Thursday 31 October 2013

MFP 12 Days of Christmas Challenges - Day #10 Salt Dough Ornaments

Happy Halloween everyone!!  Today is Halloween, but instead of having something scary for you, I actually have some Christmas creations for you to enjoy!

For the last two weeks Mark's Finest Papers has been having it's annual 12 days of Christmas Challenges and today is day #10 featuring Salt Dough Ornaments.  These are really easy to make, and would make lovely gifts, gift tags, or decorations for your own home.  You can find Pat Garvin's step by step tutorial to make these ornaments here.

I had a lot of fun making these.  So much fun that I didn't stop at one:





Just a couple of notes of how I did my ornaments, I used water based markers to colour them, and also my water brush when colouring the background.  Also when stamping on the dough I did press the stamps into the dough gently to get a sort of letterpress effect.  If you decide to go this route make sure you only put just enough ink on the stamp to ensure your images are crisp.  If your stamp has too much ink and you press it into the dough like I did any extra ink will get transferred to the dough making it look a bit messy (ask me how I know, lol).

For these ornaments I used the stamp sets "Holiday Tag" and "You Are an Angel".

Also, if you are wondering why mine don't look quite as smooth and white as Pat's ornaments, I only had whole wheat flower to work with at the time. Whole wheat flower works just as well, it just gives a slightly different texture to the ornament.

I hope you try these easy ornaments out!  And if you decide to join into the challenge you can link your creation here.  I encourage you to share as there are prizes to be won!  A winner is being chosen from each day.  And that's not all! If you decide to participate in every challenge for this event, you could win a grand prize of $350 worth of Mark's Finest Papers stamps.  That could make for a crafty fun holiday season!  You have until November 11th to participate.  :)  

Saturday 26 October 2013

Get Inspired - Garden Gate Part 2

Hi Everyone, happy Saturday!  Today its my turn to contribute for our Get Inspired column over at MFP Speedy TV, and I'm a little late posting today so I hope you'll forgive me.  I hope you like what I have to show you!


Today I am using a beautiful photo provided by MariLynn last week. She took the photo while travelling, and I don't blame her for stopping.  Such a pretty scene!  Click here to see her original post along with her lovely card.   



So pretty! I also love a white picket fence, and the addition of the flowers make a perfect scene to pull inspiration from.  Here is what I came up with:





I enjoyed making this card.  I used one of my favourite stamp sets Mark's Finest Papers released in October, called "Huge Blooms".   You can definitely see where I was inspired by the entire image, using strips of white (a great way to use scraps) trimmed diagonally, and some leftover laser cut leaves ribbon behind a layered flower.  I used my water based markers to colour the image that I had heat embossed.  I'm so happy with the results. :)

What do you think, are you feeling inspired? If you are we'd love it if you leave a link in the comments! 

As I mentioned before, this post is part of the  Get Inspired page at MFP Speedy TV .   If you are not a member of MFP Speedy TV, its a free social networking site focused on stamping and cardmaking with MFP stamps.  In additon to our column you will find lots of inspiration, including other informative columns on a daily basis, so why not click over and see what you are missing!

So thats it for me this week! Don't forget that the main blog is having their 12 days of Christmas Challenges and Tutorials.  Lots of holiday inspiration to be had!  Next week I will return some new inspiration for you, see you then! :)

Friday 11 October 2013

MFP Blog Hop Day #4 - Fall Apples


This month's New Stamp Set Releases are:

 Featured Oct 8 - I Am Thankful
Featured Oct 9 - Pandas
Featured Oct 10 - Huge Blooms
Featured Oct 11 - Fall Apples

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on Oct. 12, 2013 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 10 PM EST on Friday Oct. 11, 2013.






 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
Works of Art


 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is:
Wise Men
                                                      


Today's set is another lovely one, called "Fall Apples", it is a perfect set to have in your stash at this time of year:


I couldn't help but do more colouring for today's cards:







 Using my markers on kraft was a really fun technique to play with.  For some reason the kraft seems to pill less than any brands of white card stock I've tried, and the darker colour gives a nice tint to the image that I really like.  Yet another technique I will be using in future! :)

I hope you enjoyed my cards today!  The fun is not over though, talented Toni is next on the hop!  Don't miss out on visiting the rest of the amazing DT, there is lots of inspiration in store for you!  Here is the rest of the design team in case you didn't start at the beginning:

Lois
Jane C
 Pam
Pat G
Thrifty Stamper
MariLynn
Kathy
Angela
Cathy C (Thats Me!)
Toni
Sue W
Janine
An'Jenic
Kate Z
Shirley Q
Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

And while you're hopping along don't forget to visit Mark's Finest Paper's Store.  You'll find this month's stamps along with lots of other beautiful sets and tons of supplies to get you on your crafty way!  

