!! We SO enjoy seeing your beautiful designs inspired by our challenges!

Below you will find all the Krafty Girls and Guests who have goodies to show you today and while you're visiting their blogs, be sure to leave some love at each stop because TWO lucky stampers are each going to WIN a package of today's stamps!! Woohoo!!!

ALL of our FEBRUARY stamps will be available TONIGHT at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Shop!!! We'll be celebrating tonight at our ONLINE RELEASE PARTY!! It's over at our KKS Facebook fan page! Join us for all the fun!! You can find more details here!!

OH and here's something exciting!!! The FIRST 30 orders of $30 or more after the new stamps are released tonight will receive a package of Pearl or Glitter Candy Dots by American Crafts for FREE with their order!!! Just 'cause we loves ya!! See you TONIGHT! 

I used this week's The Deconstructed Sketch (No. 89) for my lay out.

{KKS Preview} Lil' Buckaroo

Welcome back to day four of our FEBRUARY Kraftin' Kimmie Peeks!!! Today we are excited to share TWO ADORABLE new sets by artist Cheryl Alger!!! You'll recognize these characters from previous sets.....Lulu, Lexi and Lucas! And they are just as cute as can be!!! These new sets are.......LIL' BUCKAROOS and SOMEBUNNY LOVES YOU!

I've used Cowboy Lucas for my card today! I LURVE this lil cowpoke!! Isn't he adorable!?

I coloured him with copics, adding black and brown pastels for some more depth to my shading. Some new western dies (Barbed Wire Fence and Country Charms, as well as Fresh Cut Grass) from My Favorite Things were perfect for Lucas :) I attached the little sheriff charm to a Hot Fudge MFT button with jute twine. This is my absolute FAVOURITE designer paper pad from October Afternoon (Sasperilla). CS is from Stampin' Up. I added some clear and silver Spica glitter pen to the star on his hat, his buckle and spurs.

Would you like to know who won the new World of Wonder stamp set that we previewed yesterday???!! Well, you'll just have to wait until Saturday night at this month's ONLINE RELEASE PARTY!!! Hope you can join us for all the fun and excitement and prizes!!! You can read all the details about how you can join us RIGHT HERE!

Not only do we have all these supah cute new stamps to share today BUT we are also thrilled to share that Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is sponsoring this month's SKETCH challenge over at the Designed to Color blog!!! You have a whole month to join in the fun and you could WIN your choice of THREE single stamps!!! Woohoo!!! Get krackin'!!

All the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests listed below have lots of super sweet designs to show you, so be sure to hop over to each of them! And while you're there, be sure to leave a comment because we are giving away one of EACH of the new sets!!! You could WIN the new LIL' BUCKAROOS or SOMEBUNNY LOVES YOU stamp set!!!!! {All of this week's winners will be announced at the online party on Saturday night!}

Then come on back tomorrow to check out MORE new stamps we have to show you , this time by artist Annie Rodrigue!!! And ALL the new stamps will be available on Saturday night at the KKStamps Shop!

{KKS Previews} World Of Wonder

Welcome back!! We hope you enjoyed all the sweet designs we shared yesterday featuring the new BOOKWORM TRINKETS stamp set! And before we go any further, would you like to know who won that set??? Well, ALL the winners of this week will be announced at the LIVE online RELEASE PARTY on SATURDAY!! I'll be posting all the details for the party later on today!! So keep your eyes peeled!

Today at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps we are sharing a new set by the totally talented Emilie Goulet!!! We've got a perfect set for spring!! Let us introduce..... WORLD OF WONDER!! Emilie has created a fun set of outdoor adventure images for your cards and scrapbook pages! You're going to get a real kick out of 

these girls!!!

I used Deconstructed Sketch #87 for my layout. The image is coloured with Copics and I added some additional shading with black and brown pastel pencils. Her head kerchief was paper-pieced. I used MFT Fishtail Flags STAX and Layers STAX for the flag strips. The magnifying glass was given a coat of Crystal Effects. I stamped the sentiment directly on the image panel using MFT's Black Licorice die, which is my fave new ink for really deep black sentiments.

Below you will find a list of all the Krafty Girls who are sharing PEEKS with you today!! And as you're hoppin' around, be sure to leave a comment at each stop because someone will win a package of WORLD OF WONDER!! {All of this week's winners will be announced at the online party on Saturday night!}

All our new FEBRUARY 2013 stamps will be available on Saturday at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Shop!!! And don't miss the online PAR-TAY to celebrate! {Details to come shortly!} Come on back tomorrow because we'll be revealing two new stamp sets by Cheryl Alger!!!

Happy hoppin'!!

{MFTWSC111} Happy Anniversary

I tried my hand at CAS again, sticking with CS (No patterned paper- SHOCK!!) and a few basic dies: Pretty Posies, and Accent It: Labels and Tabs. The stamp is Vertical Greetings II and on the inside I stamped a sentiment from CS About Anniversaries. I used Black Licorice ink for my sentiments and sponged the edges of my kraft CS with Kraft Ink. I tied Hemp cord bow around a Hot Fudge button and added it to the flower die stack.

Head over to the MFT BLOG for a complete list of designers participating today :)

{KKS Previews} Bookworm Trinkets

Well it's Day TWO of our Krafty Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps !! Are ya ready for more???

Today we’d like to introduce all you READERS to a beautiful new set of Trinkets!!! We are very excited to share with you our GORGEOUS….BOOKWORM TRINKETS!! Eeeek!! Who's been waiting for these?? I know I have!

These circular sentiment stamps have been created and designed by the totally talented Krafty Girl, Nicole Aspinall!! They are made especially to fit in your 1 3/8ths and 1 ¾ inch punches, for quick and easy cutting!!! This month we are releasing the BOOKWORM TRINKETS set which includes EIGHT trinkets in each set! You will get the set as a completely unmounted full sheet of deeply etched grey rubber.

Today we have awesome samples that the Krafty Girls have put together for you....and be sure to comment on each and every stop because one lucky stamper is going to WIN the new BOOKWORM TRINKETS set!!! {All of this week's winners will be announced at the online party on Saturday night!}

Happy kraftin'!

{KKS Previews} Spring Sweeties

Well it's that time again!!!! It's a new month and Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is kickin' things off a day early because we have SO much krafty goodness to pack into the krafty peeks this week!!! So let's start things off with a BANG!!! We have tons of awesome new stamps AND we're excited to have another ONLINE RELEASE PARTY!!! It's happening this SATURDAY at our Facebook fan page....and we'll post more information later in the week! We did this for the first time last month and it was a HOOT!! So much fun, so many giveaways and of course, the NEW STAMPS!! So all the new stamps we're sharing over the next few days will be released on SATURDAY NIGHT! Now let's get on with our FEBRUARY 2013 RELEASE!!!!!

We are kicking off the *New* FEBRUARY Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps previews today and we've got a fun new set for you in time for SPRING!!! It's from our wonderful artist Nicole Aspinall and we are very excited to share with you our ADORABLE….SPRING SWEETIES!!

There are FIFTEEN cute stamps featuring the perfect images for spring and especially EASTER!! And just wait 'til you see the sweet creations that the Krafty Girls made with them!! Be sure to comment on each and every stop because one lucky stamper is going to WIN the new SPRING SWEETIES set!!! {All of this week's winners will be announced at the online party on Saturday night!}