MFP New Release Blog Hop - Day 1 - Tweet Blessings

Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers' Design team Blog hop for the August Release! Today we are highlighting Tweet Blessings.

Kent and I love to go hiking and bird watching and I needed a little notebook to record where we go and what birds we see. This new stamp set is perfect for my project.

I started with a 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" Composition Notebook. I cut panels to fit the covers, stamped on them and attached them to the notebook. Before adhereing the front cover - I made a book mark by ataching the hummingbird charm to 10" of gold cord with a knot. I taped the end on the front cover before attaching the piece of stamped designer paper so it comes out at the top and loops into the notebook.

I did a little stamping on the inside covers and on the pages.
And here's the back.

I used my Brother P-Touch Label Maker for the "Bird Sightings" title on my little notebook.

And now for all the deets about our blog hop - be sure to read how you can win new MFP Stamps!

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop. Our very talented Design Teams have created exciting paper crafts for your inspiration. With the addition of New Design Team members to inspire you, this is going to be a really fun-packed Hop!

We have 4 New Stamp Sets Released today: Tweet Blessings, Flourished Sea Creatures, Regal & Proud, and Owl Be Here. For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on August 10, 11, 12, and 13, 2010.

On Saturday, (August 14, 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day.)

THAT MEANS IF YOU MISS A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES WIN! And, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

August Guest Designer- Wendy

Nancyruth

Lois
Vicky

Jeanne

Anne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith

Susan

Judi

Connie

Emily

Karen

Patty

Roxie

Vicki

Julia - Me!

Liz
Claudine
Joanne T
Mark’s Finest Papers

Stamps: MFP - Tweet Blessings

Paper: White - MFP, DP Dream Street Papers/Sam-Change is Good

Ink: Ranger Distress - Bundled Sage, Stormy Sky, Tea Dye, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Composition book, pink Zutter 1/2" corner rounder, gold cord - MFP, Hummingbird charm - MFP, Sponge and applicator - Ranger, Brother P-Touch Label Maker, scor tape.

My Secret Recipes

Ok - are you ready for this explanation!?!?!

I made this long tall recipe book for 5 challenges today!

I used 1) this week's SCS sketch 2) this week's SCS colors, 3) Mudder's Tea Pot Challenge, 4) an old challenge from last Oct's World Card Making Day to make something with dimension - and 5) this week's Doubledog Dare challenge from Itsapassion (Anne) to use 4 challenges on your card/project!

For this week's teapot party we're in my neck of the USA woods (Hampton Falls, NH) at an apple orchard and we're trying to solve the crime of a worm getting squished in an apple - I know it's weird but that's what all Tuesdays are with da Mudder! (plus everything's pretty frozen up there right now too! - but in make believe anything's possible right?!)

So anyway - This is my SECRET recipe book (wink, wink) you can see the heavy security of it with the heart lock and the ribbon knotted tightly shut - and I think there are some clues to who's the bad apple inside - we can all take a gander when we gather in the orchard! (as you can see - the first page is written in invisible ink! LOL!!)

All the stamps on this are from Waltzingmouse Stamps Please see the links to the sets below.

....and you are welcome to join along with the Doubledog Dare Challenge to use 4 challenges on your card - can you handle it??? put DDC in your keywords on Split Coast if you can!!!

Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Little Box Labels, Very Vintage Labels No 4, Peace & Plenty
Paper: Elegant Eggplant - SU, Dark Chocolate - PTI, DP Bitty Box Basics - PTI, Sabrina - Making Memories
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics - E33, N2, glitter - SU, Quickee Glue Stick, Ribbon - PTI, foam dimensionals, white lined notepad & cover template - PTI

A Peek at Plant Prints

Well, I hope you are as excited as I am to see this great stamp set called Plant Prints from Kristin over at Artful INKables. If you love nature and the woods - you will love this set - It will be available for sale at her on line store on Tuesday - July 1st so be sure to check it out over there! In the meantime - you can see the great sets she has there already!

On this project I am highlighting 3 of the sets 8 stamps. A beautiful fern sprig and a pair of leaves - one small, one large.


For my project I used a journal that I piked up on sale at an art store - it's about 4 7/8" x 3 1/2". It had a navy cover with some advertising on it - so I needed to cover that up with this great woodsy designer paper by Basic Grey called Mellow Automne. I used my spiral punch to punch on the top edge and it fit right in around the coils! I distressed and sponged the edges before attaching it to the cover.

Then I stamped the fern on a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock - first with Lake Mist ink to look like they were in the background and then with Lettuce Ink - both by Adirondack. I distressed the edges and sponged everything with Hazlenut Ink.

