DO THE BLOG HOP....HOP, HOP, HOP!!

The MyGrafico site is up and running and we're celebrating with a week filled with FUN AND PRIZES!!!! And it all starts today with a FABULOUS BLOG HOP!!!

In case you've come into the game in the middle, you'll definitely want to go back and start at the beginning over at Martha's blog....it'll help you win the PRIZE!!! So I bet you wanna know what the prize is and how to win it......

THE PRIZE: This fabulous set from MyGrafico - isn't it sa-weeet!!!

HOW TO WIN IT:
1. Visit each of the MyGrafico Challenge Design Team member's blogs - start with Martha and follow the hop as directed on each blog. If you get lost, you can always stop by the MyGrafico Challenge Blog for the correct Blog Hop order.
2. Collect a highlighted letter at each blog. The letters will spell out a special message. There will be a total of 12 letters, so be sure to hop to 12 DT blogs :) [Have you figured out my letter yet?]
3. Once you've figured out the message, email it to Martha at mccreations@ymail.com by 10pm PST tonight. The winner will be announced on the MyGrafico Challenge blog on Tuesday morning.
4. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!! Each design team member will be giving away one of the images from the Candy Shoppe set! All you need to do comment on each of their blogs to be in for their individual drawings!!

I'm giving away the fun triple decker ice cream cone (as shown in my card below). All you need to do is leave a comment letting me know your favorite sweet treat and I will randomly pick a winner on Tuesday morning!


phew.....BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!! Here's the card I made for this week's celebration challenge - create a sweet card using RED, PINK, and GREEN.

I just love this color combo and this card - it would work for sooooo many occasions, but I kinda want to keep it for myself. Is that bad?

Did you collect my letter? I hope so because then you're ready to hop over to Cassie's blog. Remember once you've figured out the message, email it to Martha by 10pm PST and you may just win the fabulous Candy Shoppe set. And leave comments everywhere you hop to be in the running for the individual images.


Here's a quick preview of what's to come this week at the MyGrafico Challenge blog:

TUESDAY - Follow the MyGrafico Challenge blog & you could win the Superheroes stamp set (stay tuned b/c I have the cutest card set to showcase these stamps!!)

WEDNESDAY - It's your turn to create a Sweet Card (using the fab color combo) and you could win this School Kids stamp set

THURSDAY -Comment on the MyGrafico Challenge blog & you could win the Halloween Ghoulies stamp set

FRIDAY -To culminate the celebration, everyone who left a comment or is a follower on the MyGrafico Challenge blog will be eligible to win the Trick-Or-Treat stamp set


Don't worry - I'll post reminders each day this week!! I hope you're as excited as I am....I mean who doesn't like prizes!! Now hop on over & visit Cassie!

Tag...You're It!!

Phew!!! I was exhausted by Friday afternoon - I think I'm getting old :) Yesterday, I spent the morning at a Fantasy Football draft...which I wouldn't mind as much except it cut into my time of my monthly stamping get-together. I was hoping to get so much accomplished, but arriving around 4pm did not help!

I did get started on some tags for a swap. I have two more swaps that I signed up for and then I'm done (as you all heard why last week). The first swap is with tags. I'm making Christmas, Halloween, Birthday for adults and for kids.

Here's my Christmas tags:

I got this set from Hero Arts a few years ago for my Christmas cards, and I still love it...the whismical tree is one of my favorites and looks great in so many color combos! Plus I got to add polka dots!!!


Details:
Stamps - Laughter & Merriment (Hero Arts Clear Design); Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Ink - Versamark, Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics (R29 & G05)
Paper - Real Red, white
Accessories - ribbon (JoAnn's), stickles (Xmas red & Yellow), Glossy Accents, dimensional, white cording, hole punch


Paper Hoarder Challenge - 44 cards/projects down, 56 to go

I Must Be Da' Bomb!

