MCS Feb Release Hop and GIVEAWAY!!!

Good morning! It's finally time to share all the fun new release from My Craft Spot! You can check out the entire new release HERE, and shop to your hearts content! If you just hopped here from Robin - you are in the right spot! Other wise, hop on over to My Craft Spot to start at the beginning. Kimberly has provided a prize for each of us along the hop to giveaway - more on that at the bottom of this post! Here is what I made today:

I used a few of the fun new releases for this card. First up - those fabulous Big Words Metal Dies! I cut the white cardstock using the Scrapping Life metal die - the die cut the words in the center of it. I popped out the words, die cut them again in colored cardstock, then puzzle pieced them all together. I also left the inside parts open so the pattern paper shows through. I think it gives such a fun effect!

Next, I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment from Big Sentiments 2 on some brown cardstock that I cut with the Straight Banner Metal Dies. Attached that with foam adhesive, then attached the entire panel with foam adhesive to my cardbase. 

My pattern paper is from an October Afternoon Christmas paper pad (love versatile papers!). I added a couple of MME enamel dots to finish it off - then I mailed it to my brother for his birthday...a week late (oops!)

And...I get to give away a set of these fabulous Big Words Metal Dies today! Make sure and leave me a comment before you head to your next stop - Karen! 

Here is the entire hop lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Kimberly
Gwen 

Robin

Heather (you are here)

Karen

Ally 

Sherrie 

Kate

Tanya 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have fun hopping - and have a wonderful weekend!!!

Have a Beautiful Day - Unity FWF

Good morning! Happy to be playing along with Unity Friends with Flair this morning - always a fun part of the week! 

A couple days ago I needed to mail something to Australia, and wanted to include a card. So...I set out to make a one layer card (always a fun challenge!) so that mailing costs wouldn't get too ridiculous. Here is what I ended up making:

I also used the sketch for this month's Unity {be inspired} Challenge:

Since I was making it one layer, I wanted to find a way to add some more interest to the image. So I pulled out the tree from the the February 2014 KOTM, and colored directly it with Tim Holtz distress markers , then stamped it onto my cardbase. I colored over the leaves roughly with two different shades of green, then added the brown in a few areas of the top of the tree, as well as the trunk and birdhouse. Then of course added a tiny bit of red to the heart on the birdhouse. 

The sentiment came from the September 2013 KOTM, and then I added the tiny hearts from the December 2013 KOTM by coloring them in with the same red distress marker. It was a stack of 5 hearts, so I just colored a few at a time and stamped them where I wanted them. Finished off by inking the edges of the entire card with Antique Linen distress ink, then added a couple strips of washi on the top and bottom, and finally rounded the corners. 

Also linking this up with this weeks Word Art Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by this morning! Have a great weekend!!!

MCS Feb Release - Day 5

Hello again! Welcome back to the last day of sneak peeks for the February release at My Craft Spot! Today we have a fun new die set called Tiny Doilies 2 - a great follow-up to Tiny Doilies Metal Dies, and a new stamp set that works great with both dies - Simply Sentiments. Here is what I made with them:

I cut all of the doilies, just because I couldn't pick which one to use! I ended up using 3 of the 4 because I still couldn't decide - they were all so cute! I stamped 3 different sentiments right on them - using Hero Arts ink. I used 2 different shades for each sentiment - I inked them up with one color, then rolled the top and bottom of the sentiment on the different shade. Kind of gives a fun two tone effect. Sorry the yellow shows up so bright in the photos - it's not quite as bad in person! 

I added some tiny clothespins on the top holding on to an Ivory Jute twine bow, then attached them to my card base with foam adhesive to give the clothespins enough room to fit. My pattern paper is by Crate Paper - such a pretty flower pattern! I love it!

Now the fun stuff! This week is a party - and a party is so much more fun when you have gifts, right? So hop on over to My Craft Spot and let Kimberly know what you think of the today's sneak peeks for a chance to win this fun spring stamp set:

See you back here tomorrow for the new release hop! There is a giveaway at each stop - you won't want to miss all the fun! Have a great day!!!

MCS Feb Release - Day 4

Hello again! Welcome back to Day 4 of sneak peeks for the February release at My Craft Spot! Only one more day of sneaks, then the entire reveal and hop will be on Saturday! Today we are playing with a new set to coordinate with Jar Basics - it is called Jar Full of Flowers! The perfect combination of spring fillers for Jar Basics. Here is my project:

I decided to go in a soft and monochromatic color scheme - so I stamped and heat embossed everything in white on kraft, then outlined with a Tim Holtz distress marker. I softened it a bit with a waterbrush to give a soft shadow effect. 

Next, I stamped the sentiment from the new set on vellum, wrapped it around the card, and secured it with staples. Matted the whole panel in white cardstock, then tied some Natural Jute Twine around it. 

Finished off by mounting the entire thing on an Avery Elle woodgrain card base.

Now the fun stuff! This week is a party - and a party is so much more fun when you have gifts, right? So hop on over to My Craft Spot and let Kimberly know what you think of the today's sneak peeks for a chance to win these fun Tiny Tag Dies:

See you back here again tomorrow for one more day of sneak peeks! Have a great day!!!

Cardstock Winner!!!

Good afternoon! I meant to get on and post this early today - but this is the first opportunity I had! So...the winner for my Cardstock Review and Comparison thanks to Random.org is #92 - right at the end! 

Which means the winner is:

YAY! Congrats Jacquie!!! Send me an email at housesbuiltofcards@gmail.com and I will get this in the mail to you as soon as possible!

Thanks for all the sweet comments! Have a great afternoon!!!

