YNS Fun Friday {Snow Family}

Happy Friday! I'm so mixed up on my days this week with family coming and going for the holidays, but the calendar says it's Friday so I'm going with it! Speaking of Friday & families, I've crafted a sweet snowman family using the YNS Bookmark/Tag Layered Die Set for this week's Fun Friday project. This month's Fun Friday theme is about reflecting on the last three years of YNS, so I'm highlighting the YNS dies that were added to the line in 2011.

Each snowman was made using the following framework: 

• die cut two of each size bookmark in white
• die cut one of each size bookmark in patterned paper for the hat (only die cut the top portion of the bookmark)
• trim each patterned paper cut as you'd like the hat to look (slanted on my snow momma, shorter on snow papa, and just right medium for my snow boy...ok, so much for sticking with the traditional 'snowman', but I couldn't resist)
• hand cut a tiny orange nose for each and punch two black circles using your 1/8" circle punch or something similar (I used a retired SU! punch that has 2-1/8" circles on it...I know, clear as mud)
• score each snowman about 2.5" from the scalloped end (all of them) and then trim each end of the bookmark 1" from the scored line 
• overlap the flaps and adhere together to form the base
• tie the two scalloped tops together with linen thread, twine or ribbon and embellish as you like (I've used elements from the YNS Whatnots Season One dies)

 Here is a side view of my snow-fam that will hopefully give you the visual you need to get through my directions. Ü

I'm thinking these are pretty cute 'as is', but you could pop a Hershey Nugget inside and have yourself a sweet treat for someone you love! As for me, I'm leaving this family unit right where they're at on my rustic entry table as fun winter decoration.

No, stop over at the YNS Blog for more Fun Friday Reflection, and thanks for stopping here today!
~Amy

MFT WSC #104: Be Mine Forever

Welcome! I'm here with this week's MFT WSC sketch featuring a fun mix of old and new stamps from My Favorite Things. This time around I've used the adorable PI, Honey Bee, and paired her up with this month's Triple Scoop Set, Lovey Dovey Sentiments. Yep, I've gone and done the chalkboard art look (again), and I think it serves our sweet bee very well. Ü

Below is a detail shot of the chalkboard background where I've highlighted a free-hand drawn 'bee line' with piercing. I've also added white and yellow doodles here and there, and then emphasized just how much I love this girl with an additional sentiment stamped onto an arrow from the Die-namics Lead the Way die set.

 I hope you get a chance to play along with this week's sketch, and I look forward to sharing more MFT with you next week in the form of Teasers, as I play along with Team MFT during my spot as Guest Designer! As always, you can check out this week's sketch as well as links to all of the participating designers at the MFT Blog. 

Thanks for stopping over today!

~Amy

MFT WSC 103: Season's Greetings

I told you I'd be back with more MFT goodness, and here I am with this week's sketch for Wednesday Stamp Club, served up as a single panel gift card pocket for somebody on my list!

I've used a combination of MFT goodies (man, I love how everything works together so beautifully!) that includes the Die-namics Poinsettia, Oval Chain Border and Gift Card Pocket-Horizontal along with a sentiment and to/from from Seasonal Sentiments (you KNOW how I love that set).

Since the Oval Chain Border was giving my card a bit of a modern edge, I decided to go with it and added random centers from a second chain cut from ivory card stock. As I said yesterday, I love-love-love gift cards, but in a way I feel like it's a bit of a cop-out (unless I'm receiving them), so packaging up the gift card in something real nice is pretty much obligatory when you're the crafty type and wipes away any guilty feelings. A win-win in my book!

I'll leave you with a link to the MFT WSC #103 forum thread and a peek at the full sketch. Hope my gift card pocket inspires you to fancy up all those gift cards you're handing out for Christmas this year!
~Amy

MFT WSC 102 {Warm Wishes}

Hi there, and thanks for stopping by to see what I've been stamping this week! I've actually been stamping and crafting a few last minute tags, secret snowman gifts and such, but as luck would have it, there wasn't enough time or light to photograph everything. I do have a fun little card to share with you though, using this week's MFT WSC sketch #102!