I stamped the leaves, cut them out, and curled them a little bit around my finger tip. Then I put a foam dimensional in the curve and layered them to the panels. The FABULOUS sentiment is from the Basic Salutations set that has a whopping 18 stamps in it - words and phrases for all occasions!! It will be available on July 1st also.

Here's a close up of the cluster of leaves.

and here is a closer look at the font on the sentiment - I love the smaller size font on the first word and the mixture of regular and italic letters.

To finish off my little notebook - I cut 9 ribbons about 6" long each and double knotted them around the coils - then I trimmed them at an angle to an even length. I also added one knotted piece to the top corner of the panel.

I use notebooks like these to write down the recipes for the cards I make - or you could use it for a journal or a too do list.

Thanks so much for stopping by - tomorrow I'll have another fun project to share with you so be sure to drop by!

Paper: Naturals Ivory: SU, DP - Basic Grey Mellow Automne, Wire bound notebook

Ink: Hazelnut, Espresso, Lake Mist, Lettuce: Adirondack, Onyx Black Versafine

Stamps: Artful INKables: Plant Prints, Basic Salutations

Supplies: Edge Distresser - Heidi Swapp, spiral punch: Stampin Up, Dotted green and brown grosgrain ribbons - Michaels, foam dimensionals, sponge.

An Altered Journal & Workshops with Lauren

I have had 2 very crafty days! First, last night I altered this little 4 3/4" x 4" note pad. I bought it on sale at a Utrecht Art Store. It just had a plain cover and has lined paper inside. I use books like this to record every card or project I make - listing supplies and how I made it for future reference.

For this one - I cut 4 pieces of Basic Grey Archaic designer paper 3 1/2" x 4 3/4" and attached them to the covers - inside and out. I sponged the edges with Vintage Photo DistressInk. I also cut a piece 1/2" x 3" to slip inside the Pentel RSVP pen so it matches. I stamped the Cornish Heritage Farms background stamp - Lined Paper - with Terre Cotta Adirondack ink and cut a small piece off it. I over stamped the sentiment by Inkadinkado in Ranger Distress Ink Vintage photo - sponged and distressed the edges. I punched a hole in the side and attached a large eyelet using my Cropadile and looped a piece of ribbon through it. I attached it to the cover with foam dimensionals. I punched the Martha Stewart butterfly 3 times - sponged them with the Vintage Photo ink and attached them as shown.


On the inside cover I stamped this fun lined note stamp - Rock & Roll Page by Hampton Arts with Terre Cota Adirondack ink - sponged the edges with Vintage photo, distressed them, and attached it with adhesive tape.

Here is the back view - and you can see all the ribbons I knotted on the binding wires. I cut them about 6" each - double knotted them and then trimmed the edges. I also added a long narrow piece you can see sticking out - I use that for a book mark.
I took my fun book with me to an all day Workshop I attended that was taught by Lauren Meader - I know you probably know Lauren - she has the most wonderful blog and is a past member of the Dirt Pile on SCS. When I saw she was teaching these workshops and it was just 1 hour from my home - I jumped to register! It was held at the Papertree, 865 Second St., Manchester, NH so if you're ever in that area - stop by and say hello to the owner, Michelle, and check out all her wonderful stamping supplies - I brought two bags full of them home with me - but I left some there for you!

Here is a picture of all the things we created today - I took 3 workshops - from 10 am - 5 pm!

I know you can't really see them very well - but from left to right they are: a door knob hanger with a little box attached on the front - that is butterfly DP and punched butterflies on it and the sentiment says Thanks a Million. The Cylinder item has an acetate circle window on it (looks white in pic) and you fill this with candies - it's tied from bottom to top with a brown ribbon. Next is a fun Lollipop holder stamped with the cute dog sherrif from the Cat's Pajamas Set and the row of buildings from the set stamped on the brown part. There are holes punched on the top that you put the lollipops through. Next in purple is a beautiful box made from plain Bazzill paper and a beautiful floral paper that is tied closed with a gorgeous brown satin ribbon. We made 8 lovely monogramed cards using the Just Rite Monogram stamper to put inside. In front of that is a pouch that is sort of like a french frie container with a cute birthday bird stamped on it - that is made from one piece of 12x12 DP! Next is a beautiful flower basket made of layers of Nestability scalloped circles in graduated sizes - how cute is that!! And finally - another box made of 2 sheets of DP - corners tied with ribbons - and inside a stamped note pad and 4 stamped cards. A super, super creative day!!

And, of course, I had to take a picture of myself with the famous Lauren - to prove I really met her! She is just as sweet, lovely and talented as she is on her blog! She is going to be running more classes at this shop and I hope to be able to get to them!

