Speedy's Holiday Card Challenge

A huge thank you to all who took part in last week's challenge!! The fabulous response resulted in 5 winners each receiving a set of Mark's Finest Papers' stamps from the November release sets! Be back here on Tuesday to attend the release Blog Hop! Six beautiful sets will be released.

You are getting a little sneak peek today at one of those sets: Musical Holiday. This week's challenge is to create a holiday card, and what could be more perfect for the holidays than these wonderful musical images?

The French horn and holly were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. The edges were inked with SU Creamy Caramel ink. The papers come from Mark's Finest Papers as well!

Play along this week and you, too, may be the winner of a set of Mark's Finest Papers' stamps. There will be one winner chosen for every 50 entries and if you use your Mark's Finest Papers' images, you will be entered twice! You have until Friday to upload your entries to the Friends of Speedy the Cat's Blog.

SCS Challenges for the Week

I have been playing the challenges at Splitcoaststampers this week but haven't gotten around to loading them on my blog so today will be catch up day!

Monday - Technique Challenge - Create an Ornament

Created with the rim of a gimme cup and clear plastic packaging (tutorial to follow in a week or two). The steer is from Multi Step Texas Longhorn by Kitchen Sink Stamps. The stars are cut and embossed with my Cuttlebug.


Wednesday - Sketch Challenge

The papers are Snow Storm and Cherry Slush by Mark's Finest Papers, Basic Black by Stampin' Up, and Holly on Black and Musical Holly by the Paper Studio. The images are from A Walk in the Woods and Greetings of the Season by Mark's Finest Papers.

Thursday - Free 4 All - Paper Piecing with Scraps

The pear is from Pears & Hollyhocks by Mark's Finest Papers. The pear was pieced with offbeat by BasicGrey. The blossoms were pieced with Blushing Bride by Stampin' Up and the leaves with Old Olive by Stampin' Up.

Friday - Queen for the Day - Broom

Thanks to Brenda, I am now the proud owner of Coast to Coast by Stampin' Up. This set retired years ago and was in the sets Brenda sold at Anita's recent shoebox swap! I'm beyond thrilled to have it in my collection and really excited to find a lighthouse card in Broom's gallery to case in her honor today!

A Cowboy Christmas - KSS Boots & Holly

I'm a little behind in my Christmas card making this year. I decided it was time to kick it into gear when on Tuesday I saw my mother finish the 120 cards she will be sending out this year. My completed card count stands at 15. Fortunately I don't send out but about 60 cards so I'm sure I can make it!

Stamps: Multi Step Cowboy Boots, Mutli Step Cowboy Hat, 

3 Step Mistletoe & Holly by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Papers: Snow Storm and Cherry Slush by Mark's Finest Papers, Basic Black and Garden Green by Stampin' Up, Holly on Black by the Paper Studio

Inks and Layers: Boots - 4 Memento Rich Cocoa stamped off once, 3 Memento Potter's Clay, 2 Memento Potter's Clay stamped off once, 1 Memento Desert Sand, 5 Memento Rich Cocoa

Holly - 1 Memento New Sprout, 2 Memento Bamboo Leaves, SU Wild Wasabi

My second card was the design I created for Anita's Semi-Annual Shoebox Swap held in Brazoria on Saturday. The theme this time was Christmas, and as always the card had to be made in 10 minutes so I pre-embossed the sentiment in black and tied the bows for the pre-packaged sets. I also had the masks cut and ready for use.

It was a fun day of stamping, and I got to catch up with Kitchen Sink Multi Step Stampers Esther, Anita, Teddie, Linda, Shelley, and Billie Dee. They got to practice what they learned in Pearland by masking those boots again. This time with holly to dress them up for the holidays!