The first two days of school have gone nicely - not to say there weren't problems, but I guess that keeps life interesting! We're undergoing major building renovations this year to the middle/high school with the construction of the elementary school on site to create one central campus. Needless to say, it's a been noisy and messy :)

I wanted to share the card I made for the Caardvarks challenge along with a cute anecdote from my first day back with the kiddos. The challenge is to create a card using black, white, and hot pink - the colors of this week's sponsor's logo...My Stamp Box. What a fun color scheme! I knew right away that I wanted to use my houndstooth stamp from Hero Arts and my new edger punch - Embossed Curves by EK Success (thanks Kelley - you enabler you!!)

Here's what I came up with:



Simple, but sooooo cute... don't ya think? I thought it would be a perfect thank you for one of my girls. Speaking of which....my 1st day story - I had to force a few third graders to go to recess. They must have missed me this summer and wanted to hang out in my room to chat. Too sweet!

Hope you're having a great week! AND.....the MyGrafico site is up and running again!!! Yippee!!! All of the design team members have been preparing lots of great projects, and we even have a few surprises up our sleeves!! So stay tuned :)


Details:
Stamps - Houndstooth (Hero Arts); Bomb (A muse)
Ink - StazOn Black; Copics
Paper - white, hot pink
Accessories - black grosgrain ribbon (Offray), crystal stickers (Mark Richards), Embossed Curves edger punch (EK Success), sentiment computer generated (Pea Bandit font)

Start the Year Off Right

Today was such a productive day at school! The students don't start until Wednesday, so the days preceding are filled with trainings and meetings. I almost have my schedule finalized - other than the fact that I haven't fit lunch in, it looks great!

There are so many people in my school (as well as other schools) that do so much for me and my students throughout the year - secretaries, guidance counselor, computer lab teacher, custodians . I always try to give out treats throughout the year to show my appreciation, so I've been working on a little something to wish them well on their first day. I created Ghirardelli boxes (even though I stuffed them with Hershey's Extra Dark treats) using this tutorial.

I used the apple from the MyGrafico Yummy Fruits set- you may remember when I created the notecards & holder using this image. The site is still being updated, but it should be up and running soon! Yippee! I'm sooooo excited to see all the new images the artists have been working on!

Here's the final product:

I was able to fit 3 Hershey's Extra Dark chocolates in the box. I think it's the perfect treat!


Details:
Stamps - Yummy Fruits (MyGrafico), Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Ink - Copics, Versamark
Paper - Real Red, white, black, kraft, green (Archivers)
Accessories - black gingham ribbon, EK Success Embossed Curves edger punch, Nestabilities square & scallop square dies, dimensionals

I'm Thinking of Fall

I started this card yesterday and couldn't get it to where I liked it. I played with it some more today and decided to leave it as is. I did come up with another idea in the process, so that has me excited!

I created this card for a Fall Swap at SCS. I used the reverse punch technique illustrated by Heather (Pine) on her blog back in June. I loved her card from the moment I saw it and couldn't wait to use the same technique. I just picked up this new Fiskars Maple Leaf punch and thought it would be perfect!

I'm in a few more card swaps at SCS; however, I probably won't sign up for any more after finishing these. I've not received anything in return for the last two I've signed up for, so you can understand my disappointment. I'm hoping that these last three don't end up the same way.


Details:
Stamps - Polka Dot Basics II (PTI), sentiment: Trendy Trees (SU)
Ink - Chocolate Chip
Paper - Chocolate Chip, kraft, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry; DP - Fun in the Sun Summer Matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - maple leaf punch (Fiskars), dimensionals, antique copper brads

Life Is Good, But Busy!!

The first week of school (for me) is filled with inservice trainings - these are the longest days are totally drain me..I'm much better when I can move around and talk - make me sit for hours on end listeing and it kills me (and yes I keep this in mind with my students :) ) While I had great intentions on working on new stuff this week, I would fall asleep earlier than I expected after working on the Whale-come Back cards to send out for my students.

