MFT July Hits & Highlights

Beginning this month, we are highlighting some of our favorite products in our new 

Hits & Highlights Challenge. Each month we will feature a product, or a collection of 

products, for you to explore. We can't wait to see all the creative ways you use them!

This month it's all about shakers! Whether you’re a master or a novice at crafting
shaker cards, our range of shaker pouches makes it fast and easy to add a variety of
shaped shaker elements to your cards and projects.

I chose to work with the Star Shaker Window and Frame and the Star Pouches
for a super simple shaker card. I love that the shaker pouches are thick enough
to hold a good amount of shaker contents but thin enough that there's no
added bulk to your card.

A watercolor panel was ink distressed with Distress Oxide inks and spattered
with water, then cut with the rectangle element from Blueprints 24. A star
was cut from the inked panel and the Star Frame from Stone Gray card stock.

The new Mermaid Mix Sequins matched perfectly with my inked panel. I added
a few inside of the pouch and assembled and adhered everything to a Stone
Gray card base. The stamped sentiment and sequins finished off the card.

If you've never made a shaker card, now's the time to give it a try with MFT's
shaped shaker pouches. They'll make your life so much easier and shaker cards
are always fun for a recipient of any age!

CASology 5th Anniversary Blog Hop

Melissa and her team are celebrating a 5 year Anniversary with a fun Blog Hop!

CASology is one of the first challenges that I joined and my CAS heart is always
happy there. I've also had the honor of guesting several times and Melissa
is always so gracious and wonderful to work with.

Here's a look back at some of my favorite CASology projects:

This week the cue word is BALLOON.

And here's my take on it.

I die cut five of Avery Elle's number balloons and inked them in rainbow order,
adhered them to a card and stamped the sentiment. Tiny clear sequins finished
off the card.

Happy 5th Birthday, CASology! 
Here's to many more years of CAS inspiration ♥

CAS(E) this Sketch #232

Our leader Chrissy brings us this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #232.

Here's my take on it.

I ink distressed watercolor card stock with several colors of Distress Oxide
inks and spattered water over it. I cut a thick and thin strip and adhered
them to a Latté card base, then white embossed the sentiment above it.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see how the rest of the team interpreted the sketch
and join us if you can. Link up your card(s) by Thursday, August 3rd and as
the winner, you could be guest designing with us on a future sketch!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #343

Ready for a new Wednesday Sketch Challenge? Here's Sketch #343.

And here's my take on it.

A watercolor panel was ink distressed with three Distress Oxide inks and spattered
with water. After it was dry, it was cut with the rectangle element from Blueprints 25.
An oval frame was cut from the panel, and the panel was adhered to a card base.

A frame was cut from Berrylicious card stock and inlaid on the card. The center
of the oval was rotated and popped inside the frame. The mermaid and fish
were colored with Copics and adhered to the card.

I adhered a strip of Cornflower Sparkle card stock and white embossed the
sentiment on a strip of Cornflower card stock. Sequins finished off the card.

Visit the Card Challenges blog for all the details on how you can win a
$50 MFT gift voucher. We hope you'll play along with us!

MFT All Smiles Card Kit Release Day

Today's the day! You may now purchase the All Smiles Card Kit in the MFT Store!

You'll save more than 20% by purchasing the kit over buying the contents
individually, so grab yours quickly before it sells out, because once it's gone,
it won't be restocked.

Before you go, I'd like to share one more project with you using the sentiments
and Die-namics from the kit. Note that all products in bold are not part of the kit,
but can be found in the MFT Store.

This card is similar to this card that I made from an earlier release using the Big HELLO
Die-namics. This time, I have a few pics showing you the process.

I wet two card stock panels and dropped Distress inks in fairly similar patterns on both cards,
letting the inks run into each other.

I used a heat tool to speed up the drying, then added more color with an ink blending
tool. I spattered a bit of water on one panel, then cut both with the rectangle element
from Blueprints 25. I adhered one panel to a card base and die cut SMILE three
times from the second one.

The die cut panel was popped up over the solid panel with dimensional adhesive.
The sentiment was white embossed on a strip of Cement Gray card stock and
adhered to the card. Sequins finished off the card.

All right, off you go! We hope you love the All Smiles Card Kit as much as we do.
And don't forget to use the hashtag #mftstamps when you share your
projects on social media! Happy shopping!

MFT All Smiles Card Kit--Day 2

It's Day 2 of previews of MFT's newest Card Kit--All Smiles.

Today I'm sharing a card with a faux watercoloring technique that I learned from
former MFT teammate Amy Lee.

I white embossed several flowers and leaves onto watercolor card stock
and ink distressed around them. I used a waterbrush and moved the color
around, then spattered on some clean water and let it dry.