Stamps: Multi Step Cowboy Boots, Multi Step Cowboy Hat,
and 3 Step Mistletoe & Holly
by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Papers: Kraft by Stampin' Up, Cherry Slush and Snow Storm 

by Mark's Finest Papers, Musical Holly
by the Paper Studio

Inks and Layers: Boots - 4 Memento Rich Cocoa stamped off once, 

3 Memento Potter's Clay, 2 Memento Potter's Clay
stamped off once, 1 Memento Desert Sand

Holly - 1 Memento New Sprout, 2 Memento Bamboo Leaves,
3 Memento Cottage Ivy

Sentiment - Versamark embossed with
black embossing powder

Sponging - SU Creamy Caramel

Tools: - Oval Nestabilities, Scor-Tape, Sponge

Embellishments: Ribbon and Red Nailheads

The Kitchen Crew has pretties to share with you today! Be sure to stop by and see them!

Angela * Maria * Connie * Lisa * Julie * Makiko

Those interested in shopping can enter the store in the side bar and enter promo code LYNN10KSS at checkout to receive a 10% discount on your KSS purchases!

SCS Sketch Challenge 303

I created this Christmas card for the Sketch Challenge at Splitcoaststampers today. I am sure glad I stocked up on pretty Christmas papers this week!! I am really loving BasicGrey's jovial line, and I am sure you will see in turning up in lots of my holiday cards. What a sensational background it makes for this pretty red cardinal from Greetings for the Season by Mark's Finest Papers. The card base is Cherry Slush also from MFP.

Christmas Treat Box - Kitchen Sink Stamps Project of the Month

Such excitement in the Kitchen today! The three fabulous sets Maria created for the Texas workshop and one additional set are all being released today. These sensational sets are:

Multi Step Cowboy Boots

Multi Step Cowboy Hat

Multi Step Bluebonnets

Multi Step Texas Longhorn

By entering the store in the side bar and entering promo code LYNN10KSS you can receive a 10% discount on all your purchases from Kitchen Sink Stamps. For today and tomorrow only there will be free shipping on orders of $45 or more.

This month's Kitchen Sink Stamps Project of the Month is the treat box which I shared with the ladies at the Multi Step Workshop last Saturday in Pearland. With Christmas gift giving right around the corner, I wanted a fun way to share some of my homemade Texas treats with friends and neighbors! Those who like it mild will be getting Texas Trash and those who like it wild will be getting Texas Firecrackers, both of which are popular snacks here in Texas around the holidays.

This simple box is created from a single sheet of heavy weight kraft cardstock using the template below.

The pieces were cut, scored, and stamped with background images. I used layer one of Multi Step Longhorn which is being released today stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa stamped off once, layer one of the small horseshoe from Multi Step Horseshoes stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa, and layer 2 on one of the stars from Multi Step Ornament and Stars stamped in SU Riding Hood Red. I added Scor-Tape to the folded tabs to hold the box securely together.

 Next the front and back panels were attached to the bottom of the box with the Scor-Tape.

 

The scored lines were folded in creating the sides of the box. Two side tabs were attached to the front of the box.

The other two were attached to the back panel completing the box.

 

The treat in a cello bag was placed in the box. I then added a band of embossed cardstock which looks like tooled leather to decorate the bottom edge of the box. Rope, stars, and a mini cow bell were attached to close the top of the box through the punched handles using red bandanna ribbon.

The image on the front of the box is from Multi Step Cowboy Boots. I stamped the boots as follows:

layer 4 - Memento Rich Cocoa stamped off once

layer 3 - Memento Potter's Clay

layer 2 - Memento Summer Sky stamped off once

layer 1 - Memento Desert Sand 

layer 5 -Memento Rich Cocoa

The sentiment was stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa with the word Cowboy stamped in  Memento Pearlesence Beige.

Here is more of the fun I have been having with these fabulous sets:

And one last one for the Clean and Simple Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers!

Don't miss the opportunity today to see the fabulous work from the rest of the crew using these gorgeous new images!!

Angela * Maria * Connie * Lisa * Julie * Makiko

Speedy's Stitching Challenge

Saturday morning means a new challenge for the Friends of Speedy the Cat. This week cards need to have some fun stitching (real or faux) as a part of the design.

Those who play along will have the opportunity to win a new unreleased stamp set from November's roster at Mark's Finest Papers! How exciting is that!! There will be one winner for every 50 entries. If you use images from Mark's Finest Papers you will be entered in the drawing twice.