I've combined a bunch of new goodies that I received in my MFT order last weekend, including Warm Wishes PI, LLD Journal It-Calendar Basics and the new Die-namics Horizontal Gift Card Pocket die (inside).

Here's a detail of the Warm Wishes girl with her paper pieced coat and Die-namics Let It Snowflake embellishment (now realizing I forgot to bling her buttons)...she melts.my.heart. ♥

This card is going to my niece who will be celebrating her birthday shortly after Christmas, so I've fancied up the inside of the card with a gift card pocket...love gift cards, love gift card pockets! I purposely didn't photograph the inside with the gift card intact, just in case she happens to read this post, wink!

So glad you stopped by today, but before I let you go, I have to share a little excitement in my world: I'm MFT's next Guest Designer!! I can't begin to tell you how jazzed I am about being chosen for this huge honor, but I will tell you that you'll be seeing lots more of the MFT love around here, so stay tuned.  Ü

~Amy

YNS Fun Friday: Celebrate the Season

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm popping in to share a sweet little card I made for this week's YNS Fun Friday using Celebrate the Season in combination with two must-have YNS die sets: Whimsy Star and Tree Trio.

I die cut the largest Whimsy Star into my card base and then layered a piece of patterned paper behind the opening before adding my 'Charlie Brown' inspired Christmas tree all wrapped in a blanket of love and sentiment banner. The die cut tree is holding a sweet gold star cut from the smallest of the Whimsy Star dies. The fishtail banners were all cut free-hand with red buttons layered on top for a little 'extra'.

Head on over to the YNS Blog for more Fun Friday projects from the team and then have yourself a great weekend!
~Amy

YNS Mini Release: Whatnots Onesies

Welcome to the YNS Mini Release for December! I have lots of photos to share with you, so grab a cuppa and settle in! My project for the hop uses the new YNS die set called Whatnots Seasons Set One.

I came up with an original sentiment for each onesie, typed it into my Silhouette onesie file, printed them out and then ran it through the Silhouette to cut each out individually. I was able to get 4 per 8.5x11 sheet.  Each onesie features a single cut die from the Whatnots Seasons One Set, popped up on a dimensional for a little extra oomph, with the exception of the snowflake.

love you

never 'leaf' me

LUCKY

oh, man!

what's shakin'?

brr!

UR my 'sunshine'

Whew, that's a lot of laundry, eh?! Wait, there's more! Karen (as always) has some great deals going on over at the YNS Store, so be sure to stop there and check.it.out. You'll find complete details at the YNS Blog, but for now, hop along to Jen's blog for something wonderful to fill your senses!

Happy Wednesday!
Amy

MFT Guest DT Challenge

*Please scroll down for my YNS Sneak Peek*

I'm throwing my hat in the ring once again for MFT's Guest Design Team challenge. I submitted a card last month and then realized I'd missed the deadline, so this time around I made sure to get my card submitted in paw-lenty of time. Who am I kidding, I'm still a last minute lucy, sliding in just a few hours shy of the deadline. Baby steps, people, baby steps!

My card uses that new chalkboard art technique I've been dabbling in the last couple of weeks. Can't seem to make a card using MFT supplies without it. This time around I've used You Move Me Die-namics & Stamp Set along with some yummy new (to me) colors from SU!, Summer Starfruit and Midnight Muse. The stars were die cut using Die-namics Stacking Stars, and the arrow is from Lead the Way.

Glad you stopped by today. Wish me luck!
~Amy

YNS Sneak Peek Day 2

I'm sneaking you a peek at an adorable new set called Smiley Happy Critters Set One. It will be available for you to snatch up this Wednesday, yep, two sleeps from today! YNS is hosting a mini-release this month and this cute little critter set will be released along with the sweetest darn group of dies, so please stop back on Wednesday for a fun little project I've made for the hop!

