Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Garden Fairies

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!



Fairies don't often let us see them, you know, just a glimpse now and then so I made a shadowbox card using the Prima Fairy Flora papers, just a peep through the flowers at the fairy perched on a mushroom. Thanks for looking and happy hopping!!!

FRIDAY, April 15, 2011: Garden Fairies
Emily-
Karen-
Patty-
Roxie-
Vicki-
Liz:
Claudine-
Dawn-
Nicole -
Marilynn-
Peggysue-
Connie –
Emily N.-
Neva
Silvia
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Mark's Finest Papers April release. . . Introducing In My Mother's Garden

Hi everyone! I am not part of the official hop today, although you can see my card on the main page of the Mark's Finest Papers blog here, as well as the entire list of participating design team members.

All four sets are available for purchase today. I truly cannot pick a favorite out of this month's release, I had fun with all of them. Hope you are enjoying seeing them. Have a great day!

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers In my Mother's Garden

Ink: black, pink

Paper: aqua, pink, white, Prima fairy flora

Other: scalloped nestability, prima flowers, cuttlebug edge folder, stickles, copics

Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Oh Boy, It's a Girl

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!



I had a lot of fun playing with this set. The thing I find easiest for me, to get the creative juices flowing, is a good stamp set and a good sketch. We have two babies expected this summer, two of my nieces are pregnant, due within a month of each other! We know for sure that one is going to be a girl, the other one is keeping it a secret. :) The sketch I found at the Card Pattern blog, sketch 110. Its hard to spot in this photo, but I used a Cuttlebug edge folder to impress 'with love' at the very bottom of the card.





For this second one, I wanted general, bright happy colors that are sort of universal, whether boy or girl. I used the Cosmo Cricket DeLovely papers and a very simple layout. I botched the inside sentiment but not so badly that I won't be sending this card out. Thanks for looking and happy hopping!

WEDNESDAY, April 13: Oh Boy, It's a Girl!

Lois
Vicky
Dawn L.
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Claudine
Dawn M.
Nicole
Marilynn
Geri
Lynn
Emily N.
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Mark's Finest Papers April release . . . Introducing Bearded Iris

Welcome to the MFP April Blog Hop! This month, we are releasing 4 NEW SETS!

Our New Sets are: In My Mother's Garden, Bearded Iris, Oh Boy, It's a Girl and Garden Fairies.For your convenience, all 4 stamp sets are available for purchase TODAY!
We have a NEW Blog Candy Contest! BE A GUEST DESIGNER!***
What do you need to do to qualify? Just comment on the Design Team blogs during the blog hop. The winner will be announced on the Mark’s Finest Papers blog on Saturday, April 16, 2011. ***See the MFP blog for all the contest rules and PRIZES!




I love the color purple and don't often get the chance to use it in such abundance. I know iris come in other colors and I'm sure we'll see many shades of beautiful flowers on the hop, but I reveled in the chance to use purple!!!!

The small iris works well for highlighting one of the many sentiments included in this set and the large iris can be striking standing alone. If you notice on the sentiment in the second one, one of the beauties of acrylic stamps is you can ink up just one portion of the sentiment at a time to make it fit the space you envision. In this case, the Happy Birthday was stacked one on top of the other, but I wanted it on a narrow vellum strip to overlay the flower, so I inked up one section at a time, carefully wiping off any excess ink before restamping to avoid shadows. Thanks for looking and happy hopping! (2nd sketch came from Card Patterns 109 designed by Nina Brackett)

TUESDAY April 12, 2011- Bearded Iris
Lois
Vicky
Dawn L.
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Emily N.
Neva
Silvia
Patricia
Chrissy
Guest Designer, Lillian
Mark’s Finest Papers

Papertrey Peeps April challenge

Hey all! I finally finished my daughter's wedding invitations, whew! Now I can get to visiting some blogs and taking care of other stamping business.

Terri reminded me I'm hosting the April challenge for our blog group, the Papertrey Peeps so I've chosen (almost mid month here, but hey, weddings come first) to challenge the group to use black, either as a bold accent or the main color.

I found inspiration in a photo of a quilt in a magazine I bought. Lots of bright colors in the quilt that stand out even more vividly due to the black surrounding them. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Quilter's Sampler
Paper: Black, purple, pink, orange, yellow, white
Ink: black archival
Other: copics, MS butterfly punch, cuttlebug folder

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 84 . . . Mark 15

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is one of our founders, Kristine (that makes her sound old, but she isn't!) who has selected this verse from Mark 15:17 "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him."

Our sponsor this week is Simon Says Stamp. Please check the home page to see the stamp set that will be awarded to one lucky winner who participates in this week's challenge. The challenge is to use shades of purple as your main color and/or use wood paper or elements on your card.

I don't have any wood paper or wooden elements, so you can see its okay to use purple alone. I wondered what it would look like simply embossing in white a lily on purple paper and then adding purple accents with prismacolor pencils. I think it could use some tweaking. :)

Have you watched the Passion yet this Lenten season? Or are you following along in a special book of devotions? I hope you are, because it helps to bring a fresh appreciation of the precious gift we were given through Christ's suffering on the cross. I know Kristine will have some powerful words to share on the main page in her devotional, you can view it here, as well as the other gorgeous purple creations by the rest of the design team. Thanks for looking, hope you find time to play along this week.

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers "He is the Lamb"
Paper: Prima Flora Fairy paper, aqua, pink, white, random DP
Ink: black
Other: paper piercing tool, cuttlebug edge folder, silver gel pen, sponge, stickles, prima flowers

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 83 . . . childlike faith

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! I am late to the party, I was traveling all week, 2400 miles or more and now back home again. I would never make a good long distance trucker, that I know. But I am getting my post up this afternoon.

Our hostess this week is Miesje. She selected this verse from Luke 18:17 "Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Her challenge is to make a card or project for a child. Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps and they are offering a $15 gift card to one randomly selected winner who plays along with our challenge.

You can read Miesje's wonderful devotional here on the main blog page for Stampin' Sisters in Christ and also see the creations by the rest of the design team sisters. I am simply going to point you to Miesje's words and not add a single thought since I am barely scraping in on the challenge on time. I need to unpack and do laundry! :)

And for all of you who live in the southern climes we were recently visiting, we are experiencing a thunder-snowstorm currently, complete with large fluffy flakes, lightning and loud booming thunder all at the same time! Gotta love Springtime in the north!

I used a Patchwork Pal stamp created by this week's sponsor, you can find a selection of very cute animal stamps and all kinds of scripture and encouraging words at Clear Dollar Stamps. Thanks for looking and have a great week!

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps, sentiment from SU
Paper: Mark's Finest Papers white and colored cardstock, random DP from stash
Ink: Brilliance black
Other: ribbon, copics, SU star eyelets from stash

Other challenges:

CCEE Stampers: No buttons, bow, buckles or brads (knots, no bows)
Southern Girls: Add an animal
Creative Card Crew: For a child
One Stop Craft Challenge: spots and dots
7KidsCollegeFund: seeing spots