After cutting the panel with the rectangle element from Blueprints 25,
I stamped the sentiment and added a few sequins.

Visit today's Card Kit post for more inspiration, and don't forget to
leave a comment there for a chance to win a $25 prize! Hope to see you
tomorrow for the Card Kit release!

MFT All Smiles Card Kit--Day 1

Get ready to SMILE big when you meet this month's Card Kit from My Favorite Things!

Here's a peek at the All Smiles Card Kit. Visit today's Card Kit post at My Favorite Things
for a detailed description of all the supplies that come with the kit.

I love a good sentiment set and today I'll be sharing a card using the All Smiles
Stamp Set and Double the Smiles Die-namics. Note that all products in bold are
not part of the kit but can be found in the MFT Store.

A stitched tag was ink distressed with Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade
Distress inks and spattered with water. The upper case SMILE was cut from the
tag and the second part of the sentiment was stamped above it.

Patterned paper was cut from the rectangle element from Blueprints 24 and
adhered to a white card base. The tag was adhered with dimensional adhesive
and ribbon was tied through it. I finished off the card with a small tiger.

Visit today's Card Kit post at My Favorite Things for more inspiration from
participating members and get ready to purchase the kit on
Tuesday, July 25th at 3PM.

CAS(E) this Sketch #231

N@Ali brings us this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #231.

And here's my take on it. 

Yep, I managed to sneak a(nother) butterfly on my card. A wonky stitched square,
an ink distressed butterfly, and a sentiment on a strip. Sequins finished off the card.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see how the rest of the team interpreted the sketch and
join us if you can. Link up your card(s) by Thursday, July 27th!
Hope to see you in the gallery!

SUPPLIES:
 

MFT Wonky Stitched Square STAX

MFT Flutter of Butterflies Solid

MFT Essential Sentiments 

MFT Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips 

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #342

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for a new Wednesday Sketch

 Challenge! Here's Sketch #342.

And here's my take on it.

Going through my dies, I noticed that there was a stitched cloud that resembled
the top piece on the sketch. I cut out the cloud and inked the edges lightly with
Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide ink for more definition.

The hot air balloon, kitty, and birds were colored with Copics and cut with the
matching dies. I adhered the cloud on the top of the card, a strip of patterned paper
on the bottom, per the sketch, then stamped a sentiment on top of it. The balloon,
kitty and birds were popped up on the card and finished off with enamel dots.

Visit the Card Challenges blog for all the details on how you can win a
$50 MFT gift voucher and join us if you can!

MFT July Release Replay

It's time for My Favorite Things July Release Replay Challenge, when the

Creative Team shares more ideas and inspiration with the latest release.

Earlier on Instagram I shared a pic of some critters from the July release--
hippos and tigers and cats. I decided to use a Smitten Kitten on my project.

A watercolor panel was ink distressed with Distress Oxide inks  and spattered
with water. A circle was cut from the card and the panel was adhered to a
Natural card base. The circular piece was rotated and placed in the opening.

The Happy Birthday Circle Frame was cut from Sour Apple card stock and
adhered around the circle. The kitty was colored with Copics and cut with
the matching Die-namics, then adhered inside the clrcle.

I fashioned a little party hat from patterned paper, stamped the sentiment
and finished off the card with a few enamel dots.

Visit today's Release Replay post at My Favorite Things for more inspiration
from the design team using products from the July Release.
Thanks for stopping by!

CAS(E) this Sketch #230

This week's CAS(E) this Sketch #230 is from yours truly
and it looks like this.

Here's my take on it.

I'll admit that my own sketch stumped me. Thankfully, I was saved by an inked
piece that I found in my stash. This was an ink distressed panel that was
"stamped" with a stencil that was sprayed with water.

I trimmed the pieces, following the sketch, and adhered them to a card base.
I stamped the sentiment and finished off the card with sequins.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see how the rest of the team interpreted the sketch
and join us if you can. Link up your card(s) by Thursday, July 20th and as a
winner, you'll be invited to guest with us on a future sketch!

 SUPPLIES:

Stencil Funky Florals

Lucky Clear Stamps

Primitive Cream Card Stock

Penny Black's Christmas in July--PEACE•LOVE•JOY

On my last day of guesting on the Penny Black blog, I pulled out my Copics

and colored pencils to color this little cutie.

After coloring the image, I masked her and inked in the sky with Distress Oxide inks.

Visit the Penny Black blog for instructions and details on how I created this card.

Thanks so much for dropping by during Christmas in July and I hope that you

found inspiration to get a head start on your Christmas cards!

Huge thanks to Jill and Penny Black for the invitation to share my ideas
with you using their awesome line of products! Happy Holidays!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #341

Here's this week's Wednesday Sketch Challenge #341.

