See Her Red Boots

Well, BRRR!! We just had a cold front move through the north Texas area yesterday! I went outside for a minute around noon yesterday and it was nice and mild. Then literally five minutes later, the wind picked up (it was raining leaves in our front yard from our huge tree!), and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees! It totally proved the point--"If you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute"! The weatherpeople are even saying we may have a little mix of snow and rain on Wednesday! Now that's just yucky! I think I'll be staying home that day. Perfect weather for stamping.

Anyway, with the chill in the air, I thought it was a perfect day to post about this little sweetie I made from My Favorite Things. This little girl is from the Pure Innocence line and is called Snow Day. I colored her with Copic Markers and also highlighted the snowballs and her hat and scarf's tassles with a silver stardust gel pen. How do you like the repeated sentiment down the side?

SUSIE Q-TIP: When coloring an image, leave just a little sliver of white where you want your lightest area. It will highlight it even more and looks especially great with snow scenes. See her red boots. (That sounded like a Dick and Jane primer sentence! Look, Jane, look. See her red boots?!!)

Stamps: Snow Day (Pure Innocence by My Favorite Things)
Paper: Kraft, Kiwi (SU!), Pure Poppy, White (PTI), White Perfect Panels (MFT), DP (unknown)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Threading Water Punch (Fiskars), Ticket Corner Punch, Copic Markers, Silver Brads, Silver Stardust Gel Pen, Mint Green Polkadot Ribbon, Jody Boosters

A {Happiest Place on Earth} SFYTT

Well, Shelbie and I trekked out yesterday and started our Christmas shopping. We didn't bust any doors down or make ourselves available for trampling, but went out a little later and had a fun afternoon. We are gearing up for our trip to Disneyworld on the 19th as well, so we were sure to keep an eye out for anything fun along those lines. In fact, we bought some black and white and red and white polkadot wrapping paper for all our gifts this year! So fun!! Only 21 more sleeps until we pull out of the driveway and head east!

Needless to say, I still had Mickey Mouse on my brain (ahem) this morning (as I have all year) when I made this card. Not too long ago, I found this Cuttlebug die/embossing folder set on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $2 and HAD to get it! Remember, I'm on the lookout for all things Disney! So I thought it would be fun to try and incorporate him in my card for today's Sketch For You To Try from Jen. I added a little holly sprig from Verve's Holly Jolly set and mixed it with the sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas' Penguin Christmas set since Disneyworld IS the happiest place on earth!

This sketch did require a bit of thinking, but that doesn't mean you can't give it an old Mickey Mouse Club try!! Here's what my other SFYTT sisters did with it:
Leigh
Amy R.
Amy S.
Kelly

SUSIE Q-TIP: Listen to your hubby's cues as to how to design your card. I was putting this card together when Eric walked by and took a look over my shoulder at what I was doing. He gave me his unsolicited opinion that it needed some yellow. I shot him down and told him I didn't want to add another color and continued to figure out what I was going to do next with the card. Nothing was working. Then I tried the yellow ribbon. He was right. Forever let him hold his banner high.

Stamps: Holly Jolly (Verve), Penguin Christmas (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Basic Black, Garden Green, Kraft (SU!), Pure Poppy, White (PTI), City Dots (Heidi Swapp)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Scallop Square Nestabilities, Mickey Head Die/Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Buttons, Yellow Satin Ribbon, Copic Markers, Glue Dots, Hot Glue, Jody Boosters

Leftovers are the Best!--Verve Thankful Hearts Blog Hop

Well, it’s new release time at Verve and we’re topping off our Thankful Hearts Blog Party with a blog hop featuring three new sets that just released, all focused on thankfulness. If you’ve been hopping and arrived from Jackies’ blog, then you’re right where you should be. If you’ve just happened by, then you’ll want to hop on over to Poetic Artistry to start from the beginning! And to make this hop even sweeter, we’ve got a special treat hidden along the way for one lucky commenter. So if you see something that makes you smile, be sure to give a little shout-out in the comments for a chance to win our entire release!

Anyway, for my card here, I thought it would be only fitting the day after Thanksgiving, to use a few little "leftovers" from previous projects! The tree was an extra from my Verve Project Parade Christmas box. The little black frame was also from that project after I cut it with my Slice machine only to figure out it was smaller than I had wanted it to be. I used the little sentiment from the set coming out tonight, Thankful Hearts and matched it up with my new Fleur de Lis Cuttlebug folder and some more scraps from my desk and then finished it up with some cream organdy and heated it up (just like leftovers!) to give it a little crinkle!

