Thoughtful Thursday with MCT

Hello my friends. Thank you for the good thoughts and prayers over the past weeks while I struggle with this crappy affliction known as asthma. It's been weeks since I've felt any kind of normal, but finally on some meds that have already made a significant diff in the past two days. YAY for meds! Could not be any more grateful for modern medicine right now. ;) Which means, I've also had a little more energy to start using some of the mojo that's been put on the back burner. YAY energy and YAY mojo! LOL

My card today is my first attempt at a "real" masking project. I have a lot of work to do to get this technique down, but it's ok for a first try. Sentiment is from MCT Floral Sentiments and the flowers are MCT Bloom Where You Are Planted.

And there's a butterfly so my MIL will like it. The butterfly is from MCT Chunky Jar Accessories mini stamps. I think the bright summery colors will cheer her up.

Product List:
My Creative Time, Floral Sentiments
My Creative Time, Bloom Where You Are Planted
My Creative Time, Chunky Jar Accessories, mini stamps
Paper Trey Ink, Happy Hexagons
My Minds Eye, Vanity Fair 6x6 paper pad
TH Distress Inks; picked raspberry, spiced marmalade, squeezed lemonade, peacock feathers

3D Wednesday is here!

This week I have a super easy --and cheap!-- project for you. This altered frame took hardly any time at all once I decided what I wanted to do with it. And most everything I used came from the scrap bin. Can't beat that, right?

I started with this frame from the Dollar Tree.

I planned to distress it but because it isn't wood, sanding was not an option. Since I knew now that I would have to paint it, I had to figure how to keep some of the pretty carving design and still make it look distressed. Instant brainstorm! I remembered, from a diy home show of some kind I saw years ago, a little trick to this. Vaseline! Using my finger, I merely rubbed vaseline over the areas I wanted to leave 'unpainted'. I didn't have high hopes, but hey, for $1?! If it didn't work I wasn't out anything of value so I forged ahead. After the paint dried, all I did was literally rub with a cloth. The places with the vaseline prevented the paint from sticking so it was super easy to achieve a distressed finish. Here is the 'antiqued' look. I must say I was impressed with my first attempt!

The saying I used comes from My Creative Time, Lots of Love stamp set, which I stamped and heat embossed onto the journaling tag also from My Creative Time. I cut a piece of paper to fit the frame, then added fishtail tags, then my sentiment box.

Now for the fun part! I always love the embellishing part the most. Some of the flowers I used were already on my worktop left from previous projects or just playing around with different shapes and styles of flowers. Lower left corner.

On the upper right, I added hearts and this fab key along with the flowers and flourishes.

So there you have it....$1 for the frame, flowers and embellishments from scrap bits, and a little paint. And nobody needs to know how simple this was to make if you should give one as a gift. Handmade is always the most valuable anyway. :) Thanks for coming by. Hope you'll check out the other designer blogs as well for more delicious 3D goodness!!

Project List:
My Creative Time, Lots of Love stamps
My Creative Time, Journaling tag die
My Creative Time, Stitched Layering hearts dies
My Creative Time, Chunky Jar Accessories dies
My Creative Time, Leaves dies
My Favorite Things, fishtail tag dies
My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found Halloween 6x6 paper pad
Flourishes, flower punches, circle dies, string pearls, embossing powder, dollar store frame, paint

Cluck cluck, chickie

Good morning! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend.  Today's share is a conglomeration of tons of different products in my stash. I bet you'd never guess there are ELEVEN companies represented in this one card.  

This adorable sign post and fence are made using the tape die from My Creative Time's Just Simply Live stamp and die set. I stamped my paper with the wood grain background stamp from Pink By Design, then cut out the tape. I then cut each piece in half lengthwise to form my fence posts. The sign is from My Creative Time, Chunky Jar Accessories, jump rings are Tim Holtz, paper is October Afternoon, and the stamp is by Paper Trey Ink.

The stinkin' cute chubby chick  and sentiment are by Paper Smooches. I used raffia ribbon to make the straw for the nest. I wish the eggs showed up better in the photo - they are a Quickutz 2x2 die.

And behold....chickie wobbles!!! Action wobbles are perfect for chubby chicks. LOL!

Thanks for coming by. Have a great week and take care of you.

