As usual, we’re getting to know our guest artist this month through a little Q&A session…..

What technique or style would you most like to develop in your own crafting?

“I would really like to develop my clean and simple card making skills. I always have a tendency to keep adding more “stuff” to my cards and I never have the good sense to leave well enough alone. Most of the cards in my SCS Favourites Gallery consist of beautiful clean and simple cards and it’s always a “slap myself on the forehead” kind of moment with the words “now why didn’t I think of that” attached to it “

Kim, thank you SO much for sharing your gorgeous work with us this month!  You truly are a *fabulous* friend to have!

As always, we have a chance to get to know this month’s Fabulous Friend a little better through our signature “nosey questions.”  We asked Kim, “What was your proudest stamping moment?”

“Two of my proudest stamping moments were when I was asked to be on the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team and when I released my very first stamp set through Clear Dollar Stamps. Those were the biggest moments for me but I am always proud when people take the time to email me or leave sweet messages on my blog when they find my work inspiring “

Stay tuned, we’ll have one more project from Kim next Thursday!  Its been a blast having this talented artist create with My Favorite Things this month!

As always, we ask our Fabulous Friends some of our signature “nosey questions” so that we can get to know our guest artist a little better…

Who is your stamping crush?

Oh that’s a tough question! There are so many women that have molded my stamping over the past few years but here is a list of women who I have aspired to be for these reasons:

*Tosh Leyendekker (Stamps4funinCA), Laurie Schmidlin (lauraly), Amy Sheffer (pickletree) and Beate Johns (Beate) for their amazing layouts and colour combinations

*Michelle Zindorf (Zindorf) for her ability to achieve such intense colours with her brayering

* Jerri Jimenez (Jerri Kay), Anna Wight(SweetMissDaisy) and Jeanne Streiff (Jeanne S) for their out of this world colouring skills.

All of these women have inspired me to create the way I do and have been so sweet and kind and have helped me to learn over the years especially in the colouring department

Kim has inked up Pure Innocence: Girl Scout for her project today, and she’s using it as a thank you to her daughter’s scout leader.  Here’s a fun fact, in Canada the youngest level of Girl Guides is called Sparks and they they wear hot pink uniforms!  Thus, the gorgeous color palette that Kim has selected for today’s project!

I am simply in LOVE with her sponging and color choices! Lucky us, Kim will be back with another project to share next Thursday!

As always, lets get to know this month’s artist a little better by asking one of our nosey questions!

What is your biggest stamping regret?

“I would have to say my biggest stamping regret would be not to have purchased a cuttlebug and dies the moment that they were released for sale. I waited almost a year before buying one and therefore delayed the opportunity to add wonderful textures and shapes to transform my cards. Now I know to buy everything as soon as it becomes available, much to my husband’s chagrin *wink*”
Be sure to join us next Friday for another beautiful project by Kim. Till then, you can visit her blog at Paper in the Works!

Clever girl, Jennifer has masked the image so that she inks up only the mailbox and birdie, colored and then coated the image in Glossy Effects.  Once the Glossy Effects is dry, you can stamp over it with a background and the Glossy works as a resist.  How cool is that?

Jennifer uses the masking technique again, this time to omit the mailbox and use only the little girl character, and omitted the pile of letters in her hand.  Instead, she’s tucked some tiny flowers in her hands, totally precious!  Again, this is the Framed Greetings Die-namics as her matting.  Sentiment is from Just My Type – I love how she’s always mixing and matching her MFT elements for added versatility!

We’ve loved having Jennifer showcase her sweet style here on the MFT Blog! Before we go, I have the last of my nosey questions to ask Jennifer…

What was your proudest stamping moment?

“My proudest stamping moment was when my step-daughter, Kay, taught her first stamping class at age 13. She has amazing talent and is great at getting kids to get super creative and think outside the box. I am so proud of her. “

As a proud mom of crafty girls myself, I think that’s pretty amazing!  Thank you Jennifer for sharing your talents with us this month! If you don’t already follow Jennifer’s blog you can find her here!

Here’s a closeup of her fabulous label! You’ll see she’s used both the gingham and the denim texture in the stamp set.  But look closely, she’s also used the polka dotted pattern in Notched Tag to stamp across the hearts. Brilliant!

After stamping the pattern to the Die-namic hearts, Jennifer has added a layer of Glossy Accents.

Her project is finished off with a sentiment from Just My Type. I love the way she’s gone all mixy-matchy with the stamp sets – what a great way to add versatility to your projects!

As always, we’ve asked Jennifer one of our “nosey” questions so that you can get to know this amazing artist a little better.  Who’s Your Stamping Crush?

“My biggest stamping crush? I have a lot. But the first that pops to mind is Tami Hartley. She has an amazing eye for design and is always able to sneak in a few “wow” techniques. And, to top it off, she has a heart of gold. (You can find her blog at http://tamihartley.blogspot.com/)”

Thank you Jennifer for sharing this SWEET project with us, and we’re looking forward to having her back again next Friday!

Jennifer recently wrote a post on the Top 10 Things she loves about My Favorite Things, and while the giveaway is already closed, we hope you’ll enjoy her Top 10 list, found here.

As always, we ask a series of nosey question to our guest artists each month, and here’s our fist one:

Do you have any stamping “regrets?”