Last night I was in desperate need for a girls night, so my best friend & I did a little shopping and grabbed a bite at Chipotle...YUM!! Today, my yard demanded my attention. I'm working on some fall cards right now, but I wanted to show you what I was working on outside....my gladiolus bed!!

Late this spring I planted 84 glad bulbs, and they're starting to bloom. They're soooooo pretty!! I weeded and tied them up (and thought, why did I plant 84 gladiolus!!)

Hope you're having a great weekend. Be back with a fall card as soon as my mojo kicks in!

Rubber Romance

Hi all!! I have a quick post for ya now and I'll be back later with some photos :)

Rubber Romance is holding a sketch challenge and you could win some stamps!!!! Here are the deets (also found on the blog):

1) Create a card using Rubber Romance Stamps, based on the sketch below
2) Upload it to your gallery at Rubber Road Adventures with the tag: RRSK1
3) To be entered into the random drawing a second time, post your card on your blog along with a link to this challenge. Then post the link to your blog post in the comments for this post.

Deadline August 27th at midnight eastern.

Here's your sketch:

Samantha posted an awesome card based on this sketch using the Flutter Fly stamp - be sure to check it out!!

Secret Chef - The Big Reveal

And here's the big reveal!!!! I created a Christmas organizer for Diane - I loved it and can't wait to make one for myself and some other friends & family members. I used the free Recipe Wrap Up Timeless Template from PTI - this was the first time I tried a Timeless Template and it definitely WON'T be the last...they're great!!

This is the outside of the organizer. I used my Cricut to cut out the letters - it's from the Christmas Cheer cartridge...I used four different colors of cardstock and a little cutting to create the title. The dots were stamped on using Versamark.


Here's a shot of the entire organizer opened up. I love gingerbread - it's so Christmas-y! In fact, my entire tree is in gingerbread (I'll have to post a photo in December!!). The gingham paper inspired me to pull out this gingerbread stamp set from Martha Stewart.


Here's some close ups of the six pockets. These two pockets hold 'To Do' lists and gift tags.


These pockets hold gift lists and a Christmas card list. I created these on MS Word and included checkboxes for cards sent & received as well as gifts purchased & wrapped. I tried uploading the documents to Google docs, but it terrorized my formatting. I'm happy to share the files - just let me know your email and I'll send them right out. Oh...you'll need the Digs My Hart font, which can be downloaded for free here.


The final two pockets hold more tags and shopping lists. Don't you love those gingerbread men!! I added some liquid applique for their icing, black Stickles for their eyes, and red bling stickers for their buttons.


Finally, here are close up photos of the tags. I included two different styles. I thought the ric rac was perfect to go along with the gingerbread theme.





I was so happy to hear from Diane saying how much she liked it. It was really sweet to hear how much she appreciated all the time I put into the project - it definitely took me longer than I anticipated, but the results were worth it!

Details:
Stamps - Clear Gingerbread Stamps (Martha Stewart); Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Ink - Versamark, Real Red, Glorious Green, Chocolate Chip
Paper - kraft, Real Red, Always Artichoke, red gingham dp
Accessories - buttons, twine, liquid applique, black Stickles, red bling stickers (Stampendous), white ric rack, red gingham ribbon, scallop edge punch, Cricut, Christmas Cheer cartridge, Recipe Wrap Up template (PTI)

Secret Chef #2 - the Neverending Card

The second card that I sent to Diane was this Neverending Card using this fun Hero Arts set & the gorgeous paper from the Basic Grey Lemonade line. If you're not familiar with these cards, you should check out this video - plus you'll see how it opens :). A stampin' pal of mine made one as a gift a few months ago - as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make one too!

I think Diane really liked it :)

Details:

Stamps - Four Dolls (Hero Arts)

Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Versamark; Copics

Paper - kraft, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Grey Lemonade collection (DP)

Accessories - Terrifically Tacky Tape

Secret Chef #1 - Ridin' by With A Doggie Treat

Here's the first of three posts on the gifts I sent to Diane (diane617- SCS) when I was her 'Secret Chef'....As secret chefs, we were to send two cards and then a papercrafted gift to reveal ourselves. This is the first card that I made for Diane. I couldn't resist making another little doggie bag for her fur baby, Bailey.

