MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge...

It's time for a new sketch Challenge over at MFT.  Today's sketch works for the perfect CAS card. 

Today I am using the new set, Joyful Heart Bears.....or actually just the bees from the set...

To create this card, I randomly stamped the bees on a piece of white card stock.  I added a little yellow and a little light blue to make the bees pop.  I added in the diagonal cut card stock and then finished it off by adding in the sentiment using Happy from the Happy Birthday Die.

Here is this weeks sketch....

Check out the MFT Challenge blog to see the details!  I hope you can play along too.  Sketches are such a great way to find a little mojo if you need some.  :)

Hope you have a great day!

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FIND ME OVER ON:

Instagram: Laurie Willison (@laurie_willison)

YouTube: Soapbox Creations

Facebook: Soapbox Creations

All products in today's post are linked below and throughout the post.  These are my personal affiliate links which you can shop from at no cost to you!  :)  Thank you for supporting Soapbox Creations!  

MFT Hits and Highlights...

Welcome to the February round of MFT Hits and Highlights.  Here is this month's challenge.

Tic Tac Toe is a classic game — what better way to insert some fun into your paper crafting projects than with a classic? Our exclusive Tic Tac Toe shapes can be used in SO many ways — everything from treats to tags to cards. This month, we are challenging you to use the Tic Tac Toe acrylic shapes without using the Tic Tac Toe Die-namics or X's and O's stamp set. Yep, reach into your creative hat and pull a new trick out of your hat. You can pair the Tic Tac Toe with any other stamp set or die we offer. In fact, we encourage it. Ready? Set. Get crafty and have fun. 

I created a quick, clean and simple card using the X's and O's from MFT Tic Tac Toe line....

I did a little ink blending on the card base, added in a brick wall that I created using the Small Brick Stencil and then added in the adorable little penguins.  Last, I glued on the X's and O's and then finished it off with a little heart inside the O and a bow made out of hearts.  Those hearts are all from the Tag Builders set.  

There will be lots more to see over on the MFT Challenge Blog.  I hope you get a chance to play along! 

Have a great day!

Altenew Live Your Dream Scrapbook Collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hey there friends!  I am hoping along with the Scrapbook Team to share a new kit that is available today.  This kit is gorgeous and includes many elements perfect for the most elegant of scrapbook pages.  But....it also contains some amazing stuff for us card makers!  I have 5...yes 5!!  very clean and simple cards that were super quick to make, using elements from this kit.  

Check out the kit....

Here are some details about the Scrapbook Kit...

Our Live Your Dream Scrapbook Collection is a bright and elegant line that you can use to document any occasion. From the little daily moments, you want to remember forever to bigger milestones like parties and birthdays.

All of the products in this collection are very versatile and you can use them for many different projects such as 12x12 layouts, pocket scrapbooking, cards, home decor, and much more.

This collection contains

• 16 sheets of 12x12 double-sided patterned papers (2 of each/16 different designs)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of puffy alphabet stickers (220 pieces)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of chipboard stickers (38 pieces)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of clear stickers (31 pieces)
• 1 pack of wood epoxy buttons (20 pieces)
• 1 pack of die-cut cardstock embellishments (32 pieces)   
  
  
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  CARDS

These 5 cards don't need a lot of explanation because they were just super easy to create.  I love that about kits.  You can pull out any sticker, button or chipboard piece and create a card.  I like to think of it as a tiny layout.  :)

I added a little ink blending in the background on this first card before adding the banner die cut and then finished it off with a sentiment from the Crafty Friends set...

On this card, I simply added a leaf sticker from the pack and a quick thank you sentinel from Frilled Petals.  I added some partial score lines in the background to add a little subtle detail.

The kit is filled with amazing die cuts and die cut sentiments.  You can imagine how quick this card was....foam tape and die cuts and done!

The 12x12 paper pack included in the box can easily be cut down to 6x6 papers.  I love to store them that way because I don't ever need anything bigger.  The large brush stokes on this paper were so pretty, all I had to do was add a simple Hello from the included Puffy Alpha Stickers.