Product List:
My Creative Time, Chunky Jar Accessories die
My Creative Time, Just Simply Live die
My Creative Time, Spring Chicken wire background stamp
Quickutz, rain puddle and eggs dies
Paper Trey Ink, Ad Sense stamp set
Paper Smooches, Chubby Chums stamps
Pink by Design, wood grain background stamp
October Afternoon, Action Wobbles, Memento ink, Tim Holtz jump rings, Ranger Glossy Accents
Other: raffia ribbon, foam tape

Thrifty Thursday time!

Good morning! :) Apologies for my lack of posting - I'm struggling with health issues lately and it is not fun! Boo!!! But enough of that, let's get to the project I have for today. 

I made these flowers for something else entirely but that project didn't turn out. I think I like them better on this shaker card anyway! 

These daisies are a fab die from My Creative Time. I layered them to give them more depth and then added foam tape to two of them for even more dimension. I like it. These pretty summery papers are by Little Yellow Bicycle, leftovers from a project I did last summer.

I wanted to do a shaker and thought it would be cute to put the sentiment directly IN the box. Another likey! The shaker box is actually the new mini frame die from My Creative Time. Love this sweet little die.

Product List:
My Creative Time, Stitched daisy die
My Creative Time, Stitched mini frame and arrow dies
My Creative Time, Bloom where you are planted stamp set
My Creative Time, Leaf dies
Little Yellow Bicycle, Sweet Summertime collection, 12x12
Ink, seed beads, clear packaging, foam tape

Scrapping the Little Things

Welcome to Monday, Scrapping the Little Things, with the My Creative Time team. Today's layout (pardon the odd color change - that happens when I scan something lumpy) is a fun camping page. This was Grace last summer. Who would have thought she would blend into the forest so easily with all that war paint and dirt by the end of the week! LOL

Along the top of the page I added a banner because I like banners. :) Hee! This is made using the starburst die from the Build a Banner kit by My Creative Time. Folded over the twine, they make perfect little banner flags! Also, notice the sign in the picture. Love!

I love how the title turned out! The signs and letters are a Quickutz die. They are perfect for this fun title treatment. Bamboo skewers (a staple in my craft room!) make the sign poles and the grass clumps at the bottom are another Quickutz die--not grass either. I used the small leaves from the bamboo die.

She was so clean and sparkly when she left for camp..... LOL But check out my border. Isn't it cute. These are from the You Are Here set from the latest release. The camping tent is actually the sailboat from that set.

Product List:
My Creative Time, You Are Here stamp set
My Creative Time, Build a Banner kit die
My Creative Time, Stitched Mini Frame and Arrow die
My Creative Time, Chocolate Greetings flag die
Quickutz 2x2 bamboo die, 4x6 Tiki alphabet and sign die, ovals
BoBunny, Camp a Lot 6x6 paper pad
Bamboo skewers, twine, ink, brads, button

** Birthday Bash Blog Hop **

Welcome to another fabulous hop and GIVEAWAY with My Creative Time. You are in for an awesome treat so I suggest you grab a cuppa yer fave bev, and start hopping for your chance to win a complete Project Life prize package!!!! All righty let's get to details....

BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY ALERT!

How would YOU like to be the LUCKY winner of this FABULOUS  Project Life COMPLETE Scrapbook Kit BLUSH EDITION?  Yep, Miss Emma had ordered an extra one to giveaway for this special day! ;)  All you have to do is leave a comment at EACH stop in this hop.  For additional entries, become a follower of this blog if you aren't already, and spread the word on facebook to all of YOUR friends! Once you do that, visit My Creative Time Facebook page HERE and let Emma know you did. 

This is a FABULOUS prize!! 

Good Luck!

***SALE ALERT***

In addition, for THIS WEEKEND ONLY, please use this code: BDAY42  at checkout to get 20% off  your purchase! You can start shopping HERE! This sale will end at midnight Pacific Time on Sunday, May 12. As a birthday present from ME to all of YOU, I am giving away this ADORABLE stamp set with orders placed THIS WEEKEND ONLY! *$20 minimum order required to receive free stamp set.

  ***All orders from this sale will start shipping Monday, May 13th*** 

Emma's mom will be OFF and enjoying her Mother's Day weekend :)

What's a party without cupcakes, right!?? Isn't this a cute little mini party! I made a balloon flag "centerpiece" and cupcake topper flags. This was so much fun. The hubster loves it when I do 3D projects because they often times involve food, generally sweets, and he gets to eat them after I get all my blog pics. He enjoys it so much that if he questions anything "extra" that goes in the shopping cart on grocery day I just tell him "it's props" and he doesn't bat an eye. HAHAHA!! But I digress....let's get this party started, shall we. :)

Happy Birthday flag using large tag die

Cupcake picks using Chocolate Greetings flag die, curly label die and stitched curly label die.

