Sites of the week

Welcome to your next stop along the My Favorite Things March VIP Hop! Did you start at Kim’s blog and hop along from Frances’? If not, take a little rewind so you don’t miss a single thing! This month MFT has a great new Who’s that Girl set called Who’s That Musical Girl? paired with…

Musical Girl MINI (VIP exclusive stamp set - will never be offered for sale or be available again $9 value, FREE)
Musical Notes Die-namics die {I don’t even have mine yet!}
10 pack of Wild Cherry Scalloped note cards
An assortment of White and/or Black Pearl Flourish and Cream/Rhinestone Stick Pins
Idea-Ology Trimming ribbon

What a fun VIP package! I decided to create a notepad cover to go along with the image and “Just a Note” sentiment. I adorned the image with a heart from the Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics…

A couple detail shots…

I love the ribbon closure on these type of projects. I adhere my ribbon with red line tape on the front and back, but leave the spine without any adhesive. Also, I attach the ribbon with the cover open. This allows for the proper amount of “give” when you open it. I added a tiny little musical note tag as an embellishment and attached it with some May Arts silver twine.

On the inside I stamped several pages {not every single one!} with the “Just a Note” sentiment with one of the musical notes from the set…

Now off you go hopping along to Jody’s blog, where I am sure that she has something to make your jaw drop!!

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!

Sit back, relax…it’s a looong post (and 1 of 2 for today!)

In 2011, MFT is working harder than ever to inspire you, and we have come up with something we think you’ll really enjoy. Our Design Team Creative Challenge will be a new monthly feature, where we challenge our design team to explore their creative side using a specific theme or product. This month, the team was asked to creative something from a digital file. It’s a great occasion to get crafty, and put your supplies to good use. Visit Kim’s Blog for a full list of participants showing off their digital creative-ness!

At the end of last year I designed a few digital templates for My Favorite Things. Among my favorites, is the Sweet Surprise Gift Box. I actually designed this to fit Sweethearts candies, making it the perfect Valentine’s treat container. Of course, it can be used year round for many different purposes, but I love how the Sweetheart just slide right in this time of year! I used my Cricut to cut this box, and its design elements from pattern paper. There is also a print/cut option with these digital files, and you get both for $3.95.

I created the flower on the front of the box with hearts from the Hearts a Plenty and Flower & Leaf Trio Die-Namics. The sentiment is from You Spin Me set…

Belly band off, box closed…

Front flap folded up…

Front flap folded up, side flaps open…

Zooooomin’ in on the pocket that holds the Sweethearts, adorned by a heart from the Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics…

Belly band next to open box with candy taken out…

In addition to the Sweet Surprise Gift Box, I downloaded the Bling ‘Bet digital files and cut some letter so make these super simple and fun Valentine’s cards…

I’m already a monochromatic green card with the word “LUCK” for St. Patty’s!! Instead of a single heart cut from the Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics {yes, I KNOW, I can’t put it down!!}, I can create a little clover leaf! Or maybe, I will reduce the size of the “U” and create a little horseshoe embellie. Or…

Be sure to check out the full list of players showing off what they have made with the digital files from MFT on Kim’s blog HERE.

Welcome to the February release Blog Hop & Shop for My Favorite Things! As always, the start of the hop is on Kim’s/The MFT blog. You should have hopped along from Melody’s blog and when you leave here you will be cruising on over to Jodi’s blog {I’ll link her later, too!}.

This month brings a lot of fun new stamps and great new Die-Namics dies. As the mom of a 4 year girl, I am knee deep in princesses and fairies, so I have a great appreciation for this Pure Innocence Believe in Magic set. Now, you might think that her outfit would be pink or purple, but my little princess’ favorite color is yellow so I went with that. Of course, it still had to be spar-ka-lay, tho!!

Shimmer outfit created by using a Sakura Stardust pen and spreading the glitter around with an aqua-painter filled with rubbing alcohol…

I really liked the layout of the inside of my kite card from the other day, so I went with that again. It brings the papers and Die-Namics die from the outside to the inside to create a cohesive look…

Simply Scallops Die-Namics die…

Ok, time to get going along to Jodi’s blog! Happy hopping!

***SECOND POST FOR TODAY! SCROLL DOWN***

It’s been a long time since I made an ATC {Artist Trading Card}, but I thought that it might be fun to create a Valentine themed ATC using the Inspired by Love set from My Favorite Things.

An ATC measures 2.5″ x 3.5″ and is the perfect palette for creating a small, yet fun, panel that can be given to someone on its own or added to a card or project as a panel or embellishment. I left this one as an ATC for now. I will probably end up adding it to a gift sack on Valentine’s packaging.

Shot from the top so you can see some of the dimension and details…

I stamped “LOVE” on the pink heart three times and kept staring at it thinking that it needed a little something. I decided to make the word “LOVE” stand out a little more by stamping in on white with Pink Passion {SU!} and then popping it up on the heart. That “little something” really made the difference here! Can you believe that I used THREE of the MFT Die-Namics on this little project? I am constantly reaching for these to create visual interest and added detail to panels. Used on this project are: Hearts a Plenty, the Open Scallop Border {on the right side of the ATC} and the soon to be released {tomorrow night!} Butterflies Die-Namics. Sneak peeks for all the new releases are going on now. Full details and sneak peek links can be found on Kim’s blog.