My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: Project Life here I come, and an announcement....

(This is a long-winded post so settle down comfortably... ;-))

Today is my "My Thoughts Exactly Thursday", but it also is my last official post as one of their Design Team members. The key word here is "official", not "last", as I am sure you will still see plenty of MTE projects from me, just not DT projects. ;-)
My term comes to an end at the end of this month and I have decided not to renew it. I have really enjoyed my time with this wonderful cast of ladies (best DT ever!!... <3), and a part of me cannot believe this is coming to an end, especially since I have been with MTE from day 1. It's been fun to watch Alyssa and Brian shape this company up, and I know they are headed for success and I wish them the very best! :-D <3

But there are only so many hours in a day and I need more time... :-( This past year has been difficult and I have struggled to get some things done. My "crafting" goals this year are to scrapbook more (especially learn to digi-scrap), and to work on my photography skills (or lack thereof! ;-)) so, as the saying goes, something's gotta give... ;-)

Which brings me to today's project. You might be familiar with Project Life, a concept developed and sold by Becky Higgins. Basically you get a 12X12 binder and fill it with page protectors that contain different sizes compartments. Add pictures and journaling cards and you're all set. This saves you lots of time compared to "classical" scrapbooking. I have decided to hop on the Project Life bandwagon (as I am YEARS behind in my scrapbooking in general (by years I mean like 10 years or so?... *shame*))  and I think this will enable me to work on present pics while trying to catch up with the old ones in a more conventional way. So I have ordered a binder and pack of page protectors, and all I need now are pics and journaling cards...

So for today's project I made some using a variety of MTE sets! :-)  I used cardstocks and flashcards and made sure each had a little spot to jot down the date or a few words. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had making those! :-)

For this one I used the More Mini Thoughts set.

This one uses the very 1st set released by MTE, the Birds & Bees set.

This one also uses the More Mini Thoughts set.

That one uses the Big Thoughts set.

This one uses the Sweet Thoughts set.

That one uses 2 sets,  More Mini Thoughts and Under The Sea. I think it will go great with pics of my kiddos in the pool...  :-)

That one uses Many Thanks. I love that Polka dot Smash tape, and the pop of red. :-)

This one uses Big Thoughts,.

And lastly, this one also uses 2 sets: Big Thoughts and  Sweet Thoughts.

To hold my little cards I made a little pocket book using a manilla file folder. The sentiment is from the More Mini Thoughts set and the frame is from Holly Jolly Tags.

And that's it for this looooong post!!... Thanks for bearing with me!... ;-)

Don't forget to visit my fellow DT members today: Belinda and Tracy.

My Thoughts Exactly April release: Engaged

It's the 1st of the month which means another My Thoughts Exactly release! :-) This month the sets are your basic go to stamps for every occasions! There are 2 big sets: Big Thoughts and More Big Thoughts, and the same sets come in a smaller scale: Mini Thoughts and More Mini Thoughts to give you even more versatility... You can also buy them as bundles to save money. You can see all the options here.

Those sets cover occasions like birthday, retirement, wedding, etc... but also sympathy and much more.
To see how to use them and mix and match the different combinations head over to Alyssa's blog, she has a video for you that will tell you all you need to know. :-)

Today I made a simple project, I am in my bed with the most terrible flu I have gotten in quite some years, this is not an April Fool's joke, and I only dragged myself out of bed long enough to finish my card. >.<
I should thank my hubby's cousin for her perfect timing, or better yet her fiancé, for asking her to marry him very recently. Turns out I had the perfect stamp for that! ;-)  For my card I used the More Mini Thoughts set, I just love the font of that congratulations!...

Don't forget to visit my fellow DT members to see their wonderful projects:

Alyssa: My Thoughts Exactly
Ashley: Heart Hugs Designs
Bee:  <--  you're here!
Belinda: Bee's Hive O' Drama
Benedicte: Scrap Sweet Scrap
Jennifer: Our Change of Art
Jessica: Crafty Rocket Science
Kendra: Luv 2 scrap n' make cards
Lenae: Sugar Gem's Crafts
Tracy: Queenie's Scrapmad 
Becki (guest designer): The Happy Card Encouragement Factory

And last but not least, Alyssa will be giving away a release bundle (all 4 sets) to one commenter of the DT blogs (in other words if you comment on every blog you have 10 chances to win! :-))
Good luck and I hope you enjoy all the projects today. :-)

Your next stop is  Bee's Hive O' Drama .