 

I love the idea of individual 'cakes' so I came up with this fun little idea for cupcakes. {Which I later saw on a baking blog and thought to myself how clever I am for doing this all on my own! LOL} This is great if you have a kids' party and have leftovers to send home. This makes it easier for transport without it getting too awfully squished along the way. 

Gusset bag mini-tutorial:

Also, if you don't have gusset bags, you can easily make your own from flat bags. This works especially well with long bags as this will leave room for tying ribbon to close the top. 

Add a piece of double sided tape along the bottom of the bag, on just one side, end to end. (fig 1)

fig 1 

Remove the liner from the tape and fold up a couple of inches - the higher you fold, the bigger the bottom of the bag will be - press to adhere. (fig 2)

fig 2 

Open up the bag and flatten the bottom. (fig 3) It's not easy to see here as the bag is clear, but I've added arrows to the photo to show the bottom....hopefully that helps you 'get' how it will look.

fig 3 standing bag

And there you have it! If you aren't excited about this hop by now, I don't know what to do with you!! Hahaha!! If you started at the beginning you will have arrived here from Ruthie's blog are right on track. Up next is Tracy.

We also have a guest designer joining us today--our former teamie, Trell came to our party!! YAY! So happy to have you with us today, Mr. Trell!! 

Blog hop line up:

Emma~ http://www.creativetimeforme.com/ 

Amy ~ http://www.scrappingmommy.com/

Cassandra ~ http://www.ctimz3.blogspot.com/

Cathryn ~ http://inthepinkcathryn.blogspot.com/

Cheryl ~ http://dragonflydesigns58.blogspot.com/

Cindy B. ~ http://www.cindybcreations.blogspot.com/

Courtney ~ http://courtscrafts.blogspot.com/

Glora ~ http://glorascrafts.blogspot.com/

Katie ~ http://www.craftingwithkatie.com/

Kim ~ http://www.scrapinmomofoneinspiringlittleboy.blogspot.com/

Leanne ~ http://createdbyleanne.blogspot.com/

Liz ~ http://www.lizspaperloft.com/

Micia ~ http://yellowbirdcreation.blogspot.com/
Nancy ~ http://scrappingoutofcontrol.blogspot.com/
Nikki ~ http://scrappinnavywife.blogspot.com/
Rosy ~ http://sweetdelightspapernmore.blogspot.com/
Ruthie ~ http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/

YOU ARE HERE ~ Shar ~ http://scrapendipity.blogspot.com/

Tracy ~ http://tracyscricutcorner.blogspot.com/

Veronica ~ http://www.vkcreate.blogspot.com/
Guest Designer Trell ~ http://polkadotsandpaint.blogspot.com/

Product List:
Dollar Store wedding and party supplies:
clear cups, clear shot glasses, curling ribbon, balloons, bamboo kabob skewers
My Creative Time dies:
large tag, curly label, stitched curly label, chocolate greetings flag
My Creative Time stamps:
Here's Lookin at You - stars from the necktie
More of My Favorite Sayings
It's All About You
We are Family - tiny heart
Celebrate Good Times
Other:
treat bags, ink, glossy accents, glitter, double sided tape, quickutz candle die, polka dot paper by October Afternoon

Thrifty Thursday....

or...what's the haps with the scraps!? ;) Welcome to thrifty Thursday where we use up scraps and/or items that would typically be tossed in the round file! For today's card, I've used paper scraps from the MME Fun Day Happy Days collection.

I wanted a simple background but plain white was TOO simple. So I used a polka dot stamp in a shade to coordinate with the blue/kraft.

The only part of this card that is not a rescued scrap of some kind is the card base.