Thanks for hopping by! Next up on the hop is… LYNDA! Have fun!

SUSIE Q-TIP: I think I've said this one before, but it never hurts to hear it again. Re-purpose your leftovers. If you've cut something from your die cutting machine, stamped something that didn't fit with your original plan, or punched something that wasn't the right color, just push it to the side in a little pile within eyesight, and try to reuse them for another project soonafter.

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks (Verve)
Paper: Basic Black (SU!), Vintage Cream, Ripe Avacado (PTI), Mistletoe (MM)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Accessories: Slice Machine/Noteworthy Card, Diamond Dust, Cream Organdy Ribbon, Heat Tool, Fleur de Lis Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Threading Water Punch (Fiskars), Jody Boosters

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I just put the bird in the oven. I hope I did it right. He did get his last revenge on me, though before that. As I was washing him and preparing him for his final destination, Turkey bird accidently hit the faucet on the sink and squirted MUCH water/blood right into my face! So as I sit here writing this, I have turkey guts in my hair and who knows where else. I just wanted to write a quickie little post today to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family! I am very thankful for all of you! I hope ya'll's Turkey birds come out great and that they were nicer to you than mine was to me. He only thinks he's getting the last word in. My mouth says otherwise.

SUSIE Q-TIP: Don't bother showering before preparing your turkey for the big bad oven. Even from their deathbed, turkeys will try to get a leg up on you.

Stamps: Gobble it Up (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Smokey Shadow (PTI), White Perfect Panels (MFT), Lil' Man (Cosmo Cricket)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Scor-Pal, Circle Punches, Copic Markers, Silver Brads, Jody Boosters

MFT is a Slam Dunk

Well, today I have another installment of "My Kids are Funny and I Don't Know Where They Get It From". The other night, we were playing the Disney Channel version of the DVD game, Scene It. Now if you aren't familiar with the game, the short answer is that it's an interactive DVD game that shows little clips and such from the Disney Channel on your TV (or whatever version of the game you have), and you have to answer questions about the clips to move ahead on the gameboard. So we were playing and both Lindsie and Audrie blurted out the answer to a question at the same time. There's a remedy for this installed into the game called a "Tiebreaker". You click on it on the menu screen of the game. Sometimes it can be whoever has the smallest hands wins the tie or little things like that. This time, what popped up on the screen was, "Whoever says a basketball term first, WINS"! My sweet little 6 year old Audrie read the screen fastly and screamed out---"A BASKETBALL TERM!!" She clearly won the tie and we clearly cracked up laughing hysterically.

So for my cards today, how about a "Slam Dunk" withMy Favorite Things? This past release was one of the best EVER and I have a couple of cards here that I had fun putting together for it. The first one uses the new Cool Yule set and I just HAD to give them an "ice cold" look with the pastels and grays. BRRRRR!!!! Then we have good ol' Flopsey here, trimming his tree with a bunch of swarovski crystals from MFT (he knows how to make the holiday more merry, and I know how to make my card really sparkly!).

Anyway, I'm off to bed--plenty to do tomorrow--clean, make pies, thaw a turkey, make cards and then repeat only replace the word thaw with cook.

SUSIE Q-TIP: Turkeys must be thawed in the refrigerator starting a few days before Thanksgiving. Do not leave them out on the counter to thaw for that period of time. They will start to stink and then, as my mom says, "You have to worry about botchelism". I think I may have done this in the beginning of my domesticated life. Don't ask me to tell ya'll for sure. I don't want to talk about it.

Cool Yule Card
Stamps: Cool Yule (MFT)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon (PTI), Cherry Hill (October Afternoon)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Bashful Blue (SU!)
Accessories: Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Scissors, Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Copic Markers, Adhesive Rhinestones, Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Jody Boosters

Tree Trimming Flopsey Card
Stamps: Tree Trimming Flopsey (MFT)
Paper: Kraft (SU!), White Perfect Panels (MFT), Scarlet Jewel (PTI), Dk. Green Core'dinations, Figgy Pudding (Basic Grey)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Copic Markers, Swarovski Crystals (MFT), Button, Silver Twine, Brown Satin Ribbon, Hot Glue, Jody Boosters

Verve Project Parade

Well, in case ya'll aren't follwing along with the Verve Project Parade, you should be!! There have been some beyond fantastic projects over there, and they are all under $10. You could literally make all your Christmas gifts by looking at ONE BLOG for ideas!! Here's mine, and don't forget to read all the way to the bottom to see how YOU could win some Verve Stamps!! OH and also, join us at the Verve BLOG on Friday for some new release fun!!