And because I couldn't resist the banner die cuts, I did one more simple card with die cuts and a craft sentiment from Crafty Friends.

Using this kit is a great way to make lots of cards at once and can even help get the creative mojo flowing.  Lot of fun details included to create to your hearts content!

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GIVEAWAY

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 2/28/2019 for a chance to win. 6 winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 3/3/2019.

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BLOG HOP

Altenew Scrapbook Blog

Paige Evans

Enza Gudor

Kathleen Graumüller

Jen Schow

Zinia Redo

Bea Valint

Raquel Bowman

Sandra Dietrich

Amanda Baldwin

Maryam Perez

Svitlana Shayevich

Missy Whidden

Altenew Card Blog

Nathalie DeSousa

Kymona Tracey

Patricia Roebuck

Lydia Evans

Terhi Koskinen

Lilith Eeckels

Meghann Andrew

Reiko Tsuchida

Flóra Mónika Farkas

Virginia Lu

Kim Jeffress

Elsie Robinson

Laurie Willison (you are here!)

Kelly Janes

Erum Tasneem

Thanks so much for coming by today! Hope you have a great day!

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FIND ME OVER ON:

Instagram: Laurie Willison (@laurie_willison)

YouTube: Soapbox Creations

Facebook: Soapbox Creations

All products in today's post are linked below and throughout the post.  These are my personal affiliate links which you can shop from at no cost to you!  :)  Thank you for supporting Soapbox Creations!  

MFT Birthday Project...

This month we have a new challenge for the MFT Birthday Project...

Sometimes using a numerical representation of the birthday boy or girl’s age is to share in their excitement (four-year-olds LOVE being four!) and sometimes, it’s maybe to rub it in a bit…in a loving way, of course. This month, we're challenging you to come up with interesting ways to feature numbers in your designs — whether recognizing the milestone of a newly-christened teenager, the celebration of hitting the half-century mark, or anything in between (or beyond!) we want to see numbers in play.

I needed a birthday card so this challenge came in perfect time...

To create this card, I did a little stenciling in the background with the Snow Flurry Stencil and the went over the area again with the gray ink so I have a little ink blended spot on the card base.  I stacked up 4 of the Happy Birthday Circle Frame and attached that to the card base.  I used the Well Connected Numbers stamp set for the 8 and the Mini Well Connected Alphabet for the "th".  I stamped those in black ink in the center of the frame.  Last, I grabbed one of of the adorable mice from It's a Mice Time to Celebrate and added a little color.  I popped him up on the card front with foam tape.  

I can't wait to see how the rest of the design team creates with numbers today.  You can see lots more of this birthday inspiration over on the MFT Challenge Blog today!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you get the chance to play along!

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FIND ME OVER ON:

Instagram: Laurie Willison (@laurie_willison)

YouTube: Soapbox Creations

Facebook: Soapbox Creations

All products in today's post are linked below and throughout the post.  These are my personal affiliate links which you can shop from at no cost to you!  :)  Thank you for supporting Soapbox Creations!  

Gina K February Release...

Have you seen the Gina K February Release?  She has so many amazing new stamps and dies and when I had the chance to ink up some of the new stuff, I got right to it!  I have a rainbow trio here with all the colors, using several new stamps and dies.  

To start off, the new set called Crafty Notes is one of my favorites!  This set has so many possibilities and is just adorable!

To create this card, I took a white card front and added in a rainbow of Copies with a straight edge ruler.  Next, I stamped the most perfect sentiment right there on the front. I stamped and die cut those adorable scissors and add then to the front with some foam tape.  I used fun foam and attached the card front to the a Turquoise Sea card base.

This next card features the new set called Cake Toppers.

To create this card, I used some Peacock Feathers Oxide ink on the card base.  I die cut and stamped the cake in rainbow colors. I used a sentiment from Crafty Notes, making this the perfect birthday card for a craft friend!  I decided to leave the cake stand white and added it to the card with foam tape.  I used the little line image from the set to add in candle directly on the card base, then popped up the cake on top.  I added some little wooden heart stars on top of the candles to finish off the card.