My card was created with the images from Snowman Country which was released by MFP this week. The jovial paper by BasicGrey which I used in my design is also available at MFP.

Mark's Finest Papers - Snowman Country

Well, today wraps up a fun week for Mark's Finest Papers. You have seen all 6 of the fabulous new sets and I am sure you were inspired by the beautiful work created by the design team using these wonderful images! I know I was and will need to order another set or two!

My card today was created with images from Snowman Country. Hope you like it!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit the Friends of Speedy the Cat's Blog and comment on each of the design team members' blogs listed TODAY. Tomorrow a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

Stamps: Snowman Country by Mark's Finest Papers

Papers: Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White 

by Stampin' Up, eskimo kisses by BasicGrey

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rhubarb Stalk

Accessories: Copic Markers and Dimensionals

Embellishments: Rhinestones and Ribbon

MFP October Blog Hop - A Walk in the Woods

 

Continuing through Friday, Mark's Finest Papers is holding their October Blog Hop to release 6 new beautiful stamp sets. I gave you a little peek at A Walk in the Woods by using a tree from this set on my Friends of Speedy the Cat's stripes challenge on Saturday. Today I am back with another gorgeous tree from this sensational set! 

Head over to the Friends of Speedy the Cat's Blog and play along! For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, (a set that will be released NEXT month), visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs listed there TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

Hope You Can Cling To - Paper Piecing

Today's card was created for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge at Splitcoaststampers. The task was to paper piece a birthday card. All cards created for this event will be sent to M.D. Anderson Hospital for use by their patients. I used Roses for You by Mark's Finest Papers to created this birthday card. The Paper piecing was done on BasicGrey designers paper from the Eva series.

Don't miss out on Mark's Finest Papers' October Blog Hop going on today! Six new stamp sets are being released today: Seasonal Poinsettias, Time to Chill, A Walk in the Woods, Greetings of the Season, Thankful for You, Snowman Country

For your convenience, all 6 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 design team members' blogs listed on Mark's Finest Papers' Blog TODAY. On Saturday, (October 16, 2010), a winner will be chosen from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for today. (There will be four different winners, one winner for each day of the blog hop. You DO NOT have to comment every day. However, the more days you comment, the more chances you have to win!) If you miss a day, you can go back and comment on each day's blogs, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I hope you all have taken the opportunity to check out the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges going on at Splitcoaststampers daily throughout the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The cards created for the challenges are going to M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas for use by the patients there. Many paper crafting companies have joined in with loads of fabulous prizes to be awarded to participants in the challenges. Kitchen Sink Stamps is one of those taking part as a sponsor. They will be giving away to 10 lucky winners one of their newest releases: Ribbons with a Cause. I used it to create today's card.

Stamps: Ribbon with a Cause by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Papers: Pink Pirouette by Stampin' Up

Inks: Ribbon - 3 Memento Rose Bud, 

2 Memento Rose Bud stamped off once, 1 Memento Angel Pink

Embellishment: Rhinestone

What an awesome time we had multi step stamping in Pearland, Texas this week! A huge thanks to all our participants!! What joy it brought us to see you fall in love with your new KSS stamps!! The stamps created for the Texas workshop are sensational and next Monday I will be sharing them with you!! They will be released to the public on that day!!

Check in on the crew! They each have something special to share with you today.

Angela * Maria * Connie * Lisa * Julie * Makiko

Friends of Speedy the Cat's Stripe Challenge

I am sharing a little sneak peek at two of the images from the fabulous new set A Walk in the Woods by Mark's Finest Papers which will be released on October12. The set includes 4 gorgeous trees and a slew of fabulous sentiments as well!

Speedy's challenge today is to create a card using stripes. My stripes come from the sugared collection by BasicGrey. Share your striped creation with us at the Friends of  Speedy the Cat's Blog by Friday, October 15. One winner will be selected for every 50 entries and receive a set of stamps from Mark's Finest Papers.