Well, someone told me ya'll like easy and inexpensive projects! So today I have another idea that fits both of those categories! I've had this project in mind for quite some time now and was waiting for just the right opportunity to make and share it! Then when Julee came out with these wonderful Christmas stamps, especially this larger sentiment and these cute Christmas trees from the set, Christmas in the Air, it all clicked!

It started out as a plain wooden Organizer Box from Glue Art and Paper Studio. Now it's a wonderful way to display and store my Christmas cards that I'll be collecting as the season goes by. I spray painted it red and then sealed it with a Matte Clear Spray sealant.

I then made the panels to fit each side using some fun paper from Making Memories and my trusty Old Olive cardstock from SU!. They were easily adhered with Scor-Tape to make sure they will be staying on for the long haul! Then I made the little framed piece with my Slice machine and Noteworthy card.

I stamped the trees on some more of the patterned paper and covered them with Diamond Dust for a little sparkle and attached them as well. The fun felt snowflakes were added to each end of the box "just because". See? An easy, pretty and inexpensive way to wow your Christmas visitors with your cards on display!

So, now it's your turn! We'd love for you to play along with us and show us your homemade goodies for the upcoming giving season! Verve stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em, why not use 'em?

And, as with all of our project parades, we've got prizes!
To enter, just link up your Home for the Holidays creation to the Mr. Linky widget at Day One's post before midnight MST on Thursday, November 26. One lucky stamper will win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve Store. And for another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout out in the comments as they parade their fabulous creations inspired by this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (Nov 11 - 25) will win their choice of any Verve set.

SUSIE Q-TIP: When I was making the large panels to fit the sides of the box, they started to curl slightly upward as the paper "sized" with the liquid glue on it. I simply turned them over "backside up" on my table to dry before adhering them to the box. This made them dry much flatter, so they won't be trying to "peel" up away from the box.

Stamps: Christmas in the Air (Verve)
Paper: Old Olive, Basic Black (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI), Mistletoe (MM)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Cranberry Crisp, Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Accessories: Organizer Box (GLUE), Red Spray Paint/Sealer, Slice Machine/Noteworthy Card, Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Threading Water Punch (Fiskars), Copic Marker, Adhesive Rhinestones, Felt Snowflakes, Polkadot Ribbon, Buttons, Twine (PTI), Diamond Dust, Hot Glue, Jody Boosters

An {A+ Plus} Sketch For You To Try

Well, I know that my blogging needs to be kicked up a notch or two, so I'm sorry if you've missed me! Somehow my life got crazy all of a sudden! I'm sure that NEVER happens to ya'll! Plus, I'm behind on updating my calendar, and when that happens, I don't know what end is up! I'm sure you've got along just fine without me. However, just in case, I thought I'd go over a little synopsis of stuff that's been going on over here at the Liles' household and to get you caught up on the drama:

--Lots of refereeing my daughters' "everything has to be equal and fair" battles. (So I ate the "unequal part" of the cookie to make them exactly the same size.)
--I'm now taking a Yoga class on Tuesday nights.
--We gave our dog Hopper, some Pop Rocks candy. (His mouth made a lot of crackling sounds.)
--I found a glass patio table at Goodwill for $22 bucks! (It was halfprice day.)
--I now need some outdoor chairs.
--I'm helping Audrie (the 6 year old) decide if she'd be more famous playing soccer as opposed to gymnastics. She wants to be on TV.
--We bought our oldest daughter Shelbie's, cap and gown for her graduation this spring. Can we say party and sigh of relief all at the same time?
--Lindsie told me she couldn't put ALL of her spelling words in alphabetical order because they didn't start with a letter from the alphabet.
--I had a little "procedure" done yesterday and am wishing I was still under the anesthesia's spell. (You can only fake it for so long.)