Thursday 10 October 2013

MFP Blog Hop Day #3 - Huge Blooms


This month's New Stamp Set Releases are:

 Featured Oct 8 - I Am Thankful
Featured Oct 9 - Pandas
Featured Oct 10 - Huge Blooms
Featured Oct 11 - Fall Apples

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on Oct. 12, 2013 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 10 PM EST on Friday Oct. 11, 2013.






 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
Works of Art


 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is:
Wise Men
                                                      

Today's set, called "Huge Blooms", is a lovely one..  Sunflowers are always so pretty!






My first instinct when I saw the set was to use the biggest flower.  Lovely!




I loved how the colouring turned out so I decided to do it again with the smaller image, only this time I decided to make the flower a bit more 3D.



The lace embossing folder used on vellum is so pretty I will definitely be using this technique over and over!  Combined with the paper tole flower and some baker's twine  make a fairly quick card look that much more special.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today!  The fun is not over though, talented Toni is next on the hop!  Don't miss out on visiting the rest of the amazing DT, there is lots of inspiration in store for you!  Here is the rest of the design team in case you didn't start at the beginning:


Lois
Jane C
 Pam
Pat G
Thrifty Stamper
MariLynn
Kathy
Angela
Cathy C (Thats Me!)
Toni
Sue W
Janine
An'Jenic
Kate Z
Shirley Q
Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

And while you're hopping along don't forget to visit Mark's Finest Paper's Store.  You'll find this month's stamps along with lots of other beautiful sets and tons of supplies to get you on your crafty way!   See you tomorrow.

Wednesday 9 October 2013

MFP Blog Hop Day #2 - Pandas


This month's New Stamp Set Releases are:

 Featured Oct 8 - I Am Thankful
Featured Oct 9 - Pandas
Featured Oct 10 - Huge Blooms
Featured Oct 11 - Fall Apples

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on Oct. 12, 2013 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 10 PM EST on Friday Oct. 11, 2013.






 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
Works of Art


 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is:
Wise Men
                                                      

Today's set called "Pandas" is a really cute one:


Today's cards go completely against the rest of the cards I've made this week - CAS and white.






I love this set!  The images would be perfect for birthday cards or any occasion cards.  I've made simple note cards here.  

 I hope you enjoyed my cards today!  The fun is not over though, talented Toni is next on the hop!  Don't miss out on visiting the rest of the amazing DT, there is lots of inspiration in store for you!  Here is the rest of the design team in case you didn't start at the beginning:

Lois
Jane C
 Pam
Pat G
Thrifty Stamper
MariLynn
Kathy
Angela
Cathy C (Thats Me!)
Toni
Sue W
Janine
An'Jenic
Kate Z
Shirley Q
Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

And while you're hopping along don't forget to visit Mark's Finest Paper's Store.  You'll find this month's stamps along with lots of other beautiful sets and tons of supplies to get you on your crafty way!   See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

MFP Blog Hop Day #1 - I Am Thankful


This month's New Stamp Set Releases are:

 Featured Oct 8 - I Am Thankful
Featured Oct 9 - Pandas
Featured Oct 10 - Huge Blooms
Featured Oct 11 - Fall Apples

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT have to comment on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly!) All four winners will be announced on Oct. 12, 2013 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment, the more chances you have to win and comments on the MFP blog count twice!) The deadline for commenting is 10 PM EST on Friday Oct. 11, 2013.






 The special stamp set we have for you this month is:
Works of Art


 The mini stamp set we have for you this month is:
Wise Men
                                                      


Today's set is a Thanksgiving themed set called "I Am Thankful".   


I came up with two cards using this set:




I normally watercolour a lot, but this month I think this was the only card I used watercolouring on, it was the perfect technique for Mr. Tom Turkey!   I enjoyed pairing him with the autumn feeling patterns and some rolled flowers.





I made a much cleaner card for my second sample, still using lots of different patterns, but much more sparingly.  Making a card like this one is a good way to use up smaller scraps.

I hope you enjoyed my cards today!  The fun is not over though, talented Toni is next on the hop!  Don't miss out on visiting the rest of the amazing DT, there is lots of inspiration in store for you!  Here is the rest of the design team in case you didn't start at the beginning:

Lois
Jane C
 Pam
Pat G
Thrifty Stamper
MariLynn
Kathy
Angela
Cathy C (Thats Me!)
Toni
Sue W
Janine
An'Jenic
Kate Z
Shirley Q
Marks Finest Papers, a Heinrich Co.

And while you're hopping along don't forget to visit Mark's Finest Paper's Store.  You'll find this month's stamps along with lots of other beautiful sets and tons of supplies to get you on your crafty way!   See you tomorrow.