I couldn't help but think of We Three Kings every time I looked at this cute frog prince, so I stamped him three times over, colored him in different regal, kingly colors and dotted them across a sandy landscape. What's a Three Wisemen landscape without the proverbial star, right? YNS's Whimsy Star Layered Die Set took care of that in short order, check!

Don't forget that Karen has more eye candy for you today from the rest of the YNS Team, so head on over to the YNS Blog for more fun and frivolity!
~Amy

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Stopping in with a quick post to show you a card I made up for this week's MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #101 using Gift Card Greetings and Document It-December in my new favorite technique, Chalkboard + Subway Art! You can see my first attempt at this fun technique here. I've also incorporated a couple of MFT's Die-namics, At the Movies and Fishtail Flags Stax. Finally, this fun little card with be going to one of two nieces who have December birthdays. They both rock, so I just might have to whip another one of these by the end of the month!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping in for a bit.
~Amy

MFT's November Favorite Find...

...is ME! Giving my stamping a nice little nod and putting MFT cha-ching in my pocket has made me a happy girl, so a big {Thanks!}, MFT! And, just because I'm feeling like tootin' my own horn, I'll leave you with links to my original post and the MFT post featuring my card. Thanks again to Betsy Veldman for her fun chalkboard art tutorial.

My Favorite Thing - Our November Favorite Find

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge 11/23/12

Have a great day, and be sure to check out the MFT Blog tomorrow for this week's MFT Wednesday Sketch!

~Amy

YNS Fun Friday

Happy Friday and thanks for checking in here today! I have a fun little 3x3 clear box gift holder to share with you today as part of this month's YNS Fun Friday Gifts & Giving theme. I've colored and fussy cut Tootega from Alaska and placed her next to her ice fishing hole which was made using the oval shaped balloon die from the YNS Balloon Trio die set.

The idea of the ice fishing hole is to 'see' what's in the box, which was originally supposed to be goldfish crackers, but my supply of goldfish crackers was somehow depleted, so I went with the next best thing--pistachios!

Here's a side view where you can see where I've attached a length of ribbon to the top flap of the box to serve as a handle.

And finally, the back view with a spot to personalize the gift box using a sentiment from Winter Smiles Robin.

 

I hope you've enjoyed my Gifts & Giving idea. Karen has lots more super cute ideas featured over at the YNS Blog today, so be sure to stop there as well. Have a great weekend!

~Amy

TCP Winter Release Blog Hop

Welcome to this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge in conjunction with a blog hop in honor of the TCP Winter Release! The hop starts off with our hostess with the mostess, Lori, or you may have hopped here from Nicole's blog. When you're finished here you'll hop on along to Chris's blog for more TCP goodness!

Lori's challenging us to get our Vintage Holiday on this week, so I went with vintage papers from Authentique's Festive 6x6 pad and the latest and greatest Sprinkle bearing gifts, also known as The New Nice!

Here's a closer look at that 'bow' topping the image panel made from  (star) points cut with the new CutUps Stars..love those stars and you can never have too many of 'em!

Hope you've enjoyed this release as much as we have. Happy shopping and hopping!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek #7: Homemade for the Holidays!

I am so stinking excited about today's Sneaky Peek! Actually, it's not stinky at all because it's all about gingerbread + man! I've used a couple of the sentiments from Homemade for the Holidays along with the coordinating CutUps Man die to create handmade + homemade gift jars. I think gift giving in a jar is the coolest.idea.ever. ♥

The larger jar is filled with almonds (that I plan to candy), but you could easily switch out the nuts for Gingerbread Cookies in jar (which I did since taking the photo), or how about Gingerbread Body Scrub?! I'm telling you...endless possibilities.  Guess what I've filled the smaller jar with?! Yep, Gingerbread Play-doh. Smells awesome, fits my budget and the kiddos love it!