Anyway, on top of all that, I've been helping a lot at the girls' elementary school here lately. So for today's Sketch For You To Try, I wanted to make a little "Thank You" card for one of the teachers up there. Jen's sketch calls for three large embellishments across the top and down the side of the card, so I went for some chipboard letters. The little girl is from My Favorite Things' Pure Innocence line of stamps. This one is called Apple for You. She's so cute! Are ya'll loving these as much as I am? I want them ALL!!

Ok, I've got to go and make some more projects, schedule some more blog posts, you know, the usual! In fact, check out my Verve Project Parade post HERE!

I hope ya'll get to play with us today. Here's a little more inspiration from my SFYTT sisters who all get an A+++++ in my book!!!
Leigh
Amy R.
Amy S.
Kelly

SUSIE Q-TIP: Instead of making your stamped image the center of it's very own panel, offset it to make room for embellishments along its side or leave space below it for a ribbon or sentiment banner to run across the bottom of it.

Stamps: Pure Innocence--Apple for You (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue (SU!) White Perfect Panels (MFT), GP White, Cherry Hill (October Afternoon)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Copic Markers, Chipboard Letters (K & Company), Red Saddlestitch Ribbon (PTI), Button (MFT), Twine, Glue Dots, Jody Boosters

Blowing KISSes

Well I'm working on stuff like there's no tomorrow. I have to have several commitments taken care of by around December 12th, when company comes to town for the holidays. And when you commit to something, you pretty much have to do it, or a least that's my motto, although there are some out there that would disagree. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, I thought I'd just pop in to say hi and no, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Tomorrow (Friday) is my little "procedure", so I'm not sure how much I'll be worth for a bit. I'll have my Sketch for You To Try posted on Saturday. I plan on doing that tonight, while I'm not eating or drinking anything after midnight. Like I do THAT all the time.

So here's a picture from several years ago (in fact it's from before I knew him). It's my husband. Yes, this is the man that will be taking care of me after my surgery. You've come a long way, babe. I'll talk to ya'll soon.

A {Your Next Stamp} Sketch For You To Try

Well, I made a boo boo. But it's turned out to be a Good Thing. It's been a crazier than usual week. I'm busily finishing up my projects for the Dirty Dozen gallery that opens up tomorrow. I've been helping in my kids' classrooms at school this week and also doing a TON of stuff for the school Fall Festival that is today. I won't go into it, but it's more than I can write here. Yesterday alone was a killer as all those projects and then some had to get wrapped up, on top of getting the news that I will be having a small surgery next Friday to help fix something that's "broken" as far as my bodily functions go (TMI? Sorry!). There were several times I pretty near emailed Jen to tell her I was just going to have to skip out on the Sketch For You To Try today, but she is so good to me, I just hated letting her down. So I started on a card anyway yesterday afternoon, saying to myself, 'it really won't take THAT long!' Well, I hated my card and how it was turning out so I called her to tell her to not expect anything outstanding from me because basically, my card was awful. THAT'S when she reminded me that today was the day we were helping out a friend and using her store's stamps! I had my card all done up with another company's. Oopsie! Therefore, no card from me today. However, I did manage to save it and I'll be using it for one of my Dirty Dozen projects. Just look for my "More is More" entry! See? A silver lining--it's a Good Thing.


Anyway, I hope you've already heard of Your Next Stamp, but just in case you've been a little busy and haven't afforded yourself the luxury of browsing the store, this is your chance! Karen has some amazingly FUN stamps to play with and even some Digi's if that's your thing! The Fhiona line with the cute little girls are my favorite! I WILL be using them in the near future since I missed out this time.

Another Good Thing: If you will play along with us this week, each participant will be entered to win a $10 gift certificate to the YOUR NEXT STAMP store. Just link your creation to Mr. Linky over on Jen's Blog. The winner will be announced on next Saturday’s SFYTT post over there as well.

For now, check out my SFYTT sisters' creations. I've got a carnival to get to!
Leigh
Amy R.
Amy S.
Kelly

SUSIE Q-TIP: Read directions before starting on something so that you don't mess up. However, if messing up occurs, make the best of it and find a silver lining.

TCPTUES84---A Holiday Hop

Well, it's TCP Tuesday and it's also time for a New Release Holiday Blog Hop to show off the 5 new Clearly Swanky stamp sets, new Holiday Glitzy Glitter and new buttons that The Cat's Pajamas will be releasing tomorrow, the 10th. Since I'm the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess, the Hop starts with me! But first shall I go over what this week's stamp challenge is? Since we're already getting into the holiday spirit with these new sets, the challenge will be to use any TCP stamps to celebrate any December holiday, up to and including New Year's Day.