Basketful of blessings

It's My Thoughts Exactly Thursday, and here is my project using the brand new Easter Greetings stamps set.
Thanks to the mix and match concept of the stamps I used "of" from one sentiment and added the "blessings"from another one. This new set is not just for Easter and has several sentiments about Spring too. As you can see the "basketful" can also be used for gifts (there is a "basketful of goodies" option in the set).

I paperpieced the basket from the background paper, and added a few extra tulips with a glue dot to give it a tiny bit more dimension. Coloring was done with Prismacolor markers. (basket + tulips stamps are PTI, twine is Trendy Twine)

Don't forget to visit my fellow DT members who also have a project for you today:  Bee and Tracy. :-)

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: Cloudy day

It's my posting Thursday for My thoughts Exactly, and today I used the Many Thanks stamps set.
You know me, I am slightly obsessed with rainbows and clouds... I always say that one day I will end up in a car crash because I am looking at the sky while driving... :-S And let me tell you, we have the most beautiful fluffy clouds here on the West coast of Florida!... <3 :-)

Anyway, I just HAD to use that sentiment one day or another, and the latest craze for Washi tape inspired me to make those colored rays out of patterned paper to kind of look like pieces of tape.... And that background paper from Echo Park that looks like rain drops was just begging to be used with clouds! ;-)

Don't you just love the felt clouds? (dies are by PTI) I love cards that have a textured detail on them, something that makes you want to touch them... :-) Mission accomplished with this one...

Don't forget to check my evil twin's blog and Tracy's blog for their MTE project today. :-)

Also My Thoughts Exactly February release is available for pre-order  NOW (to give you more time to work on those valentines with the kiddos... ;-)). The stamps will ship next Monday but you can go check them out on Alyssa's blog and order them here. The 1st 20 orders will receive a mini set for free. You are going to love the candy hearts, and the cute tag, and the puns sentiments... :-P As always the Design Team will have plenty of projects for you on the 1st of the month. :-)

My Thoughts Exactly: January project...

In honor of the new year and the new Design Team term (and new members) things are a little different this month at My Thoughts Exactly.
Instead of our usual group post on the 1st of the month with a new stamps set, each DT member get to be showcased for one day and Alyssa asked us to make a project with our favorite set. And Alyssa gave us a few questions to answer to get people to know the team better...

For my project I chose the Birds & Bees set. It is pretty much impossible to chose a favorite...and I could have gone with Many Thanks or Sweet Thoughts, since they also are both go-to sets for me... but I HAD to go with the bee obviously... ;-)
After all it is my nickname, and I have been lucky enough to be on the My Thoughts Exactly Design Team from the very beginning and this was the 1st set released, so it seemed only fitting to use it... :-)

I found a little bee in my stash (from a Cricut cartridge) that was perfect for what I had in mind... I used lots of foam tape and pop dots because I love dimension and had fun creating a little flower field with my 1/2 inch circle punch... ;-) And of course I had to use a tiny bit of Trendy Twine... ;-)

Below is my little interview, although I am pretty sure you know all that already:


How long have you been paper crafting?

For about 4 years.

How did you get started paper crafting?

I decided one day out of the blue to make my daughter's birthday party's invitations and started looking into rubber stamps and such. I ended up not making  the invitations that year after all, but I was hooked and started my blog shortly after that and “met” lots of other papercrafters this way and became slightly addicted!...

What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?

I like making cards, home décor,  gift wrapping , scrapbooking... but cards are what I  make most often because it is fast... ;-)

What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?

Most definitely my dies and embossing folders. <3

What inspires you most?

I honestly  don't know. Most of the time  it all starts because of a beautiful  sheet of paper that caught my eye...

What is your favorite thing about MTE stamps?

I love their versatility, there are SO many options with them. I just love being able to play with the words, and also play with the stamps themselves like bending them to stamp in a curve etc...

What is your favorite MTE stamp set?

