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!!

It’s the first Saturday of the month and that means that it is time for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {aka SFYTT}. This year brings 12 new sketches, new and returning sponsors and a whole lotta fun stamping inspiration!

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.

Starting last year we introduced a monthly sketch along with monthly sponsors. Same thing goes this year! And, to kick off the new year in super swanky style, The Cat’s Pajamas is the January SFYTT sponsor {YAY!}…

The January 2012 SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY…

If you keep up with my blog, you know that I am also lucky enough to be on the TCP Design Team and we are in the midst of sneak peeking the newest release and today we are featuring the set, Bunny Side Up, which I paired with the new Lacy Floral Doily as the circle panel…

Bunny and doily detail…

Sentiment and orange acrylic flatback embellishments…

In addition to fun monthly sketches and top notch sponsors, we will also continue to have SFYTT participants chosen to be the DESIGNER OF THE MONTH {more details outlined in the graphic below}. This month, I would like to introduce you to SFYTT and TCP fan Christyne Kane…

A little about Christyne in her own words…

Hello, my name is Christyne Kane and I am super excited to be January’s Designer of the Month for SFYTT! I’m currently a graduate student working on my PhD in biotechnology. I am also mom to two wonderful dogs, an Australian Shepherd (Bud) and a Border Collie (Myth), and a cat (Kaiya). I’ve enjoyed stamping in my spare time to relive stress and indulge my creativity for 6 years. It all started one holiday break from college when my mom went to a stamp party and brought home all these wonderful toys; I was hooked!! When I’m not working on my degree or crafting, my interests include training and competing my dogs in dog agility. I look forward to seeing all of your beautiful creations this month using Jen’s fabulous sketch!

Don’t you just love her card using the Birthday Bunny set from The Cat’s Pajamas…

Now, I know that this post is getting to be a little out of control in length, but I need to share a few more things before signing off. First, the details…

Second, links to the SFYTT Sisters and TCP Design Team with more SFYTT inspiration and samples for you to check out…

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

Julie Masse
Lori Tecler
Amy Rohl {posting Sunday}

Alma has more TCP inspiration and release information on her blog, along with links to those sneak peeking the Bunny Side Up set today.

On more thing before I get to the link system for your creations… Are you an SFYTT fan on Facebook? Click the link on my sidebar to become a fan! Thanks!!

Last, but not least by long stretch is where you can play along with us and enter to win that FABBY PRIZE mentioned in the details above. Enter your SFYTT creation here…

Greetings SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY fans and friends! It’s the first Saturday of the month and I have another fun sketch to go along with another FABULOUS sponsor!

Let’s give a huge welcome and thank you to SKIPPING STONES DESIGN for being the September sponsor! I have been a fan for a long time of the stamps and I love the philanthropic work that the company does as well!

Like I noted last month, there is a lot of opportunity to make the sketch your own. Please embellish as you wish and just have fun with this one…

I used the fun, caffeine injected set FUNNY COFFEE Vol. 1…

Detail shots of coffee cup embellished with a felt heart and baker’s twine…

Sentiment…

As you can see, I “made it my own” by tilting my panels a little bit. This actually wasn’t planned, but before it was all glued down the panel ended up like that and I just went with it. Funny how that happens sometimes!!

Are you interested in being a Designer of the Month? I choose each D.O.M. from a previous month’s entrants. This month, I would like to welcome SFYTT fan ALYSSA SCRITCHFIELD who know a little about ink on and off paper …

A little about Alyssa in her own words…
Hey there! I’m so stinkin’ excited to be September’s Guest designer!!! I know everyone says that, but seriously?? My very first card related blog post is following a Sketch For You To Try!! Plus, September is what I celebrate as my Birth Month, so more fun to be had by all!! I’ve been stamping for about 4 years now - mainly cards but I’ve done a few scrap lay outs. My style tends to lean towards…I don’t know? Coloring? It’s rare that I make a card with just a stamped image. I am obsessed with my Copics!! Which, by the way, I hated to begin with!! I love to color botanical/floral images and whimsical cuties that catch my fancy. I’ve always loved art but have never been an *artist*. I think stamping drew me in because I could finally put to paper what I see in my head…at least most of the time! ;o) I’m married to a wonderful man and have an {almost} 4 year old boy. I also love tattoos, heavy metal, motorcycle riding and hanging out with my little family! Let’s get to playing with Jen’s fantabulous SFYTT for September!

Here’s her adorable card…

Want a little more inspiration? See what all the SFYTT Sisters have come up with…

This month we are welcoming TWO great new team members…

Iwona Palamountain and Becky Carafa!

We are all so excited to have these girls joining the SFYTT Sisters!!

Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carole Burrage
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Susan Liles
Terri Moore

1. The SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {SFYTT} will be posted on the first Saturday of each month on www.iheart2stamp.com at 8am EST and will stay open to participants until the last day of the month, unless otherwise noted.
2. This is for fun! Interpret the sketch as you wish and embellish as desired. There are no vendor restrictions, but we would love to see you use the sponsor’s stamps!
3. Each month we will have a Designer of the Month that will be chosen from past month’s participants.
4. Come and play with us on each and every sketch! On Christmas Day 2011 a prize package worth over $200 will be given away to one very lucky and loyal SFYTT stamper that participates in EVERY sketch for the year.
5. To be eligible for the prize package, you must complete ALL of the sketches by each of the deadlines AND link your creation to the link system on that month’s sketch post (the first Saturday of the month). Everyone except for SFYTT Sisters are eligible for the prize package, including Designer of the Month and international players.
6. When posting your sketch creation on your blog, please post the sketch and link back to the sketch post on www.iheart2stamp.com. When posting to online galleries, please use the keyword “SFYTT.”

