Sites of the week

Happy 1st Saturday of the month! It’s time for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {aka SFYTT}, along with another fabby sponsor…YOUR NEXT STAMP!

I just want to recap some of the changes we have made to SFYTT. {No, I won’t be posting this every month/SFYTT post, just want to make sure no one has missed some of these details right now.}…

You may have already noticed the new post time…11am EST. Also there will be more uniform posting throughout the month. I will be posting the {monthly} sketch each Saturday along with links to the SFYTT Sisters that are posting that day. Just so you know how it will work…All of the Sisters will post on the first Saturday of the month, then 1/2 will post on the 2nd Saturday and the other 1/2 will post on the 3rd Saturday and then we all come together again during the last week {not necessarily the last Saturday for all of the designers} of the month. Clear as mud? LOL! Hopefully, this will help SFYTT Fans know when and where to seek and find inspiration and samples.

YAY for February’s sponsor, who also has a new release coming up next week!…

This month’s sketch, which I actually took from THIS YNS CARD {scroll down a little on the linked post} that I posted last year…

My take on the sketch, using the new release set, WORLD LOVE…

Each and every month, we choose an SFYTT participant to join us as the Designer of Month. For February, we are lucky to have the super talented ANGELA THOMAS join us!

A little about Angela in her own words…

My name is Angela Thomas and I am a self-proclaimed stamp addict. Yes….I admit it!! It is the first step after all isn’t it? LOL. I am currently a Teacher on Call (when there’s actually work available) and in my spare time enjoy card-making. My style is somewhat eclectic as I love a CAS card but also love to pile it on, as well. I’ve been stamping for approximately 5 years and can’t imagine my life without it (and a martini every now and then…LOL…). When I make a card, I’m always on the lookout for a fantastic layout so joining all the ladies at SFYTT is an out of this world amazing experience. I’m here with stamping royalty!!!! I’m honoured to have been asked to join the girls this month!!

How fun…Angela flipped the sketch {too bad she didn’t get her YNS stamps yet!}…

Want to play along, too? The link system is at the end of this post and here are the details you should know…

Check out what all the SFYTT Sisters came up with, too!…

Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Becky Carafa
Carole Burrage
Iwona Palamountain
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Susan Liles

and… Jen Roach and Veronica Zalis from the YNS DT

Ok, now it’s your turn! Happy stamping and for all you that are playing along each and every month…GOOD LUCK!!

Happy Friday stampy friends! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? On Saturday I am teaching my new Copic Basics Plus class at Scrapper’s Boutique. In the past I have taught Copic 1, 2 and 3. This new class a super amped up version of 1 with a load of more new info and hands on practice. I am pretty excited about it!

Until class tomorrow I think I will be making a few more of these {directions below}…

Back side…

I have a thirty-one denim bag on its way to me that I plan to add this to. I think that I am going to make another to attach to my {thin} scarf. There’s a bunch of possibilities these fun and super easy Fringe Flowers from Lil’ Inker Designs…for now, I’m putting a pin on it!

These are SUPER easy {and fast} to make…

1. Cut 3 Fringe Flowers and small {about 1″} circles from your choice of felt colors.
2. Apply adhesive to one {long} side of die cut, fold other side over to adhere.
3. Roll into flower, securing the end with hot glue.
4. Attach circles to back of each coordinating flower {hot glue}.
5. Arrange Fringe Flowers as desired and secure together with hot glue.
6. Attach pin back {yep, with hot glue!}.

Talk about a quick and easy giftie! Are you already thinking red and green or a variety of blues for Christmas/Winter? Me, too!!

**second post** **scroll down for YNS Scrapfest post**

Long post with lots of pics. Grab that cuppa joe!

Isn’t fun when you get to share some fun news? Nope, I’m not pregnant, but I am officially on the Lil’ Inker Design Team! WoOt wOoT! Lil’ Inker is such a fun and fresh company that has some DARLING stamps and dies. I mean, how can you not love pinwheels, rolled flowers and acorns {just to name a few}?!

