Happy Easter 2013

Hi!

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail.....

Welcome to the Easter Blog Hop where we have come together to share some spectacular Easter inspiration with you.

If you arrived here from Toni's blog you are in the right place. If you just happend to "HOP" in please start at the beginning with
our hostess, Robin ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/

I hope y'all are having a wonderful Easter weekend.

My card was inspired by one I saw at Paper Source.

The Hip Hip} Hooray is from one of my FAVORITE CTMH stamp sets
it's called Good Times. Sadly, this stamp set is retired but that's why
I love to go visit the While Supplies Last section of the
CTMH shop because that's where you can catch CTMH items
before they're retired.

Stamps: CTMH Good Times, Wordsworth Happy Everything
Ink: CTMH New England Ivy, Sunset
Accessories: Martha Stewart Medium Sitting Bunny, QuicKutz Metro Alphabet

You are off and hopping to Lorrie's blog:

Here is the entire line up in case you get lost along the way:
Robin ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
Toni ~ http://toniherron.aussieblogs.com.au/
Mary Ellen ~ www.cr8iveme.blogspot.com
Lorrie - www.pickledtinkcrafts.blogspot.com
Carolyn-http://www.grandmacarol46580.blogspot.com/
Amy - http://aimitup.blogspot.com/
Melinda Everitt - http://www.ifyoublingit.blogspot.com
Camille - http://shortonideasaz.blogspot.com/
Tena - http://tenascraftingadventures.blogspot.com/


Happy crafting,
M.E.

The T.A.R.D.I.S.

Hi!

I'm a Whovian which means I LOVE Doctor Who.

Besides being Easter weekend. Doctor Who also returns this weekend.

And I for one wanted to celebrate.

So I couldn't help but create this T.A.R.D.I.S. card.

For those of you that don't know T.A.R.D.I.S. means
Time And Relative Dimentions In Space

Also if you'd like to know more about Doctor Who and the T.A.R.D.I.S.
this is the perfect time as each month BBC America is revisiting each
of the eleven Doctors. This weekend they'll be visiting the third Doctor.

Also my card actually uses a British police box
and not a phone booth. Contrary to what some others post on their blogs
the T.A.R.D.I.S. is actually in the form of a police box.

I found this awesome stamp at Viva Las Vegas Stamps.

In addition to stamping I also embossed and sponged ink on top.
Which I think is cool and probably my new favorite technique to do.

Stamps: Blue Police Box by Susan M. Brown
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, CTMH Smokey Plum, Pacifica
Accessories: Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Pocket Watches
Techniques: Sponging

Happy Crafting,
M.E.

Bee Yourself

Hi!

Are you as ready for Easter and Spring to be here as I am?

Although, I do live in Texas which for some probably feels like
spring or summer all year round. We do have some noticeable signs
for us Texans that Spring has sprung. The biggest one is that's the
time of year the bluebonnets bloom. It's just so beautiful.

This week's fun challenge over at the Can You Digi It? blog is Challenge #32 - Pick a Season.

I picked Spring because it's just the best season. IMHO

The stamp I used is Busy Bee by Betty Edwards.

And the embellishments are from Close to My Heart it's the Buzz and Bumble Collection Assortment.


Stamps: Busy Bee digi by Betty Edwards for CYDI?
Ink: Tombow ABT markers, Sharpies
Accessories: Crayola Washable Glitter Glue, Bazzill Basics Ribbon Green Gingham, CTMH Buzz and Bumble Assortment

Happy crafting,
M.E.

Mini Album

Hi!

Today we will learn how to make an 8" × 5" mini album from start to finish for a cute little scrapbook full of variety and personality!

Let's watch a fun way to use up an eclectic array of papers, stamped images, and Cricut^® shapes, a mini album is the perfect choice!




If you're interested in purchasing any of the items shown in this video. Please feel free to
visit my CTMH shop.

Happy Crafting,
M.E.

Male birthday

Hi!

This week over at Can You Digi It? There is a fun new challenge #31 to create something for a male birthday. This is so great because I tend to create quite a lot of masculine cards. But rarely do I think about making them for birthdays.

For my card I thought of the most manly job I could. Which for me is that of a soldier. And C.Y.D.I. has the perfect stamp for this. It's the dog tag, of course it works great if you are creating for a dog too. And it's a great way to start getting into digi/hybrid stamping. Plus you can't beat the price.

I also used the Close To My Heart Durables Round for the bullets. I thought it really gave the card more of a military feel. The durables come in 3 different styles - square, round, and artisan. In addition to that I also used an eyelet and a chain. I believe it creates a very cohesive look.