I had to incorporate the rainbow just one more time....

I used the pencil image from Craft Notes along the card base.  I colored each one accordingly and then stamped the most gorgeous sentiment on top.  This sentiment "be creative" is from the Crafty and Creative set.  I adore the font on this set!  This was a fun clean and simple card to make!

Gina has lots more to see for this release.  Head on over to the Gina K Design shop to check it out!

Thanks so much for coming by today!  Hope you have a great day!

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FIND ME OVER ON:

Instagram: Laurie Willison (@laurie_willison)

YouTube: Soapbox Creations

Facebook: Soapbox Creations

All products in today's post are linked below and throughout the post.  These are my personal affiliate links which you can shop from at no cost to you!  :)  Thank you for supporting Soapbox Creations!  

Big big news...

So I have some news.  I still don't know how it is even possible!  Someone needs to pinch me!  

Check it out right HERE. 

Insert happy dance.  :)

Thanks for stopping in!  

Craft Sale....

Altenew has some amazing sales this week and I want to share!

Worth checking out!

• Promotions page! https://altenew.com/pages/promotions Find all of our current deals and promotions easily on this page.

• New Release! Altenew's February Release can be found HERE.

• New Creativity Kit!

• Weekly Sale! Enjoy these great deals and save up to 45% off on select items in the Sale collection from now through 2/24/2019. While supplies last. 
  Shop here → https://altenew.com/collections/sale

• Clearance Sale! We have more amazing products rolling in very soon, so we’re clearing out older products and making room for some shiny new items. Everything in the Clearance collection is now up to 60% off! Once the product sells out, it will no longer be available. Shop here → https://altenew.com/collections/clearance

• And don't forget the Free Shipping codes.....

• FREE U.S. shipping on orders over $100 with code USFREE
• $7 off international shipping on orders over $100 with code SHIP70FF
  
  

Hero Arts 2019 Catalog Blog Hop...

Hello there and welcome to the Hero Arts 2019 Catalog Hop!  There are so may fabulous new products in the catalog and I have several things to share!  Keep scrolling to see my projects, to check out the full blog hop list and also to see how you can win a prize! 

First up, here is a card using the new background stamp called Mail Jumble Background....

Instead of using it as intended, I cut up some of the envelopes and added them to a white card base with foam tape.  I added in a little sentiment from the new set called Sending Smiles by heat embossing on a little banner to add another pop of color.

This next card uses Flower Garden Bold Prints....

I stamped this one in black ink and then added in some color using Copic Markers.  I die cut the new hello die in black fun foam and black card stock for a 3D sentiment.  The new word dies in the catalog are some of my favorites!  

One last clean and simple card...

I used the Abstract Graphic Texture die on the card base of this card.  I added in a butterfly from the Color Layering Monarch Butterly sent.  I adore this set and how beautifully it colors up the image with different layers of ink.  Last, I die cut a a rectangle of vellum using the Rounded Rectangle Infinity Die  and heat embossed the sentiment.  I added that to the card front with foam tape to finish off the card.

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GIVEAWAY

Hero Arts will be going away FOUR - $50 gifts certificates to their shop.  All you need to do is comment on each stop of the hop.  Winners will be chosen from all of the blogs along the hop today.  Comments will close on Sunday, February 17th at 11:59 PST.  Winners will be announced on the Hero Arts Blog the following week.

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BLOG HOP

Hero Arts Blog

Caly Person

Emily Midgett

Ilina Crouse

Janette Kausen

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Michelle Short

Nichol Spohr

Yana Smakula

Amy Kolling

Debi Adams

Jennifer McGuire

Julee Tilman

Kathy Racoosin

Kelly Latevola

Laurie Willison (you are here!)

Lydia Fiedler

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FIND ME OVER ON:

Instagram: Laurie Willison (@laurie_willison)

YouTube: Soapbox Creations

Facebook: Soapbox Creations

All products in today's post are linked below and throughout the post.  These are my personal affiliate links which you can shop from at no cost to you!  :)  Thank you for supporting Soapbox Creations!