Here's a view from the top where you can see the new CutUps Star & Star Rosette dies in action. I've also used one of the new CutUps Toppers for the fishtail egde of the tag. The smaller jar uses the CutUps Circus Panels for a nice layered look.

Before I sign off, I'd like to leave you with a special invite to the TCP New Release Pajama Party along with a note about the significance of this release:

The Cat's Pajamas is now 10 years old! Alma started making rubber stamps at her dining room table, hand cutting rubber and cushion and attaching them to wood blocks to sell to the local stamp stores where she was teaching. 

And so much has happened to stamping in 10 years. But our love of stamping is still going strong. So this release, we are excited to celebrate the way we started. With rubber stamps. Not just any rubber stamps. Cling Stamp sets for easy storage and positioning. Perfect for those who love rubber, but also love the convenience and ease of clear. Limited Edition because these stamps are extra special. Lovingly assembled at Alma's dining room table. Just like she did 10 years ago. So snap them up, because only a small number will be made. Her table is only so big.

There are Five CutUps Dies in this release. Along with some "classics" that belong in every die collection, we are so excited to introduce our "Toppers" line. They are shapes that you can use the positive and negatives of to create borders and panels. They are open-ended so that you can create panels of any size using the toppers. You can place them individually or use them together. Endless possibilities!

See you at the party!
~Amy

Baby {Rock Star}

Just popping in with a couple CAS baby cards I made for a baby shower I was invited to over the weekend. The outside of the card uses MFT's Gift Card Greetings and stars from At the Movies Die & Stamp Set.

baby girl rock star...

 baby boy rock star...

 baby boy inside using Gift Card Greetings...

I love how these MFT sets work together, and I  foresee a lot of ink in Gift Card Greeting's future. Ü
~Amy

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge {Subway Chalk Art}

I am a BIG (really big) fan of subway art, and then you throw in the chalkboard effect and it just about throws me over the smitten kitten edge of things. So, upon seeing Betsy Veldman's tutorial for the aforementioned super combo, I knew I had to pull out my brand spankin' new MFT set, Seasonal Sentiments, and get.to.work. Oh, and I did I mention the MFT Wednesday Sketch (Challenge) just happened to coordinate perfectly with my efforts? The stars are aligned, the stars are aligned...

If you look very closely, I've added doodling with red and green colored pencils after outlining the embossed stamping with a white pencil. Don't worry, everything you need to know is in Betsy's tutorial. This kinda stamping fun beats Black Friday shopping any day of the gosh darn week, folks! Why brave the crowds and the weather when you can stay in a stamp the day away? Ok, back to reality, I have dishes to do!
~Amy

TCP Sneaky Peek Day 3: Soar!

Just when you thought you'd seen it all in bunny cuteness, we've got another keeper who soared to the top of my bunny love list in a nano second! I like to call him 'rocket man' around my house and he makes me giggle more than usual because he reminds me of one of my favorite Big Bang Theory characters, Howard Wolowitz, whom they sent to the moon earlier this season. A big LOL in my world. Ü

Enough about Wolowitz, let's get on with all the great stuff happening at The Cat's Pajamas this week! Besides 7 days of fabulous Sneaky Peeks, there's a pre-release sale on Black Friday! The goodness culminates with a good old fashioned TCP Blog Hop on Tuesday, so be sure to check back often. You can find all up to date information at the TCP Member Co. Forum at SCS as well.

Here's info about TCP's Black Friday (and Saturday!!) Sale:

It's our 10th Anniversary and we've decided to give a little something back this year. So on Black Friday and Saturday you can purchase all our NEW Limited Edition stamp sets and dies EARLY. Yup, that's before the official release. AND we'll give you FREE shipping in the US and FREE International Shipping on all orders over $65. Happy Anniversary from us to you!