If you have some time please stop by and play along with this challenge. After all we all have some guy whose important in our life like our father, brother, nephew, granddad, husband, or maybe our dog.

In my house there's my husband and my two boy dogs Einstein and Newton.

Stamps: C.Y.D.I.? Dog Tag, SU! Afterthoughts

Paper: The Paper Studio Textured Camo, The Paper Company Kraft Cardstock

Ink: SU! Going Gray, StazOn Jet Black

Accessories: CTMH Durables Round

Stamps: C.Y.D.I.? Dog Tag, SU! Afterthoughts

Paper: The Paper Studio Textured Camo, The Paper Company Kraft Cardstock

Ink: SU! Going Gray, StazOn Jet Black

Accessories: CTMH Durables Round



Close up of corner of card

Whose the important guy in your life? Have you created a birthday card or layout celebrating his birthday? If its time to do so this would be the perfect week to play along with us at the C.Y.D.I. blog.

Happy crafting,
M.E.

Cricut Foldables

Hi!

Today we will learn how to create foldable Cricut^®-cut pieces that you can add to a scrapbook page, card, or home décor item for extra dimension!

From yo-yos to bows, embellishments cut with the Cricut^® Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges add something special to your artwork.



Happy Crafting,
M.E.

Cricut® Craft Room

Hi!

Discover how to use Cricut^® Craft Room—the free online design software that makes it easier to create projects with your Cricut^® machine—in this step-by-step tutorial.



Happy Crafting,
M.E.

My Acrylix Stamps

Hi!

I just wanted to share with y'all the latest news I've heard
around the interwebs.

Yup. Stampin' Up! has just come out with photopolymer stamps.

Now they're new so I haven't had a chance to try them out yet.

I have used their clear-mount stamps and have found that they don't really stick very well to acrylic blocks, including their own.

My recommendation for using those would be to definitely not put the enclosed stickers on the back of the stamp. This tip will help them stick better to your acrylic blocks.

If you have the patience I would recommend
getting some cling mounting foam from Stampers Best.
I'd just unmount Stampin' Up's mount and attach one from Stampers Best. Now I'll admit I haven't done that with the clear-mount's
I have from SU!

However, I have taken all the wood mounted stamps I had from SU! and remounted them with the cling mounting foam from Stampers Best. And let me tell you, it works wonderfully.

Now Stampin' Up is going into the world of acrylic stamps or as they're calling them photopolymer stamps.

Close to My Heart has already been creating wonderful stamps
with their My Acrylix line for eight years. This is according to pg. 7 of the CTMH Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

Let me tell you they're amazing. I've been using CTMH's stamps for the past 7 years and I love them. And althought I'm a Consultant, I only started that in  August 2012. Before that I was with Creative Memories and then The Angel Company. And I've been a Stampin' Up! customer for the past 7 years, too. Plus my MIL owned the LSS in our town for years. So trust me I've been an avid stamping and
scrapbooking customer and fan.

I've tried other acrylic stamps before. I've found that with alot of them I've had to distress them to get them to start working.
Some of them have torn before I even had a chance to distress or stamp with them. Some have discolored before I even got around to using them. It's just not pretty. And distressing them is only for extreme circumstances. I've learned the hard way that you can only distress them so much. If you do go this route it is only necessary for the first stamp session you are trying to use the stamp.

It has been my experience that, this problem has never come up with
the My Acrylix line of stamps from CTMH.

I'm a fan of SU! don't get me wrong.

I even have belonged to a few stamp clubs run by SU! Demos.
And I attend classes taught by SU! Demos.
(Don't even get me started on that discussion.)
I'm not saying don't try the new photopolymer stamps from SU! Hopefully, if you have a SU! Demonstrator that you work with she will have them available to play with.

I'm just saying "Buyer Beware". I just want to provide my objective opinion to this shopping decision.

If you like and your local to the Austin/Cedar Park, TX area
I'll be teaching a class on March 16th.
More information is posted here. In addition to the class, if you attend you are welcome to play with any stamps I have.

And I have all kinds - TAC stamps, acrylic stamps, CTMH stamps, SU! clear mount stamps and ones that have been mounted using Stampers Best cling foam. I have stamps from Stamping Bella, The Greeting Farm, Hero Arts, and other companies as well.

I've done my research and I hope you take my opinion into consideration when thinking about purchasing the new photopolymer stamps from SU!

If you aren't local to me and would like to try out some CTMH stamps just post a comment with your email addy so I can contact you about how to do this. Or feel free to visit my shop.

Happy crafting,
M.E.