And here's my simplified take on the sketch.

After ink distressing a watercolor panel with Distress Oxide inks, it was

spattered with water and cut with the Basic Stitched Edges. I used the

circle from the Flop Card Circle Die-namics to cut an opening in the

center of the panel, saving the die cut circle.

The sentiment was white embossed and the panel was popped up on a Stone Gray
card base with dimensional adhesive. I rotated the circle element and adhered it
in the space. The rock, mermaid, and turtle were stamped and colored with Copics,
die cut with the matching dies, then adhered to the card.

Visit the Card Challenges blog for more inspiration, and for details on how
you could win a $50 MFT gift voucher!

Penny Black's Christmas in July--Merry Everything

Thanks for stopping by on another day of Christmas in July on the Penny
Black blog! Today my card features Snowy with another popular icon from
Penny Black--the adorable hedgehog!

I did a bit of fussy cutting after stamping and coloring the image with
Copic markers, and paired them with berry branches on my wintry scene.

For details and instructions on how this card came together, visit today's post
 on the Penny Black blog. And join me here tomorrow on my last day as a guest!

MFT July New Product Launch and Release

It's time! You may now purchase the July release in the MFT Store! All new

goodies are waiting for you right here!

Before you go I'd like to share one more project with you to possibly add to your
wish list. I combined the Balloon Shaker Window and Frame Die-namics and
 Celebrate Die-namics for a quick and easy shaker card.

I stamped Balloon Strings with Grout Gray ink on a Smooth White card panel, then
cut it with the rectangle element from Blueprints 24. The balloon shape was cut
through the panel, and the frame, string, and bow (from Blueprints 26) were
cut from Stone Gray card stock.

After adding sequins to the shaker pouch, I adhered it to the inside of the panel and then
 to a Stone Gray card base. The frame, string, and bow were added on the front of the
shaker piece. The sentiment was cut from Smooth White card stock and ink distressed
with two colors of Distress inks, curved slightly, then adhered to the card.

All right, there you have it--My Favorite Things July Release! Be sure to
visit the rest of the Creative Team and leave comments on all blogs for a chance
to win one of two $100 MFT gift vouchers! Good luck, and happy shopping!

(Note: The winners have been chosen. Go here to see if you were one of them!)

Penny Black's Christmas in July--Warmest Wishes

Hello! I'm back on the Penny Black blog with another card for their month long
Christmas in July series! Here's today's card.

I fell in love with the mugs and knew that ink distressing would be involved. I created
a cup each of hot cocoa, coffee, and tea. Please visit today's post at Penny Black for
instructions on how this card came together.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you'll drop by tomorrow!

MFT July Release Countdown--Day 1

It's the last day of My Favorite Things July Release Countdown!
Get your shopping lists ready because all new products will go on sale
tomorrow, July 11th at 9PM EST in the MFT Store!

Today I'm sharing two cards with the products from the Sketchy Flowers
Card Kit, which sold out as a kit, but can now be purchased separately.

The leaf from Sketchy Flowers was white embossed on watercolor card stock
and ink distresed, then spattered with water and white paint. The "You" was
die cut right on the card, as well as three more times from white card stock.

Wide adhesive tape was placed behind the negative space and the white
diecuts were layered on top, ending with the colored piece. The second part
of the sentiment was white embossed on a strip of brown card stock.

For my second card, ink distressed white card stock with several colors of
Distress Oxide inks and stamped the Floral Fantasy background after spritzing
it with water. I did the same camouflage technique as on the previous card and
stamped the second part of the sentiment beneath the "You". Both cards were
finished off with sequins.

Visit today's countdown post at My Favorite Things for more inspiration
and don't forget to leave a comment there for a chance to win a $75 prize!
Hope to see you tomorrow for the New Product Launch!

Penny Black's Christmas in July--Let it Snow

 Hello, and Happy Holidays! As the banner reads, it's Christmas in July over at
 Penny Black, and I'm thrilled to be joining them over the next few days with
some wintry inspiration! It's never too early to start on Christmas cards, right?

Of course I couldn't pass on making a Snowy card. Blogging friend Judy Jung,
(aka Ms. Running With Scissors) did a series of Snowy cards last year and I
wanted a Snowy stamp of my own after reading her Snowy stories.

Distress Oxide inks helped create the background, and I grounded Snowy

with a snowbank and trees. I added the perfect sentiment, and finished off

the card with some clear sequins.

Please visit the Penny Black blog for a list of supplies that I used as well as 

instructions on how this Snowy card came together! Thanks for visiting

today, and I hope you'll stop by tomorrow to celebrate Christmas in July!