Here's a few simple rules as to how the TCPTUES challenges work:
1. All challenge entries will go into the monthly Swanky Stamper contest. That means $25 in Cat's Cash to spend on new stamps at The Cat's Pajamas.
2. Since this week's challenge is a STAMP Challenge, TCP stamps are required.
3. Link your card to Alma's blog, which really means you'll be uploading it into her guest book/slide show (cool and easy, remember?!).

Now, how about a little about my card? I used the new Shine Bright Clearly Swanky set to make this Joyous Chanukah card. Is there something in one of the pictures you've seen before? Yep, I made it to match the little dreidel I showed ya'll HERE a couple of weeks ago. Well, actually, I made the card first and then the dreidel, but decided to hold off on showing the card until now to make it be for this Holiday Hop! I used some of the new Holiday Glitzy glitter around the circular piece and it's super sparka-lay in real life! I love this set, and even though we don't celebrate Chanukah, there's still a few images in it that are wonderful for other types of holiday cards. Ok, so are ya'll ready to be WOWED by all the cuteness of these new sets? Ya'll are going to want ALL of them!! They are my favorite TCP stamps so far! Head on over to Toni's blog, Moved to the Mountains . Thanks for hopping along!

SUSIE Q-TIP: Ok, so I don't really have a tip, but knew that ya'll would look here. (Teehee--I've got ya'll trained!) Remember back on my dreidel post, I was having a little contest for two of ya'll to win a copy of the latest issue of Paper Crafts? Did ya'll not wonder who ever won? I decided to wait until now to chose the winners! My question was for ya'll to guess what I had put inside my dreidel. Several of you guessed candy, gold coins, stamping stuff, chocolate and even money. No one got it completely right--Hershey Kisses!! So the girls just randomly drew two names and they are: Lara and terriavidreader! If you two girls will email me with your addresses, I'll get these in the mail to you. Congrats!

Stamps: S-9675-Shine Bright (The Cat’s Pajamas)
Paper: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy (SU!), Aqua Mist, White (PTI), City Dots (Heidi Swapp)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Not Quite Navy, Cool Carribean (SU!)
Accessories: Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Paper Frills (Doodlebug), Black/White Stitched Ribbon, Holiday Glitzy Glitter 03 (TCP), Glittering Glue (MS), Foam Boosters

Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

Well, we are getting pretty excited about the holidays around here. As of today, there's only 40 more sleeps until we head off to Disneyworld for Christmas! I know it's a little early for decorations and all, in fact we aren't even going to go to the extremes of decorating that I usually go to much since we will be gone, but I saw the cutest little light up decoration at Walgreen's yesterday and I think the girls and I "need" it. It's a lightup outline of a Mickey Mouse head with a Santa hat on to put in your window. How fun and perfect is that?! Maybe we can rig it and put it on the car! And we also saw a Santa hat with Mickey ears attached at Target. That will be another "must-have" for the trip. Meanwhile (back at the farm), we are starting to get in a little Christmas shopping already since we will be having all our family festivities before the trip. Here's a great idea that we are doing and I want to share it with all of ya'll that do "Chinese Christmas" gift exchanges. We started them a couple of years ago for the adults in our family, even though our family is not that big. It's just fun! So for this year, we've decided to make it a "themed" Chinese gift exchange. All our gifts will be "AS SEEN ON TV" items! Isn't that a cool idea? I'm hoping for a Snuggie or maybe some Bumpits! Come on, ya'll know you want some of those things, too! Next year, I may even be clapping my lights off and on. A cool feature to have with the Mickey Mouse light I'm getting.

Anyway, here's a little package decoration I made with another one of the Pure Innocence girls from My Favorite Things. She's from the set, Flurry of Love and I think she's becoming my favorite one so far. I took a chipboard candy cane from Making Memories that I've had for years and painted it red with the whitish stripes using a white paint pen to make it sort of "shiny" looking (an old tole painting trick). You could find a candy cane pattern (like THIS ONE) instead if you want and cut it from cardboard. I inked it all around each edge to give it some more depth which totally made it look better! I highly recommend doing this with a brown ink. My candy cane had see through holes for the "white" part, so I backed it with some patterned paper, but you could just paint the red and white stripes like normal before inking the edges. I then ran some Glossy Accents (Crystal Effects) around the edges and spooned on some Diamond Dust (chunky glass) for sparkle. I LOVE that stuff on Christmas projects!