I love this color combo of kraft, teal, orange, and black and can't wait to come back to it!


Details:
Stamps - Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Paper - kraft, Taken With Teal, orange dp (DCWV Fun in the Sun matstack), Basic Grey June Bug Aggie
Ink - Versamark, Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Accessories - ribbon, buttons, Nestabilities circle & inverted scallop circle dies, sewing machine, dimensionals, Word Window punch, rub-on letters (Creative Keepsakes), chipboard stickers (The Paper Studio)


The next two secret chef treats are a bit more intricate, so I'm saving them for separate posts :)

Tissue Box Card Tutorial & Paper Challenge

I finally did it!! Here's the tutorial for my tissue box card :)


1. Cut cardstock or dp 3" x 3 1/2"

2. Along both 3" ends, mark at 1 1/2". Along both 3 1/2" sides, mark 1/2" from top & bottom. If you're using dp, make marks on the back.

3. Line up marks on 3" end & 3 1/2" side and trim. Do this four times to create a hexagon as shown in the second photo.

4. Flip cardstock/dp to other side. Make a light dot with pencil 1" from top in the center (straight down from point).

5. Score from dot toward the other end.

6. Turn paper. Score from corner to dot on both sides (as shown in photos).

7. Punch hole to allow tissue to thread through.

8. Gently fold at scores to form into your tissue box. Thread tissue and add to your card base.

These are really simple to make, and I think they'd make anyone feel a touch better.

On a separate note, my blog buddy Siobhan has challenge all of us paper hoarders (affectionately called paper ho's) to not purchase any new paper until 100 projects have been completed using the paper we already own. It's scary to think how much paper I have (and still continue to buy), so this is definitely a challenge I HAVE to try. I may be cheating a bit, but I going to count all the projects I've completed since I bought my last bits of paper - unfortunately, this wasn't that long ago (July 28th). I'll keep you updated and please hold me to this....especially when new fall & winter matstacks will be coming out soon! Maybe I can make 100 projects by then....

Paper 'Ho - 19 down, 81 to go

Good morning! I feel like I've been away forever!!!! It was a long weekend including a meeting at work on Friday night about not having enough money to cut paychecks starting mid-September due to the budget impasse, crazy cleaning on Saturday, and a visit with all 3 of my college roomies on Sunday (it was super hot, but great to get together!!).

I have lots to share with you this week :) - but not a new challenge for MyGrafico. The MyGrafico server is going through some maintenance, so we've decided to hold off with new challenges until everything is up and ready. I can't wait!

So for now, I have a card that I made for a submission entry for PaperCrafts magazine. The call was for baby thank you's.

I just love using the onesie template to create cards! It's so cute and relatively simple! I added some stitching with my sewing machine and some bling to represent the snaps. I created my own template for the bib and then use a Nestie classic oval to create the scallop around it.

After I made this, I thought how cute would this be to give to a new mom along with other onesie cards showcasing different bib sentiments!


Details:
Stamps - Little Fruit (Stampendous)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics (RV29)
Paper - Pink Pirouette, Old Olive; DP - Just Dreamy 'Check Her Out' (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories - bling stickers (Stampendous), Nestabilities Classic Scallop Oval die, sewing machine



P.S. - I've had a couple requests for the template I used on my Get Well Tissues card. My goal is to post that this week. I apologize for not getting it done sooner - I'd get sidetracked or simply forget about it. It's a top priority this week!!

Spillin' the Beans!!!

It's been such a long day, but I couldn't wait to share some FANTASTIC news with you!!

I'm part of the first Rubber Romance design team!!! Yahoooooo!!! Be sure to check out the Rubber Romance blog and the Rubber Romance etsy store. My term starts on September 15th, so keep your eyes open!!

I've been super busy, so I'm off for some R&R (and laundry-ugh!!). I have lots to share with you starting tomorrow!!