And to top off my crafty day - I made this as a Thank You gift for Lauren. She had said it was her first time teaching at a craft shop (other than doing Stampin Up workshops) so I thought it would be nice for her to have something to remind her of this day.
The little monogram cards are 3"x3" so you can tell how big the canvas 'bag' is - I made this out of Confetti Cream card stock by Stampin Up and a navy blue card stock. The pattern for the bag is from a book called "Paper for All Seasons" by Sandra Lounsbury Foose you can find it on Amazon.com and other places it's about $19.95. The little monogramed notes are made using the Just Rite Monogram stamp, my scalloped circle nestability, DP by Scrapborer SCRB decorative collection, and Bashful Blue cardstock by SU. I tucked 4 inside the bag. The star is another nestability cut and embossed and stamped with a sentiment from My Favorite Things Back to School set. I put a square silver eyelet on the top and threaded a piece of hemp through it to attach it to the bag.

Well, - hope you enjoyed all my crafts today! Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm exhausted!

Todays quote from Poor Richard's Almanack by Ben Franklin: "If Passion drives, let Reason hold the Reins."

Coaster Books and Altered Journals

As promised yesterday - here are several altered journals that I have made as well as a couple of coaster books that I made with my Bind It All. I just love being able to make my own books with this fun tool! Check it out here especially the detailed instructions with step by step pictues on how to use it.


I made this coaster book for a color challenge on SCS (River Rock, Choc Chip & Really Rust). The challenge also included a request to make and send a card to Victoria, a young girl suffering from Cancer. They were hoping to have cards from each state in the US coming to her.

I decided to make Victoria a little book using the challenge colors - with clip art of things in Massachusetts on the pages as well as encouraging sentiments. There were 6 pages in my book - here I show the cover and 2 of the pages.

I mailed this off to Victoria and hope that she enjoyed looking through it and learning a little bit about my state.

I made this little spiral book for another SCS challenge - we had to use spirals of some sort on our card. I used my Bind It All again and 2 coasters for the covers. First I put the designer paper on the front and back covers. Then I cut out 8 white card stock pages and punched the corners with the corner rounder. Then I used the Bind It All to punch through all the layers and to attach the spiral coil. I tied coordinating ribbons in knots on the spirals. Easy peasy! And what a quick fun little book!

This is a $1 journal from Michaels that already has pink circles on it and a solid pink bottom with a white circle that says Journal in it. I added a piece of Infuse Basic Grey paper framed in Chocolate Chip, a framed sentiment stamp and Infuse Die Shapes from Basic Grey.

I used a Glitter String clasp from K & Company to close the journal and added a friend charm at the end of the string to secure the end. I taped a length of dotted grosgrain ribbon to the back cover to use as a book mark with a brad at the folded end of it - you can see it sticking out at the bottom. I tied coordinating gingham ribbons around the coils at the top.

The Sentiment says: The place you have left forever is always there for you to see whenever you shut your eyes - Ian Myrdal.

I made several of these Cowboy theme journals to sell at our church fair last fall. The journal was $1 at Michaels and was already printed with the background and lace that you see. I added the stamped Wild West and Sheriff badge circles ($1 stamps from Michaels) and the stamped Journey square and tied 3 coordinating ribbons on the coil bindings. I made a book mark out of a wider black ribbon and taped it to the inside back cover - I put a star metal brad on it to weigh it down a little - you can see it sticking out at the bottom.

A friend at work commissioned me to decorate an artist sketch book for her teenage daughter's birthday. I found a great bound journal with blank white pages in it so she could use it for drawing. I have since seen other artist sketch books at art supply stores such as Utrecht.

I made several panels of card stock and designer paper. I used the photo corner punch for several corners and attached some great brads I got at Target for $1. I distressed the edges on the sentiments and sponged with Bordering Blue ink. I tied coordinating ribbons on the spirals. I also put a panel of one of the designer papers inside a Pentel pen so that it would match the sketch book.

I made this little altered book during the January 2008 VSN (Virtual Stamp Night) on SCS. This is a little composition book measuring 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 - you know like the big black and white composition books we used to get for school. I bought this little one at CVS.

My friend Jeannine gave me this great stamp by Inkadinkadoo and the paper is from Basic Grey. There is a narrow grosgrain brown ribbon that you attach while putting it together - to use as a bookmark - you can see it on the top left as well as sticking out a tad on the bottom.

I didn't think I was going to like making this book - covering the whole thing with DP and all - but I love how it came out! I'm going to use it to write down the directions for cards I make. I made a matching Pentel pen too by rolling a piece of the DP and slipping it inside the pen.

Here is a tutorial on SCS on how to make this cute book so you can make one too!

Well, these are all the journals and bound books that I have made so far. I already have some other $1 journals purchased from Michaels that I'm itching to alter - and I want to make a bound coaster calendar that Beate did a tutorial for on SCS a few weeks ago. So look for more of these to come here on my blog!

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow!