Beyond Measure Blog Hop Winner

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in the Beyond Measure Blog Hop.  The winner of the $15 My Craft Spot gift certificate is comment #1 - Cathy of CathyPlus5.  Congratulations Cathy!!  Please email me at smallbitsofpaper @ hotmail.com [remove spaces] so I can make arrangements to get your gift certificate to you.

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Beyond Measure Blog Hop

I'm so delighted that Tammy has asked me to help in the one-year blogaversary of her blog, Beyond Measure.  Tammy is always full of joy and her cheerful posts are such a blessing to me.

The theme of the blog hop is "Celebrating Friends".  I am so fortunate to have such fabulous friends in my life.  I decided to make a special Christmas card for one of my friends - a friend with whom I can be totally silly and who always makes me laugh.  

The sweet little snowman image is from Birdie Brown (a freebie this month).  I'm quite challenged with colouring, but decided a white snowman might work for me!!  I printed off and coloured an extra image - hand cutting the hat and nose and then popping them on the main image for a bit of added dimension.  I used a Stampin' Up tree stamp to create the border at the bottom.  The fun sentiment is from Robin's Creative Cottage - with a tiny snowman stamp from My Craft Spot's Stampin' Around Christmas set.  He's so cute!!  I finished things off with some wonderful baker's twine from My Craft Spot.

One of the best things about celebrations is presents!  To celebrate Tammy's blogaversary, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to My Craft Spot.  To qualify, please leave a comment on this post.  If you are a follower of my blog, feel free to leave an extra comment telling me so for an extra entry.  I will announce my winner on Wednesday.

Tammy also has TWO grand prizes available on her blog, Beyond Measure.  To be eligible for her prizes, leave a comment at each of the blogs on this hop (see list below).

Your next stop is a visit to Maria at Joyful Stamper. Happy hopping!

1)  Dawn  http://faithfullyyours.net/Blog
2)  Tiffany  www.tiffanydoodles.blogspot.com

3)  Kate www.smallbitsofpaper.blogspot.com 

4)  Maria http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com

5)  Betty  http://www.gbedwright.blogspot.ca/2012/11/peace-on-earth-and-blog-hop.html

6)  Julie  www.3girljam.blogspot.com 

7)  Chriss   www.chrissandlou.blogspot.com

8)  Tammy www.urbeyondmeasure.com 

*I'll be entering this card in Birdie Brown's November challenge too!

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Give Thanks

It's time for another challenge at My Craft Spot!  This week, the theme is Thanksgiving. 

I created this card using Doodlecharms for my basket and Create a Critter for the leaves.  I did lots of inking and also stamped the main part of the basket with a woodgrain stamp before running it through the Cuttlebug with a Distressed Stripes folder.  I added four small brass brads to the basket as well.  The patterned paper is from Stampin' Up. 

I used a sentiment from the My Craft Spot Happy Fall stamp set and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the sentiment in three different colours. 

There are some more Thanksgiving projects created by other members of the My Craft Spot design team.  Be sure to check them out!  Also, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my wonderful American friends a very happy Thanksgiving later this week!  May you enjoy good food and good company with your loved ones and friends.

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Reindeer Tags - and a Winner

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments you left during last week's My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party and Blog Hop. It was such a delight to go through them all this weekend.

A friend and colleague of mine is taking her daughter and a group of friends to an upcoming Santa Claus parade.  She asked me to make some tags for the girls to wear.  The tags will have identification information on the back.  What a great idea!  Anyway, I was thrilled to help out and used Doodlecharms to create ten 6-inch tags.  The eyes were stamped with a Peachy Keen face stamp.  I ran the antlers through my Cuttlebug using Distressed Stripes and also added some branches from a Martha Stewart punch and some baker's twine from My Craft Spot.  They're so cute!  I hope the girls like them!

I have a winner from this weekend's My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party Blog Hop.  Random.org selected #57 - Kathy Salido from 3 Spoiled Dogs and a Cricut.  Congratulations Kathy!!  I'm sure you'll LOVE your new Mistletoe stamp set!  Please send your contact information to smallbitsofpaper @ hotmail . com [remove spaces] and I'll arrange to have your new stamps sent your way! 

I'm also going to link up my reindeer project at this week's Peachy Keen Challenge!

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My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party - Blog Hop!

Welcome to the 2012 My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party Blog Hop!!  I'm so excited to that you get to see ALL the NEW wonderful My Craft Spot stamp sets and metal dies today!!  What a fun week it has been!!  All items are available for sale today, so as soon as you've worked your way through the hop, be sure to head back to My Craft Spot to place your orders.

I have to admit that I completely scraplifted today's project.  I saw some Christmas pyramid trees in a catalogue and loved them so much that I copied them... using My Craft Spot products!!  I designed the pyramid trees using George and Basic Shapes and my Gypsy.  The stars on both trees are also cut using George and Basic Shapes.  The gift is from Joys of the Seasons and the flourish is from Accent Essentials.

The wonderful "Joy to the World" sentiment is from the NEW My Craft Spot Stampin' Around Christmas set - as is the tiny nativity stamp.  (I just LOVE that little stamp!)  I used My Craft Spot Tiny Doilies metal dies for the sentiment tag and shadow.  I used My Craft Spot Vanilla Bean crinkle ribbon for my bow and added some natural jute string (a new product at My Craft Spot) on the bow and on the buttons on both trees.  These trees will go on the shelf above my desk at work.

Blog Candy

Kimberly has very generously donated a NEW release product to be given away at each design team member's blog!  Here at Small Bits of Paper, I will be drawing one entry by random to receive the NEW Mistletoe stamp set.  (See HERE for projects created with the Mistletoe stamp set.)  In order to qualify, you must leave a comment on this post and be a follower of this blog.  I will post the winner's name on Monday.

After leaving a comment below, please head to visit the incredibly talented Heather at Houses Built of Cards.

Blog Hop Order

Kimberly  
GiGi

Ally  

Gwen 

Robin

Kate *You are here!

Heather

Amber

Marlene

(Marlene is having blog issues and may not have a post available.)

Here is the full reveal of the NEW stamp sets!

(Created by Robin)

Metal dies created by Robin to coordinate with the Chunky Alphabet stamps

Robin also designed another stamp set to go with the Tiny Doilies metal dies!

3 more stamp sets:

 

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My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party - Day Five

Welcome to the final day of sneak peeks for all the NEW My Craft Spot stamp sets and metal dies.  Tomorrow, we'll end things off with a blog hop.  There will be chances for you to win one of the new sets at EACH stop along the way!!

I used Doodlecharms to create the Santa on my 5x5 card.  I ran Santa's beard through the Cuttlebug with my D'vine Swirl folder.  I inked the edges and used some white boa for the trim on Santa's hat.  Two black gems were used for his eyes.  

I cut the sentiment tag from the NEW My Craft Spot Lacy Banners metal dies and stamped it with a sentiment from the NEW Mistletoe set.  This set contains a wonderful combination of fun and elegant stamps to add to your collection.  I finished off my card with a bit of stitching around the top edges.

Be sure to check out the rest of the sneak peeks at My Craft Spot - and leave a comment for Kimberly while you are there.  Today, she is giving away a White Christmas stamp set (from last year's release).  

See you tomorrow!!

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My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party - Day Four

I can hardly believe that it is Thursday already!!  This week is flying by as I try to fit in all my tasks.  Thank you so much to all of you who have left such uplifting and encouraging comments for me this week.  I do appreciate them.

Today is the fourth day of the My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party.  Today, we are showing sneak peeks of the NEW Think Snow stamp set.  This set is a fun one!

No, I don't live in an institution.  Today's pictures were taken at my office.  Due to my crazy-busy life right now - and the fact that it's too dark to take photos when I'm at home - I took my project and camera to work to take these photos!!

When I think of snow, I think of snowmen!  I decided to create some little snowmen treat boxes.  (I got the idea for these boxes from Jayne of Jayne's Designs.  Last year, she made similar boxes using Santa and a reindeer.  I was so smitten with Jayne's boxes that I decided to make some myself - but with snowmen!)

The boxes were made using Tags, Bags, Boxes and More.  I used Doodlecharms for the snowmen's heads, noses and arms.  I added eyes and buttons using Glossy Enamel.  Each snowman has a little red bow tied with the NEW red jute string from My Craft Spot.  The boxes are hung with Cranberry crinkle ribbon, also from My Craft Spot.

The fun little sentiment is from the NEW Think Snow stamp set.  The sweet teensy snowflakes are from the same set!  I used circles from the My Craft Spot Tiny Doilies metal dies to create the little tags.  For a splash of extra colour, I punched some green leaves.

Be sure to head over to My Craft Spot to see the rest of the fabulous projects created by Kimberly and the design team.  Plus, leave a comment for Kimberly while you are there for a chance to win today's prize - a My Craft Spot New Arrival stamp set.

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My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party - Day Three

Welcome to Day 3 of the My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party!  I'm so excited to be showing you a sneak peek of the NEW "Joy to the World" set.  There are some wonderful Christmas sentiments in this set!  Be sure to head to My Craft Spot to see what Kimberly and the rest of the design team have created using some of the other stamps in the set.

I used A Quilted Christmas for my shepherd boy who is popped on the card.  I wanted to give the background a "stable" feel to it, so embossed the cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the Distressed Stripes folder.  I also did some inking around the edges.  

The Spellbinders sentiment tag is meant to represent a window leading out to the angel announcing the birth of the Christ Child.  

To create a border, I added some eyelets and some of the NEW jute string from My Craft Spot.

Don't forget to leave a comment on today's post at My Craft Spot for your chance to win some of the NEW jute string!

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My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party - Day Two

Welcome back to the My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party!  Were you able to see all the fabulous sneak peeks of the NEW Chunky Alphabet stamps and Lacy Banner metal dies yesterday?  If not, check them out while you're visiting My Craft Spot for peeks of today's new release!