While it was drying, I made the tag. The last part was to tie the big, fluffy bows and attach the tag to them. It seems like a lot of steps to create it, but it really didn't take all that long. Hmm...should I put this on one of my "as seen on tv" packages? LOL!

SUSIE Q-TIP: When coloring faces with Copic markers, be careful not to touch the eyes, nose, hair, etc. with your pens. Just barely go around them and let the ink "seep" over to them for coverage in those areas. Even the best of black inks may run and you don't want black blotches on a cute little girl's face. There's not a thing you can do about it but start all over when it happens. Don't ask me how I know this. I don't want to talk about it.

Stamps: Flurry of Love (MFT)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (SU!), White Perfect Panel (MFT), October Afternoon
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chestnut Roan Cat's Eye (Colorbox), Antique Linen (Ranger)
Accessories: Chipboard Candy Cane (MM), Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Copic Markers, Glossy Accents (Ranger), Diamond Dust, Country Red Acrylic Paint (DecoArt), White Paint Pen, Red/White Stripe Ribbon (SU!), Brown Gingham Ribbon, Button (MFT), Twine

A {Believe in Elves} Sketch For You To Try

Well, we did it again. We played our little cookey game. We "won", so to speak, too and are much less thirsty than we would have been if we had lost it. Yep, we are three for three in the "Put-your-drink-on-the-back-bumper-of-the-car-and-see-if-it-makes-it-there-all-the-way-home" game! You see, we discovered that by accident a while back when I accidently left my soda on the back bumper of my car and drove away--Far away, like even on the freeway, away. It was there when we got home, so I finished drinking it. So now it's a little game we like to play every now and then. I took the girls to McDonald's last night and Lindsie put her drink up for collateral. I have an Expedition, so we always open the back side windows to see if we can still hear the ice sloshing around while we're driving and are constantly checking the mirrors and the road behind us to see if there's been a casualty. Last night, victory was ours once again. Audrie was especially happy. Just like I used to think there were little elves inside the traffic lights changing them for the drivers, maybe there's a little bumper elf holding tightly to our drink so that it doesn't fall! OOHH! Next time, I think we should try TWO drinks! I'll let ya'll know how that goes.

Anyway, speaking of elves, I love the sentiment I did on this card for Jen's Sketch For You To Try. (Yep, it's Saturday again and time for another installment of ya'll's favorite challenge!) These stamps are a little sneak peek from The Cat's Pajamas and are part of a fun set called Give a Little. Ya'll are going to LOVE the 5 sets coming your way on the 10th! My favorite TCP release yet! Don't you just love that little bear? I colored him with my Copics and I've fallen back in love with outlining everything in a light blue again for a little pop. Why did I quit doing that?

Well, we have a TON of stuff to do today, so I better get moving and let ya'll find the sketch and our new Guest Designer over on Jen's Blog, and then check out my SFYTT sisters for some more inspiration before you get started on your own card...that's a HINT to play along and use keyword SFYTT!
Leigh
Amy R.
Amy S.
Kelly

SUSIE Q-TIP: Gluing panels on top of a "cuttlebugged" piece can be tricky. Plan to sew them down or use brads to keep them from popping back up. If you get too frustrated with it, take the kids for a spin and play the "Put-your-drink-on-the-back-bumper-of-the-car-and-see-if-it-makes-it-there-all-the-way-home" game to take your mind off your card for a little bit. Then come back to it with your nice refreshing drink. Good Luck and may the elves be with you.

Stamps: S-9678 Give A Little (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Shimmer Black and Red (CutCardstock.com), Pretty in Pink (SU!), Mistletoe (MM), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Circle and Labels One Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Sewing Machine/Black Thread, Copic Markers, New Leaf Grosgrain Ribbon (PTI), Silver Brads, Button (TCP), Silver Cord, Jody Boosters

Free to Good Home

EDITED: THE STAMPS WENT LIKE HOTCAKES! FREE HOTCAKES!! I'VE GOT MORE TO GO THROUGH, AND MORE RETIRED MFT, SO STAY TUNED. I'LL POST A FEW MORE SETS SOON. THANKS TO ALL WHO EMAILED ME AND YOUR SWEET COMMENTS!

