Sites of the week

So…what do you think of this new blog banner?? You can be honest {really}. I’m sure you can tell, but in case not…I did it myself!! {kinda proud of that!!} I love the other one that I had, but that one had been up for a year and I wanted something fun and funky. This is what I came up with! LOL! I downloaded some stuff {free and paid for} and got to work in Photoshop Elements and viola! Well, kinda viola. I had to call in Tony to make some changes with the html and techno schtuff. Check out THIS CHICK’s site for a plethora of leads to free digi stuff!!

Speaking of free stuff…

Want to win the BE MINE set from My Favorite Things? I thought so!! Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you think about the new banner and pic. If you don’t like it, I promise I won’t take you out of the running. However, I am keeping it up!

I’ll draw a winner on Wednesday. Please only one entry per person. ***If your comment does not show up right away it’s because I will have to moderate it***

As you know I do design work for both My Favorite Things and Verve Visual. I truly feel that I am blessed to be given these opportunities. However…I cannot forget my roots in stamping. Well, what I consider my roots…Stampin’ Up! If you want to go waaaay back you could say that a cheesy Michael’s stamp and cheapo ink are my roots, but I like to fast forward a little past all that gobbly gook. Yes, they take up a lot of space. Yes, they are a pain in the rear to cut out. But, I love my wood mounted rubber stamps! I knew all along that my sample for today’s sketch would feature new stuff from SU! Surprise, Surprise…it’s a baby card. LOL! I sometimes have to laugh at myself for all the baby cards that I make, because sometimes they don’t already have a chosen recipient. This one does. It’s for a friend that I have known since the FOURTH grade!! She is pregnant with her first; a baby girl. I am so excited for her and her husband! In a couple weeks she is having a shower up here {she is from Houston} and I plan to give her this card along with some goodies for the baby.

Before I get too far off track with my trip down memory lane and my gushing for all things baby, let me present to you the SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY for this week. I hope that you will play along. I have shown this sketch as a square, but if you are inclined to modify it into a standard rectangle, have at it!! I am sure that there are gonna be a ton of AWESOME cards that will come from this sketch. Have fun with it and don’t forget to use the keyword SFYTT when uploading to SCS, and to leave a link on this post

More great samples can be seen from Carole Burrage, Shannan Teubner and Susan Liles. Thanks for playing girls!!

Here is my sample using my new SU! set, Boho Backgrounds and Nursery Necessities, and new SU! DP, Berry Bliss.

I just wanted to share a couple more projects that I did with the new MFT and Verve stamps. The first project is a trio of cards that I did with the Punny Farm set from MFT. I am LOVING what the DT has come up with for this set! I stayed on the simple side with this trio. As much as I like the created scenes, I have to admit that I am not the best at coming up with them. When it comes to that kinda stuff, sometimes what is in my head and comes out on paper are usually 2 different things. Sometimes that works out, but sometimes in leads to additions in the circular file…if you know what I mean.

Are you seeing stars yet with all this new stuff? Just in case not, here ya go… **wink**

Do you see **THE DEAL** that Julee is offering for the bundle of all the new releases? Check it out HERE. It’s like getting stamps for free!

I’ll be back tomorrow with MORE new stamps for the Sketch For You To Try. I just got my big box from SU! yesterday…YAY YAY YAY!!!

Thank to everyone that joined the MFT release par-tay over at SCS last night. I had to leave because I was scared of Carole and then Cammie decided to TRY to give us the silent treatment!!…nice try Cam!!!…hahaha!

So, not only did I get to work with 3 new MFT sets this month, I also got to work with FIVE {one, two, three, four, five} new sets for Verve Visual. I’ve been seeing hearts and stars for days…and it’s not just all the stamping I’ve been doing! I could go on and on about how much I love the new stuff that Julee is coming out with. Instead of saying it in words, how about I show a couple pics that will explain it all?? BTW…all five sets are available NOW!! Yay!!

I love this sentiment!!

Sending this one to a friend that could use a big hug right now.

I’m working on my sample for the Sketch For You To Try for this Saturday. I {heart} square cards…that’s all I’m saying!

YAY!! Today I get to show of some Valentine’s projects. You’ve probably noticed that the stores wasted no time getting the Christmas stuff off the shelves, just to make way for the red, white and pink goodness to replace it. These two projects feature stamps from MFT’s upcoming release, BE MINE! The first project is a magnetic closure tag from Petaloo {available thru MFT HERE}. They are great for gift cards or just cute projects. In case you are wondering, the magnet is not right where you place the gift card, so you will not be automatically erasing your gift card when placing it in these.

Here’s a close up of the coloring…

The second project I have done is an altered coaster. First, I covered the coaster in dp from KI Memories. The subsequent circles around the pic were cut using the Creative Memories cutting system. Personally, I can’t stand working with the Coluzzle. I am sure it’s user error, but I can’t get that thing to work for me consistently, therefore I switched to the CM stuff that rocks! I stamped and attached embellishments and then covered the back in a piece of cardstock cut with the largest scallop circle Nestabilities die. Finally, I attached a magnet to the back so that I can hang this on my fridge. If I worked outside the home, I would have this on a filing cabinet in my office.

I’ll have another sample to share with you tonight at the MFT Cocktail Party. See you there at 9 {EST}!!