The hot air balloon, you may recognize as a My Creative Time die....BUT it is not the hot air balloon die! For this card, I wanted a small balloon so that I would have room for the banner across the top. I used the new release LIGHT BULB DIE for this balloon!!!! The basket can be cut by hand, but I used the basket from the hot air balloon stamp and trimmed it smaller to fit the smaller balloon. Love it! The flower is merely a rolled circle. Easy peasy :)

Product List:
My Creative Time, You're Brilliant light bulb die
My Creative Time, Chunky Jar Accessories tag dies
My Creative Time, Vintage label and banner die
My Creative Time, Fly Away With Me cloud dies
My Creative Time, Fly Away With Me sentiment stamps
My Creative Time, Teeny Tag Greetings tag die
My Creative Time, Chocolate Greetings tag die
My Creative Time, Fun Stitched tickets dies
My Creative Time, Fun Tickets sentiment stamps
Peachy Keen, PK-103 extra small polka dot background stamp
My Favorite Things fishtail tag die
My Minds Eye Kraft Fun Day Happy Days 6x6 paper pad
Twine, circle die, MS hydrangea punch, bling, ink

Jump Up - it's 3D Wednesday

Welcome to Hump Day, the day that takes us over the hump to the weekend! Yay. Today is also the day we share 3D projects at My Creative Time. This variety of little teensy pansies is my favorite. My mom had these in her yard when I was little. This variety is called Johnny Jump-ups. I've always loved these pretty little flowers and the name was just cute to me.

Ok, so this is how my project started. I wasn't sure it was going to work out, but I decided, in case it did, to get pics of the process. I pulled out a few of the papers I wanted to use and got to work.

This is not all the paper I used, I needed quite a few more scraps, so I pulled out some different shades of green for more natural looking foliage I planned to create. Not every leaf on every plant in nature matches the others exactly anyway.  I ran the green through the crimper to soften the paper and make it more pliable for my leaves. After I crimp it, I sort of roll out the crimps with my fingers and smooth the paper a bit before cutting my leaves. The circles are 1/2 inch and I did nothing extra to prep those; just punch. You'd be surprised how many little circles you can get from scraps! For each flower, I cut 4 vanilla (one of these will be the base onto which you'll attach all the petals) and 2 eggplant.

Forming the pansies is pretty simple. Let me tell you, I've been struggling for months to find the perfect way to make these flowers and couldn't come up with one that I was pleased with. Until now. Simple as can be -- circles! Pppfftt!!! Well all righty then! Simply glue the two purple circles to the upper half of one of the vanilla circles overlapping each other. (I think you can see that ok in the pics, right?) Then on the bottom half of the base circle, do the same with two of the vanilla circles, but not overlapping each other. They will however, be overlapping the bottom half of the purple ones. Does that make sense? Again, I think it's pretty easy to tell in the photo how they are applied.

To finish the flower, I used TH Distress Marker, Dusty Concord, to draw veins in the vanilla petals, including the petal that is not yet attached. On the final petal I used TH Distress Ink, Wild Honey, to add color just to the upper part where the veins are, then I pinched it together just at the top. Now I glue it to the flower using Glossy Accents or other semi quick drying glue. (Because I am impatient when working with flowers and when I get this close to finishing, I don't want to wait for glue to dry before I can move to the final step. LOL) After it dried thoroughly, I then added a dab of Glossy Accents to the fold of the pinch (that sounds weird, doesn't it) and placed a yellow bead. This is extra, you don't have to add that, but I liked it and I had them, so I used them.

Once I had cut a big pile of leaves, I inked them with TH Distress Ink peeled paint, then went over just the outside with walnut stain. I always use these two colors on all my leaves for all the flowers I make, no matter what shade of green the paper is, by the way. With a tweezer or your fingers, pinch together where the stem meets the leaf, as you can see below.

If you're following along with me, now all that's left is to glue the leaves to the back of the flowers and use them on your project! I used mine in this tiny little flower pot I picked up for 25¢ I attached the flowers to toothpicks back-to-back with hot glue, and stuck them into a small styrofoam egg I had left from an Easter project which just so happened to fit perfectly into the tiny pot!

I continued to add flower stems as needed until I had the look I wanted to achieve. Then I made the cute flag from bamboo skewer, the little window card using the new mini frame die, and added the ribbon to around the top of the pot (in the first pic). I wish it had photographed truer to the color though...it's a perfect match to the color of the flower petals but looks more blue on my screen. I hope you can see it more purpley!

Thanks for coming by for 3D Wednesday. Be sure to check out the other designer blogs as well for their awesome projects today.

Product List:
My Creative Time, Mini Frame die
My Creative Time, It's All About You stamp set
My Creative Time, Bloom Where You are Planted stamp set
My Creative Time, Vintage label and banner die
TH Distress Inks, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain, Dusty Concord, Wild Honey
TH Distress Marker, Dusty Concord
Circle punch 1/2 inch, leaf die, beads, dragonfly charm, grosgrain ribbon, paper scraps, styrofoam egg, bamboo skewer, round toothpicks, tiny terra cotta pot