“My biggest stamping regret is not getting into stamping sooner. I started in scrapbooking and never thought I would “go to the darkside” of stamping. But boy am I glad I did. ”

We sure are glad too, because her project for you today is gorgeous!

We’re simply thrilled to have Jennifer create projects for you the next three weeks and you’re in for a treat with her fresh and clean style.  Just take a look at her Rolled Daisy creation – she’s used vellum to create these beauties!

and clever thing that she is, Jennifer has split the Polka Dot Greetings Die-namic to put half above and half below her main panel! I adore her single line of stitching just above and below her main panel too.   Does this card just make you HAPPY or what?

I hope you’ve loved this little beauty from Jennifer! She’ll be back with projects the next two weeks as well, so be sure to swing by to see what she’s created for you!  Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you on Monday with Teasers for our Mid-Month Release!

I asked Colleen “Who is your stamping crush?”

Hands down my stamping crush is Debbie Olson! Not only is Debbie a dear friend, she is one of the TOP designers in the industry. Her style is quiet and sophisticated… much like she is! LOL Debbie has a knack for layout and design, color combinations and embellishments, always having just the right mix to create STUNNING works. Never over-designed, Debbie’s work includes simple elements that enhance her design and set it apart from all the rest. I also adore Debbie for her kindness and sharing attitude. She is someone whom I can honestly admire and she never ceases to amaze me.

I would honestly agree with Colleen, Debbie is one of the sweetest and most talented designers!  We love her to pieces too!! Now here’s a real surprise TREAT for you girls…..Collen has inked up Make Mine a Double – and she’s made a series of You Tube videos of the process. So, you can grab your cup of coffee and follow along. Up first, are her skin tone recommendations and a step by step on how she colors the legs, arms and sweet little face.

Skin Tones

Want to see how she uses feather blending to shade the dress?

Coloring the dress

The project is coming together as Colleen colors up the hair and her ice cream cone….

Hair and Ice Cream

Colleen gives her image the finishing touches, lightening the front of the dress, adding some sweet little cheeks and shares a fun tip to cast some shadows….

Final Details

While there isn’t a step by step video for the coloring on this sweet card, I’m sure you’ll recognize the same feather blending, and facial shading techniques on this project featuring Pure Innocence: My Balloon.

Colleen, thank you SO very much for sharing your tips with all of us here at MFT Stamps today! We’ll see Colleen next Friday for one last set of projects as this month’s Our Fabulous Friend!  If you haven’t added Colleen’s Blog: Distinctive Touches to your daily reading, be sure to drop by and add her to your daily reading list!

What technique or style would you most like to develop in your own crafting?

“Coloring. As a kid I loved to color (and still do). But, when it comes to certain mediums my coloring skills seem to look like they came from that same kid. LOL  I know that it’s one of those things that takes time and practice. (Both of which I am currently lacking in). I refer to my coloring as a “coloring book” style. Not a lot of shadows and highlights…and sometimes barely even inside the lines! I guess that’s why I like non realistic images. I can be creative andless than perfect. And, when that doesn’t work, there’s always paper piecing ”

This sweet Loveosaurus actually was paper pieced, and it is perfect in every way! I love Tami’s monochromatic look here with spectacular details including a Notebook Edge Die-namic and the addition of our Fresh Cut Grass Die-namics to create her scene.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to have this talented, sweet and ever so humble designer join us this month.  Please be sure to add Tami’s blog as well as the CPS Blog to your reading list.

Supplies used:

Dotted Swiss card stock: Bazzill
Green Vellum and Kraft: Discount CardStock
Patterned papers: Cosmo Cricket
Colored Pencils: Prismacolor
Ink:Clearsnap (Wicked Black, Vintage Green)
3D Foam Squares: Scrapbook Adhesvies by 3L
Machine stitching

As usual, lets get to know our guest artist a little better by getting a little nosey….

Who is your stamping crush?

“That is a tough one. There are so many talented designers out there that I admire. I couldn’t even begin to name them all. My google reader is filled with inspiring ideas and gorgeous work every day. But, honestly, while I admire the ability to create a gorgeous project with the perfect layout, color combination, colored image etc. I think for me it is more a matter of character than skill. I am drawn to those designers who I have found are true at heart and who are always helping and blessing others in some way. Those are the people I want to surround myself with. To me it doesn’t matter how skillful or popular you are if you have had to step on others to get there or try to make everything about you. It’s a lot easier to improve your skills than it is to improve your character.”

Tami’s sweet project today uses a la modes: Time to Celebrate as well as our Open Scallop Die-namic. Don’t you just love her sweetly paper pieced cake with all its sugary icing? You’ll see Tami’s three little rhinestones here on the top corner, its a signature “thing” of Tami’s, and its always fun to see what she’s used as her three little things on each of her projects!

I hope you’ll leave our Fabulous Friend a little love today, and that you’ll be back to visit with her next Friday as she has one last project lined up for us next week!

Supplies used:

Patterned papers: We R Memory Keepers
Markers: Copic
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Clearsnap Wicked Black
Glitter: Stamp Affair
Clear Gems: Kaiser Craft
Adhesive Sheets and 3D Foam Squares: Scrapbook Adhesvies by 3L
Machine stitching