MCS Feb Release - Day 3

Hello again! Welcome back to Day 3 of sneak peeks for the February release at My Craft Spot! Today we got to play with a new stamp set called Scrapping Life - Calendar Stamp set and the coordinating die set we also used yesterday called Scrapping Life Cards Metal Dies. These would be awesome for Project Life or other scrapbook pages, but I decided to use these to make something to help me remember all the family birthday's I always seem to forget! 

I cut the cards with PTI cardstock, then cut the top out of MME pattern paper to adhere to the top. Stamped the calendar and all the dates at the bottom (that was a LOT of stamping - that's why I didn't finish the whole year at once - I will work on those again!) I used the smaller sized Straight Banner Dies to stamp the months on, then adhere them flat so they fit on the cards right.

See that nifty circle? That is part of the stamp set too! I used it to circle all the birthday's (that I could remember!) in each month, then I am going to write whose birthday is on that day on the back of them. I made the dates to fit this year - but I plan on keeping these for many years as a reference, and adding to them as new nieces and nephews are born - so it was definitely worth the time and effort!

Now the fun stuff! This week is a party - and a party is so much more fun when you have gifts, right? So hop on over to My Craft Spot and let Kimberly know what you think of the today's sneak peeks for a chance to win these fun sequins:

See you back here again tomorrow for more sneak peeks! Have a great day!!!

PTI February Blog Hop - Sweet Spring

{Today is the last day to leave a comment on my Cardstock Review, Comparison, and Giveaway post - I will post a winner tomorrow!}

{If you're looking for my Day 2 Sneak Peeks for My Craft Spot click HERE}

Good morning! I'm excited to be joining in this month on the monthly Papertrey Ink Blog hop - I am in love with feathers, so when PTI released Feather Finery, I knew I had to have it! I was excited to pull them out and play with them for my card for today:

Here is the photo inspiration - see the colors in the top right photo? Yep! Those are the ones I used:

I stamped my feathers with Hero Arts Mint Julep and Soft Cantaloupe ink, then added the dots in the center with Delicata Golden Glitz ink.

I matted my card with some Berry Sorbet card stock, then used Aqua Mist for my card base.

Finished off with a couple splashes of Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine.

Thanks so much for dropping by today! Hope you are having a wonderful day!!!

MCS Feb Release - Day 2

Hello again! Welcome back to Day 2 of sneak peeks for the February release at My Craft Spot! Today we got to play with a new stamp set called Scrapping Life - Everyday and a coordinating die set called Scrapping Life Cards Metal Dies. I have recently fallen in love with pocket style scrapbooking - so I was very excited to see these sets! I put them to good use on a page from nearly 2 years ago (YIKES - I'm behind!). These pics were from our family trip to Hawaii - and my sweet girls there:

See that polaroid style frame? Yep - it's part of this set! As well as those darling hearts, the tiny little camera, and the arrow. And isn't the stamp set super fun? LOVE the combination of fonts!

I added a touch of bling on the camera to mimic a flash, and as is always hard to see in the pictures, some Wink of Stella glitter on the hearts.

Here is the card placed on the layout page - still need to add some journaling, so ignore the fact that the page isn't completely finished! :-)

Now the fun stuff! This week is a party - and a party is so much more fun when you have gifts, right? So hop on over to My Craft Spot and let Kimberly know what you think of the today's sneak peeks for a chance to win this stamp set:

See you back here again tomorrow for more sneak peeks! Have a great day!!!

MCS Feb Release - Day 1

Good morning! Can you believe that it is time again to start sharing sneak peeks of another new release at My Craft Spot? As always - I continue to think each new release is better and better - and this is no exception! Today we are sharing sneak peeks of the new stamp set called Big Sentiments 2, which as you might have guessed, is a follow-up to the original Big Sentiments. I am a sucker for a good sentiment set - and this one is so much fun! Here is what I made:

I had cut that white card out the day before with my Cameo for a different project and never used it, and when I woke up the next morning, this idea popped into my head and had to be made! I did some watercoloring on a panel of watercolor paper, then attached the heart/sunbeam card right over the top. I traced some very faint pencil lines to follow with my watercolors so everything lined up how I wanted.

Once I attached that, I used some Wink of Stella on the yellow portions (which is always so hard to get a good picture of!) - then added glossy accents over just the heart portion.

Stamped my sentiment, then finished off with some of the clear sequins from the Snow Flurries sequin mix. The best part about this card? It is a perfect mail-able card! YAY!!!

Now the fun stuff! This week is a party - and a party is so much more fun when you have gifts, right? So hop on over to My Craft Spot and let Kimberly know what you think of the first day of sneak peeks for a chance to win this stamp set:

See you back here again tomorrow for more sneak peeks! Have a great day!!!

New release is coming!

Hello! Only a couple more days until sneak peeks begin for the February release at My Craft Spot! Here are a few of the projects I have been working on - can't wait to share them with you!!!

Thank You Blossoms - FWF

Hello! Joining in yet again with Unity Friends with Flair Friday! I have another card to share using the Unity January 2014 Kit of the Month:

This is another one of the images I stamped and took to color at the craft fair I went to Sunday afternoon - I just LOVE coloring flowers, and this one was so fun! 

I cut the image out using my Lil' Inker's stitched circle dies. I also used my Wink of Stella pen to add some glitter to the center darker portions of the flowers. As always, very difficult to photograph, but this picture shows it best:

Added some MME and Crate Paper pattern paper, stamped my sentiment on vellum with Staz-on ink, then attached a tiny paper clip and tied on a jute twine bow.

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful day!!!