I have been super busy in my craft room lately and these are just a few of the projects that I have made using Lil’ Inker goodies…

Fall Tag/ATC using the ACORN DIE & STAMP SET…

I made the acorns thicker by using a thin chipboard die cut under the pattern paper die cut. The heart was punched separately…

I just loved pairing this die and stamp set with the Jillibean Soup Apple Cheddar Soup 6×6 papers! One more shot…

So, I *may* have mentioned that I love creating for Halloween, but I also love taking something and using it in a non-conventional way. For instance, turning a flower into a spider…

I used the FRINGE FLOWER DIE with black felt and then added ric rac that I made into corkscrews {I googled “Korker Ribbon How-To” for directions} for legs. The bow is Halloween baker’s twine from Whisker Graphics {Divine Twine}…

I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna do with that lil’ spider friend. I was thinking that I could attach a pin on the back and have him sit on my shoulder or maybe I will attach it to a headband for Ellie. Most likely, he’ll end up among the Halloween decor…that I still need to get down from the attic.

When I think pinwheels, I usually think of kids blowing on them during the summer, not as Halloween decor. I changed that way of thinking with this project, though…

I used both sizes of the pinwheels from Lil’ Inker and then added some tulle {sprayed with Glimmer Mist to make it silvery-gray} and a spider embellie from my stash…

The pillow box was cut from pattern paper on my Silhouette. I wrapped a piece of fat black grosgrain around it, tied it off with black baker’s twine and hot glued my pinwheel embellishment. This project would be great for halloween treats for teachers or as party favors.

One more detail shot…

Alright friends, I’m signing off for the weekend!

I have been in a very scrappy crafting mood lately. Now, don’t let the word “scrappy” fool you into thinking that I am going to be doing any scrapbooking! I just keep looking at all the fun boutique dies that I have and know that I can create some great decor and gift items. With that very thought in mind, I set out to create a project that has been haunting me since I got my My Favorite Things Butterflies Die-Namics. I actually wanted to do a cascade of butterflies, but it ended up looking so much better as a rainbow.

A few years back, Martha {ya know, THE Martha} had a magazine cover with a rainbow cascade of butterflies on a cake that I had in mind for inspiration. You can see that cover HERE. It’s amazing!

The Butterflies Die-Namics that I used on this project…

I used a variety of scrap papers to create my butterfly rainbow…

Each of the butterflies is double layered for added dimension and the patterns create more visual interest. I also added colored Doodlebug rhinestones for a little sparkle…

One more shot of the butterflies…

The words “Spread Your Wings and” are stamped and cut out from Pure Innocence Butterfly Kisses stamp set and the word fly is cut from the Bling ‘Bet SVG file {also available as a print and cut file}. I added the heart from the Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics die and button tied off with my most favoritest linen thread in the whole wide world from TCP!…

I am not sure if you can tell from the picture, but the 12 x 12 paper that the 8.25 x 8.25 layout is mounted on is the Swiss Dot paper from Bazzill. It really makes a difference that it is not just plain jane black paper. I considered using a colored piece of cardstock, but I think that the black really makes the colors on the butterflies POP! It also ties together the word “fly” into the color scheme. “Fly” is cut from plain black paper. For some reason, I just wasn’t like it cut from the lightly embossed paper. Hmmm! I framed the whole thing in a black 12 x 12 shadowbox that I found at Wally World {aka The Devil’s Lair, aka Wal-Mart} a while ago.

Wanna know what I like best about the project? When I showed it to Ellie, she asked if I would hang it in her room!

This month’s theme for the Verve Project Parade is Triple Play! All of the designers have created a trio of Verve goodness for all Verve fans to feast on. I created 3 jars filled with homemade caramel sauce and topped them with pretty jar toppers. You can see all those jars HERE on the Verve blog. Here is the recipe for the DELICIOUS CARAMEL SAUCE {adapted from the HowDoesShe? recipe}

3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar
7 T salted butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. warm heavy whipping cream

1. Heat sugars, butter, and corn syrup to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Turn heat to lowest setting for 12 minutes, lightly stirring occassionally.
3. Remove from heat for 6 minutes, stirring once.
4. Stir in warm heavy whipping cream and pour into jars and allow to cool.
5. Enjoy! Refrigerate any portion you don’t immediately inhale You can heat up small portions to drizzle {pour} over apple pie or…I mean AND…ice cream.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I have heard that you can replace a few tablespoons of the heavy whipping cream with flavored creamer {I’m thinking vanilla would be DIVINE!!}, orange juice or whiskey, even! You can also make cinnamon caramel sauce by adding in a cinnamon stick when you remove the sauce from the heat. Discard cinnamon stick before jarring.