Happy Shopping!
~Amy

A Few Bucks

Popping in with a quick birthday bucks card for our nephew who is celebrating his 9th birthday today. We're smack dab in the middle of gun hunting deer season here in western Wisconsin, so I pulled out the ever so clever Paper Smooches sets, Birthday Buddies & Santa Paws, and got to work. I've also used a few fun elements from My Favorite Things (Die-namics Fresh Cut Grass),  PTI's woodgrain embossing plate, hoof prints from The Great Outdoors and my favorite tree die from Your Next Stamp (Tree Trio). I think the combination of them makes for a fun and special birthday card! It makes me smile anyway. Ü

Here's a closeup of those elusive bucks hiding in my YNS Tree Trio forest.

Happy birthday to Eli and happy Sunday to you! Thanks for stopping by today.
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 236

 Welcome to TCP Tuesday 236! Jen is our hostess this week and she's got a FaBby-faB inspiration challenge. It's hip, modern and not too square, so I tried to incorporate some of the fun circles seen in the left side of the inspiration collage. Of course the black chevron reminded me of the CutUps Mustache die, duh?! You see the connection, right? {wink} Along with my favorite-ist mustache in all the world, I used a piece of recycled/upcycled (I know there's a difference, but I don't know 'xactly what it is) corrugated cardboard from an empty wine box paired with a CutUps Circus Panels label stamped with 'thank you' from Simply Said. Patterned papers are from Echo Park (This & That Christmas) and Authentique (Blissful).

Here's Jen's cool collage...couldn't you just sit and stare at it a spell? Love it. Here's hoping you'll get a chance to play along this week. Check over with Jen for all the challenge details!
~Amy

Peace & Love

I decided to treat myself to a little stamping time last night and came up with this using the MFT Guest Designer Challenge Sketch for November. I used some old and new goodies from MFT, including Die-namics Let It Snow dies and the new set, Seasonal Sentiments (available tonight at 10pm EST). Paper is from Fancy Pants and Authentique.

Hope your day is filled with joy and peace...
~Amy

YNS Friday Fun!

This month's theme for Friday Fun at Your Next Stamp is all about gift giving, so I modified a card pouch tutorial from SCS to serve as a fun little gift idea for a co-worker, teacher or Secret Santa.

I started with a 3.5" x 11" piece of kraft cardstock, scored it at 4.5" and 6" and then rounded each corner. Before adhering a clear 3x3 box (cut in half) inside, right above each scored line, I used a small oval punch to create handles on each end.

 
I used the same stamps and dies for the 3x3 cards as the front of the card pouch, varying the colors and patterned papers.

A side view of the pouch shows the position of the clear boxes holding the 3x3 cards and envelopes. I think I could have positioned the clear box halves down just a tish for a cleaner fit.

Stop on over at the YNS Blog for more Friday Fun and have a great weekend!

~Amy

Supplies:

YNS Stamps: Winter Smiles Robin, Holiday Joy Robin (snowflake)

YNS Dies: Tree Trio

YNS New Release Hop

Hello!  Welcome to the Your Next Stamp November New Release Blog Hop!  We are so excited this month because we are introducing ANOTHER new illustrator to the YNS family ~ Macy Wong!  Her images are so super sweet and we know you are just going to love them!  We also have some adorable new Franfou images, and Mabel Designs!  To start the hop, head on over to Kerri’s Blog. 

Did someone say prizes???  We have 3 new release prizes hidden along the hop!  You must leave comments on all of the DT blogs to qualify for the prize drawing.  You have until Friday, November 9th at 12 midnight (EST) and the winners will be posted on the YNS Blog on Saturday, November 10th. 

Here's my project using the Tree Trio die, a sentiment from Winter Smiles Robin and the sweet birdie from Holiday Joy Robin: 

Karen is also offering a fabulous Hop Special ~ 15% off your entire purchase including sale items!  The code is YNSNOV2012.  She also has some great bundle deals and some awesome steals in the YNS Bargain Bin!

Now it’s time to hop on over to Peggy’s blog, but don’t forget to leave me a comment before you go!  Happy Hopping!

~Amy