Well, no, not free kittens, but almost!! I am making very slow progress on my mission to make a little room in my craft studio. However, I came across this little stack of 4 stamp sets from My Favorite Things that I had set aside a while back because they are retired and I won't be using them anymore. Since I'm on the design team, I thought it would be fun to give these away to someone who could actually use them. Nothing fancy about how I'll work this. Just be the first one to EMAIL me that you'd like them and I can put them in the mail to you tomorrow if you are sure to include your address. I am not breaking up the sets, it's the lot or nothing. Two are used and two are new and have no packaging except one set, as that is how we get them from Kim. I have also written the set names on the plastic sheet with a Sharpie (because I love Sharpie markers).

Here's the set names:
I'm Pullin' for You Flopsey
Gardener Flopsey (new)
Nature Calls
Back to School WTG (new)

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!!

MFT Blog Hop "After Party"

Well, have ya'll been following along with all the sneak peeks this week for this month's release from My Favorite Things? It's an incredible release--so MANY cute new stamp sets!! Were you at the wonderful release party tonight? Those are always so much fun and full of inspiration, right? Well now, ya'll are hopefully hoppin' along for the "after-party" in this BLOG HOP! If you just happened upon my blog to see what ol' susiestampalot has been up to just out of the blue, then I highly recommend starting at the beginning of the hop, for even more fun over on Kim's blog HERE. It's your chance to find even more inspiration with the new sets, so that once you get yours, you'll have lots of ways to use them! My card features the new set, Gifty Girl. You may have seen it before with one of the MFT Kits, but the kit was such a hit, that she's being offered as a stand alone mini set! There are so many possibilities with this set--can't you just picture gift card holders, shopping list notebooks, and maybe even a "bag-lady" birthday card! That would be funny! Either way, I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with using your new MFT!

Your next stop on the hop is the oh so talented Cindy Haffner! I'm sure she has some fabulosity up her sleeve for ya'll to gaze upon!

SUSIE Q-TIP: If you happen to install brads too close to an edge or corner and can't seem to get them bent just right so they don't peek out from one side, the brad "legs" are easily cut with an old pair of scissors. Watch your eyes though, so it doesn't fly up and get you. My glasses have come in very handy a couple of times.

Stamps: Gifty Girl (MFT)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral (SU!), Cream Perfect Panel (MFT), October Afternoon DP
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chestnut Roan Cat's Eye (Colorbox)
Accessories: Labels One, Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, Threading Water Border Punch (Fiskars), Copic Markers, Cream Brads, New Leaf Satin Ribbon, Twine (PTI), Button (MFT), Jody Boosters

Pure Innocence is Here!

Well, I've been absolutely beside myself about some new stamps that I couldn't show ya'll....until NOW!!! Yep, My Favorite Things is going to debut an exclusive new line of stamps this Wednesday, November 4th (it's November already!) called Pure Innocence. Isn't she so cute? There's actually going to be five different little sets, each with a little girl and one or two sentiments. I've had so much fun playing with these sweet little girls!

I have a few more cards and projects that I made with them that I'll have to show ya'll a little later (probably at the release party!). This little Pure Innocence set is called Flower Girl. I wanted to make her bright and use some fun colors, so I went with my favorite--YELLOW and then added some other brights along with it for good measure! There's LOTS more sneaks to see from some of the other MFT Design Team. You can get a list and links over on Kim's blog HERE all week for a plethora of Sneak Peeks of the plethora of sets coming this WEDNESDAY!

I have to admit, the whole time I was making this card, this OLD song by Brenda Lee was going through my head....'I'm sorry,...So sorry...'!! I am SO not old enough to know that song!!! There. Now it can be in ya'll's heads all day. Just say you're sorry and get on with it, girl!

SUSIE Q-TIP: Use thin strips of cardstock to thread your buttons (if you absolutely cannot stand them to be naked). Just thread them from the front with two separate pieces and trim the ends if you want to. The glue dot not only secures them in place, but also makes for easy attachment to your project. This way, your "threading" will always match.




Stamps: Flower Girl Pure Innocence (MFT)
Paper: More Mustard, Barely Banana (SU!), Pure Poppy (PTI), White Perfect Panels (MFT), K & Company DP
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Sewing Machine/White Thread, Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Copic Markers, Apple Green Grosgrain Ribbon, Button (MFT), Glue Dot, Jody Boosters