For my project, I made some little treat bags.  (These bags are similar to the ones I made for Valentine's Day.)  I used a Sizzix die to cut the snowflake in the middle and also embossed the papers using a Cuttlebug snowflake folder.  Little baggies hold the mini-marshmallows inside.  For the topper, I used a Martha Stewart snowflake punch to create the border.  I finished the toppers with some Sky baker's twine from My Craft Spot and some blue buttons from my stash.  

The little doilies were cut using the My Craft Spot Tiny Doilies metal dies - and were stamped with sentiments from the NEW My Craft Spot Stampin' Around Christmas stamp set.  These stamps were designed to work perfectly with the Tiny Doilies metal dies!  All the My Craft Spot dies cut so cleanly with wonderful edges each and every time.

Be sure to head over to My Craft Spot to see what the rest of the design team has created using the NEW Stampin' Around Christmas set.  Plus, leave a comment on today's post at My Craft Spot for your chance to win the Tiny Doilies metal dies that match the stamps!! 

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My Craft Spot Stamp Release Party - Day One

Welcome to the first day of the 2012 My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter Stamp Release Party!!  Each day this week, we will be showcasing projects made with the NEW My Craft Spot stamps.  There's even a new set of metal dies too!  Kimberly will be offering up a prize at My Craft Spot each day of the release - and during Saturday's blog hop, you will have a chance to win one of the NEW releases at each stop along the way.

My card today was made using the NEW metal dies and alphabet stamps.  In fact, all the little pennants and circles were cut using the new dies.  After stamping "J-O-Y" on each of the purple circles, I heat embossed them with some silver embossing powder.  This card really was fairly simple to put together and I'm so pleased with the elegant look of the finished product.  The pennants cut so easily and have such a fabulous polished look to them.  I only used a few of the dies - so there's more to the set than I've shown here.  (The musical score paper is from a Recollections set, "The Ballet".)

Be sure to head over to My Craft Spot to see some more sneak peeks of the new metal dies and alphabet stamps.  The full reveal will come on Saturday - and ALL the new products will be available for purchase then as well.  

Due to the metallic paper, I had the HARDEST time getting a nice shot of the front of my card.  This still has some glare... Sorry!

I'll be back tomorrow with another sneak peek from another NEW My Craft Spot stamp set!!

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My Craft Spot Release - Tomorrow!

Hello crafters!  This is a friendly reminder that tomorrow starts the week-long fun at My Craft Spot.  It's time for the 2012 Christmas Winter Stamp Release Party!  I've been hard at work (and am still working!) on my projects to show you.  There was a slowdown with Canada Post so I was delayed in receiving the products... but they're here now and are ALL well worth the wait!!  I've also seen a number of the other design team members' projects and they are AMAZING!!  

Also, I've been very blessed to have been passed the Sunshine Blogger Award by Kristan (Babycakes), Laurie (Serenity Scrappers) and Sherrie (Sherrie Scraps with Passion).  I feel quite unworthy of this honour, given my limited blogging time these days, and am so incredibly touched and moved that these friends would think of me.  Thank you Kristan, Laurie and Sherrie!

As part of this award, I am to follow the rules below:
1. Include award logo in the blog post (check!) 2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you and have a link back to their blog (check!)
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself that have made up yourself
4. Nominate 10-12 bloggers and contact them through their blog to let them know

Question 1: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?  I would love to live in England.  I was born there and have gone back to visit numerous times.  I'd need a place with central heat though as I don't think I could live without that now!!

Question 2: What type of car do you drive?  I drive a Ford Edge.  I'm not the least bit into cars, but I noticed the Edge a couple of years ago and decided that I wanted one.  My husband gave me keys for my birthday (although I still got to go and choose the one I wanted). :)  I LOVE my car... and my man!

Question 3: If you could be an animal, what would you be?  I would be a cat.  I'd love to be able to do my own thing and not care what others think.  I tend to be too much of a people pleaser and that can have its disadvantages at times.  I wouldn't like to have to lick myself all over though...

Question 4: What is your favourite colour?  Green!  I LOVE green!  My craft room is painted green.

Question 5: If you could go back in time and change something about your life, what would you change?  I would have stayed in school longer and waited to get married - but I would have wanted my husband to wait for me as well!!  I did have two degrees when I got married but never felt like I was done school.  It was tough going back to do my Masters with a family... but I'm so glad I did.

Question 6: What is your favourite crafting technique?  I LOVE embossing with my Cuttlebug!  

Question 7: Coffee or tea?  Neither!  When I need a hot drink, I prefer hot chocolate. 

Question 8: If you could meet anybody in history, who would you like to meet?  I would like to meet Moses (from the Bible).  I think we've got a lot in common - although I have not killed anybody!!  I just think he would be an interesting person to talk with.

Question 9: What is your favourite quote?  Never judge a book by its cover. 

Question 10: What gives you the most joy in life?  My family.  I am so incredibly blessed to have a man that is still completely smitten with me after all these years - and three amazing children who fill my heart with so much love that I think it will burst some days.  I am beyond thankful for the family I've got. 

I am supposed to pass this along to others.  I know that this award has been making its way around blogland.  If you have not yet received it, then I nominate YOU!  Please pick up the award and post it proudly on your blog.  Be sure to let me know so I can come and read more about you!

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