Sites of the week

Pardon me as I dig myself out of my sorrow of not being at CHA and my current obsession with getting a Cricut Expression so that I can make and create with SVG files. I could go on and on and on and on, but let’s get on with it…

A *few* of you commented and hunted me down {wink} via email to ask me for more details on the ice cream cone card on Julee’s blog hop. Here’s a few “how to” pics to help explain…

Cut 3 small scallop circles {these are much bigger than I used on the card, just for this tutorial}…

Cut off an equal amount from one side {”the bottom”}…

Score down the center of each of the circles…

Adhere circles together to create the “scoop” of ice cream…

Put glue over area you would like to have glitter/sprinkles and dip into glitter {so you don’t get glitter everywhere!}…

Ta-dah!…

So, I still didn’t have a lot of BLAH BLAH BLAH to go along with this post, but I hope it helped! See you tomorrow for another great sponsored SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY!

Just wanted to share my congratulations and “Welcome Emma” project here today. Megan Lock, MFT DT Member, SFYTT Sister and friend welcomed her lil’ Emma into the world on July 20th. Congratulations!!

When Megan was out here for the North Texas Swap, I asked if I could make a diaper bag tag for her. She gladly said, “yes,” and this is what I came up with for sweet baby E {and not a day to early/late!!}…

The baker’s twine is wrapped over the stitching {yep, I stitched it right to the badge holder plastic} of the eyelet lace…

I packaged it all up in a glassine bag and added some girly details…

Welcome to your next stop on the Verve Stamps SPRING FLING Blog Hop. I hope you are having fun hopping along and that you have enjoyed each of the sneak peeks and challenge samples that have been posted on the Verve blog throughout the day today.

Since this is a hop, I should let you know that you should have…

Started over at Julee’s blog
Come from here from Susan’s blog

…and when you leave here, you will hop on over to my pal, Jen Tapler’s, blog {I’ll link her at the end of the post, too}.

Today, Susan issued a Tag Challenge over on the Verve blog. I love making tags, so I thought that I would play along and came up with this one using the new Let It Shine set…

Here’s a card using the new release, Big Wish…

Detail shot…

Ok, hop on over to Jen’s blog for some more Verve-y goodness

TGIF! Everyday is just running together, so I don’t know that I am ‘that’ excited that it’s Friday. My dad comes in tomorrow to stay with us for a week, so I am excited for that. I was supposed to go visit my parents in October, but had to cancel because Ellie and I both were under the weather. It really bummed me out that I didn’t get to out there before Nic arrived. Speaking of being under the weather, Ellie has managed to come down with the sneezes, wheezes and coughs. Of course she hasn’t been sick in months, but as soon as a newborn arrives she comes down with this. Ahh…Murphy’s Law, I suppose! Everything on earth seems to be testing my patience at this time, and this certainly doesn’t help. As I type this, she is picking up play-doh off the floor. Anyone else not the biggest fan of Play-doh? I love that she loves it and that it keeps her entertained, but how in the world does it end up EVERYWHERE? LOL!

I planned to have some more Nic pics today, but that is going to have to be postponed until next week {sorry Auntie!}. I took SO many pics of Ellie, but I have to admit that I am kinda slacking with this kiddo. As soon as he starts doing something other than sleeping, eating and pooping I will turn into “mama-razzi” I am sure. He is already getting big!

Ok, now onto the crafty part of this post! I am actually ahead of the game on some things. I went ahead and made Ellie’s Valentines yesterday {with Susan’s help die-cutting the hearts}. The ‘LOVE’ stamp is from the Verve set, Heart’s Desire. The comma was added with a Sharpie and Ellie signed her own name…betcha could have guessed that!

I started with 1.5″ strips of pattern paper from PTI, white and pink cardstock, glassine envies that I purchased from Ebay, assorted Hershey chocolates, SU! heart punch and heart Nestabilities.

I filled the glassine envies with 2 chocolates and then folded the envie down twice. I folded the strip of pattern paper in half around the envelope, stapled it all together and then flag-ended the top…

The large hearts were cut from pink and white cardstock, stamped, and signed by Ellie. We added the smaller punched hearts for a little more detail and viola, Valentine treats for her preschool class…

I plan to make more of these, from me, to give out. Mine will probably have a little more detail and be more embellished, since I think my “audience” might appreciate them more than the 3 year olds getting these. I’m thinking stitching, distressing and buttons for mine. Hopefully I will have time to make them, and I will share them here if I do!

I was recently sent several Prismacolor Premier Illustration Markers to review. I was very excited when these arrived, as I love coloring images and I couldn’t wait to see what these markers could do. Although I mainly color with Copics these days, I am very familiar with the Prismacolor Art line of blendable markers and have enjoyed using them, even in combination with Copics. I also love Prismacolor pencils, but haven’t been able to use them due to the toxic values of the blending medium {odorless mineral spirits} when pregnant.

The Illustration Markers are different from the Prismacolor Markers that you {and I} have previously been introduced to.

Some facts about these new markers…
-Available in brush, chisel tips and a variety of fine tips {005,01,03,05, 08}

-The chisel tip is considerably smaller than the chisel tip of other Prismacolor Art and Copic Markers
-Available individually or in sets of 4 or 8 in the following colors: Brown, black, sepia, orange, purple, red, green and blue.
-Nontoxic, lightfast, acid free & archival
-Available at major retailers, such as Michael’s, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, even Office Depot for approximately $3 for an individual marker up to $20 for a set of 8.

Some opinions about these new markers…
-Colors are BEAUTIFUL! My faves are the orange and the green. I do wish that there was a greater variety in the palette and hope that these will come available in the future.
-I like that the fine tips come in a variety of sizes and can see myself writing sentiments and such using them. I might just try my hand at a little illustrating…who knows!?! {don’t read too much into that one!!}
-These are created for the artist/illustrator {and will suit them well}, rather than the stamping hobbyist that likes to blend when coloring {like myself}

While I can’t say that I recommend these for blending/coloring when stamping, I will certainly say that they are quality and superior illustration marker. If you consider yourself to be an artist, these are most certainly worth checking out.

See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY on the Bella Birthday Blog Hop…I told you that I was addicted to hopping!!