Stamps: A Walk in the Woods by Mark's Finest Papers

Papers: More Mustand, True Thyme, and Whisper White by Stampin' Up,

sugared by BasicGrey

Inks: More Mustard, True Thyme, Pink Pirouette, 

Mambo Melon and Early Espresso by Stampin' Up

Tools: Cuttlebug Victoria Embossing Folder, Sponges

Embellishment: Gold Cord

TUIC - Simple Treat for Kids to Make

April has challenged our blog group, Tangled Up in Creativity, to create a simple project which her Boy Scout Troop could make for their local nursing home. Mine is very simple: M & Ms in a sealed tube with a tag tied at the top. A single hole is punched in one corner of the tag and both ends of the ribbon fed through the hole so that the loop at the back seals the bag when the ribbon is pulled tight and tied in a bow. The squirrel and sentiment are from Autumn Fun by Mark's Finest Papers.

Hope You Can Cling To - Twine Time

Please click the pink blinky in my sidebar and learn about Splitcoaststampers' ongoing challenges - Hope You Can Cling To. All the cards I am creating for this challenge will be sent to M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas to be used by their patients.

Today's card was created for the Twine Time Challenge. I have used my twine as the barbed wire fence in my design.

Stamps: Southwest Cowboy by Mark's Finest Papers

Papers: Soft Sky, Kraft, and Whisper White by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Copic Markers

Embellishment: Twine

Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge 28 - Halloween

Makiko is in charge of the Kitchen Crew today and has assigned us the task of creating something for Halloween: a treat bag, a party favor, a card, whatever you might be needing whenever Halloween rolls around to your house. Because my grandchildren live out of town and do not trick or treat at my house, Gram sends cash in a card! They buy their own treats! I pulled out 3 of my Kitchen Sink sets and got to work!

Stamps: 1/2 Pint Alphabet, Multi Step Owl & Autumn Moon, and 

Friends of the Moon by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Papers: Gina K Designs Pure Luxury White, Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie by Stampin' Up, 

Halloween Sparkle by Cloud 9 Design

Inks: Memento Dandelion, Cantaloupe, and Tangelo, Versafine Imperial Purple

Embellishment: Ribbon

Let's see what Halloween treats you can come up with using your Kitchen Sink Stamps! Remember to load them to the Kitchen Sink Weblog! You may be the winner of some sensational new Kitchen Sink Stamps!

Lots of excitement for Kitchen Sink Stamps this week as we pack our bags and head for Pearland, Texas! Friday and Saturday will be great days of practicing with and learning about multi step stamping. I have been playing all week with the new images designed especially for you! Yee Haw are we going to have fun!!

Check out the Halloween treats prepared for you today by the crew!!

Angela * Maria * Connie * Lisa * Julie * Makiko

KSS shopping instructions are in the sidebar to the right. New stamps will be released on October 18!

Faux Letterpress - SCS CAS87

I used the faux letterpress technique to create this quick card for Clean and Simple Challenge #87 at Splitcoaststampers. The stamped images are from Pears & Hollyhock by Mark's Finest Papers. The image is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copic Markers. For the faux letterpress I used SU Old Olive ink on my Cuttlebug Victoria Embossing Folder. The papers are Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White by Stampin' Up.

Friends of Speedy the Cat's Buttons and Bows Challenge

For this week's challenge, participants are asked to embellish their cards with buttons and bows! Everyone knows that roses are my favorite flower and what could go more perfectly with buttons and bows!! The roses and sentiment are from Roses for You by Mark's Finest Papers. The roses were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. and I used a blender pen and reinkers to color the roses with Memento Angel Pink and Lilac Posies. The ribbon panel was punched with a Martha Stewart edge punch which has slots for the ribbon. The sentiment was stamped with Memento Lilac Posies. Scor-Tape holds the buttons on the bows!

This week Mark's Finest Papers is celebrating its first anniversary. In honor of this grand occasion, one lucky stamper for every 10 entries will win a beautiful stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers so come play along! Be sure to post your project to the Friends of Speedy the Cat's Blog by Friday, October 8.