Ok, it’s your turn now! What you will come up with?

Hip Hip Hooraaaaaay! It’s time to celebrate YOUR NEXT STAMP‘S 2nd birthday!

As the title of this post suggests, you are at a stop along the YNS Birthday Hop. In case you just stumbled upon here and didn’t come from JENNY’S BLOG, be sure to take a moment to go back to the start of the hop at PEGGY’S BLOG. You don’t want to miss a thing, especially because there are some pretty cool prizes along the way, too! We have a fun little puzzle for you to solve along the hop and when you do you will be entered into the draw for one of TWO amazing YNS prizes! Not everyone has a puzzle piece so you need to pay attention, and click on the puzzle pieces, and follow the directions as you find them along the way {3rd party cookies must be enabled to do the puzzle}. When you are done put them all together at the end of the hop for your chance to win! You have until Monday, August 15th at Midnight EST.

I’ve put together a couple of projects for this post. First, I have something sweetly spooky {or is it spookily sweet?} from the Cute Witch Ellie set…

I **really** enjoyed coloring this image with my Copics. As you can see, I am having fun with my grays lately..

There is a super cute bat image in the set Happy Haunting set {where the sentiment is from}, which actually inspired me to use my really big bat punch as an embellishment. I adorned it with spar-ka-lay ribbon {found at Mike’s last week}, a button and baker’s twine…

My second project uses a previously released set that I absolutely ADORE {wink, wink to Karen}, Happy Birthday Mermaid…

I love this tag {yep, I said it. I do!!!}. It has a lot of texture and dimension, which I guess is my way of adding a technique since you KNOW that I am NOT a technique-y person…

Sherrie Siemens recently did a mermaid card and I just love the way that her tail turned out!! It heavily inspired my mermaid’s tail which led me to adding some dots with my Copics and then I topped it all off with Diamond Stickles. Super spark-a-lay…

Ok, I think that this post has gotten long enough with 6 pictures and me blabbing {again} about how I do not do the technique thing {kinda that way with -event- themes, too, by the way}. So, let me send you along your merry way to find some puzzle pieces and be inspired. Your next stop along the YNS Birthday Hop is on my bestie, SUSAN’S BLOG. I’m pretty darn sure there is cuteness abounding over there!

It’s the first Saturday of the month and time for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY! I think that you guys will love this one as much as I do. It’s simple and fun, yet there is a lot of opportunity to “make it your own.” Don’t forget that you can embellish as desired, as long as you have the basic layout.

What do you think?…

As with each and every month, I am please to announce our FABULOUS August sponsor…

KRAFTIN’ KIMMIE STAMPS! New stamps from Kraftin’ Kimmie are releasing on August 21st {Krafty Peeks starting on the 18th!}

Here’s my card…

As you can see, I eliminated the panel behind the main image panel do to size limitations. I really wanted to keep this as A2 size, so that meant I to tweak it a little bit.

Detail shot…

This image, Angry Ballerina, just CRACKS ME UP every time I look at it. Ellie even got a kick out of it and asked me to stamp her off some to color. I really enjoyed coloring this image. It’s been awhile since I colored an image of this size and it was so nice and relaxing to do so! I think that some more Kraftin’ Kimmie stamps will be making their way into my collection. I’ll just refer to them as a peace of mind investment. LOL!

Are you interested in being a Designer of the Month? I choose each D.O.M. from previous month’s entrants. This month, I would like to welcome SFYTT fan and **NEW MAMA**, TENIA NELSON.

A little about Tenia in her own words…

Hello all my name is Tenia Nelson and I am a 30 year old jazz pianist, music teacher and paper crafter that lives in Denver, Colorado. I am married to a great guy named Tim, I am momma to Thelonious(Theo) and I have two wonderful doggie “kids” Miles and Brillo. When I am not playing everywhere in town, teaching wild and crazy kids, or making cards, I play soccer with the hubby and just hang out with my friends!!

Here’s her baby inspired card…

Want a little more inspiration? See what all the SFYTT Sisters have come up with…

Amber Hight {ON VA-CAY; she’ll be playing a little later this month}
Amy Sheffer
Carole Burrage
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Susan Liles
Terri Moore

Want some more inspiration? The Kraftin’ Kimmie design team is playing along, too…

Melanie Holtz
Donna Wardle
Nicole Aspinall
Pam Varnell
and KIMMIE, herself!!

1. The SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {SFYTT} will be posted on the first Saturday of each month on www.iheart2stamp.com at 8am EST and will stay open to participants until the last day of the month, unless otherwise noted.
2. This is for fun! Interpret the sketch as you wish and embellish as desired. There are no vendor restrictions, but we would love to see you use the sponsor’s stamps!
3. Each month we will have a Designer of the Month that will be chosen from past month’s participants.
4. Come and play with us on each and every sketch! On Christmas Day 2011 a prize package worth over $200 will be given away to one very lucky and loyal SFYTT stamper that participates in EVERY sketch for the year.
5. To be eligible for the prize package, you must complete ALL of the sketches by each of the deadlines AND link your creation to the link system on that month’s sketch post (the first Saturday of the month). Everyone except for SFYTT Sisters are eligible for the prize package, including Designer of the Month and international players.
6. When posting your sketch creation on your blog, please post the sketch and link back to the sketch post on www.iheart2stamp.com. When posting to online galleries, please use the keyword “SFYTT.”

Ok, your turn now…