I can't pick just one.  I especially like the “Birds and Bees” because it was the 1^st one to come out and since my nickname is Bee I tend to use it a lot, also the “Sweet Thoughts” and the “Many Thanks” are go-to sets. But the truth is I like them all!  ;-)

And last but not least, to celebrate the new Design Team in style (and as a reward for reading this loooong post! ;-)), My Thoughts Exactly is giving away a stamps set a day till the end of the team's introduction. Since today is my pick, I chose the Birds & Bees set. For a chance at winning it, all you have to do is leave a comment here and I will pick a random winner next week. I am not asking anything from you in return, but I can only recommend that you check out our awesome Design Team. This is a bunch of talented and fun ladies and I am sure you'll enjoy visiting their blogs. :-)

To see the previous posts about the new members, their interviews and projects, visit Alyssa's blog.

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: Ornament boxes

I promise, I promise this is the LAST Holiday project! ;-P
I just kept it for now because it is My Thoughts Exactly Thursday today...

So for this project, I started with 3X3 kraft boxes, from Annie's Paper Boutique.

I then heat embossed the ornament stamp from Holly Jolly Tags on each side with white powder, and colored it with Sharpies. I added little Trendy Twine bows.

The sentiment on top is from Holly Jolly Phrases. I love the font of that big H!... :-)

That's it for Holiday projects!! :-D I am ready to move on and looking forward to making a few cards for my next projects.... :-)
I hope you're enjoying a nice Holiday Season and I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! :-)

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: Season's Greetings Collage

It's My Thoughts Exactly Thursday. Don't forget to check the other Bee's blog too for another project.

For my card today I decided to think a little out of the box... and used the tags from Holly Jolly Tags to make some background paper. I also intentionally stayed away from classic US Holiday colors red and green... ;-)

Then I made a slider with the same tag using embossing powders and glitter glue. Of course I had to add a tad of Trendy Twine somewhere... and then some buttons for good measure... ;-D

And there you have it. A non traditional Holiday card... :-)

My Thoughts Exactly December release: Holiday Tags

It's My Thoughts Exactly December Release!! :-D This month, with the Holidays fast approaching, My Thoughts Exactly is releasing 2 sets geared toward Christmas and Holidays... and we are bringing them to you a few days earlier than usual to give you more time... ;-)

The 1st one Holly Jolly Tags is, you guessed it ;-), a set of tags... ;-) As you'll see with my project, it lends himself to more than just Winter Holidays! :-) (for those of you who use an electronic die cutting machine, some svgs are in the work that will match those tags... ;-))

The 2nd one, Holly Jolly Phrases, will be perfect for cards and scrapbook pages, but will also work well with the previous tags.
Actually, they go so well hand in hand that My Thoughts Exactly is also selling them as a bundle! One set is $15 (shipping included) and the bundle is $25 (shipping included also). And we are happy to announce that MTE now ships worldwide! (for an additional fee, calculated at checkout, depending on the destination). Keeping in mind that those ship in an envelope, international shipping should stay reasonable... :-)

So, for my project today I decided to NOT do a Winter Holiday project!... ;-)

I made a trio of Thanksgiving favors to give to my autistic son's teachers...
I started with some adorable 2X2 Mini Kraft Boxes from Annie's Paper Boutique, and stamped all over them with a Martha Stewart stamps set in Fall colors.
I then wrapped some Orange Truffle Trendy Twine all around them and added my tags.

I used the Holly Jolly Tags set, and  filled my tags with the Many Thanks set, which I thought was just perfect for the occasion. As you can see those tags are perfect for many projects, not just Christmas-y ones! :-)

I decorated the top with 2 buttons on top of each other and yet another snippet of twine...

Those 2X2 little boxes are the perfect size to fit 6 Ghirardelli Squares, one of my favorite little favor to gift... I was so thrilled when I discovered this!!... :-D (Please don't ask why there are no props... ;-D ) I brought those to school with some Holiday coffee packs... :-)

Now I kept the best for last! My Thoughts Exactly is giving away a $5 gift card to celebrate this new release! :-) Go follow My Thoughts Exactly blog or like their Facebook page, let me know in the comments' section what you did, and I will pick a random winner on December 1st. :-)

Oh and one last thing, you still have till the 30th to apply to be a part of MTE's design team!! Check out the details here!! :-D Come on, don't be shy, we are looking for all kinds of crafters, and your enthusiasm is more important than your experience... Good luck! :-D

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday and my 1st step card...

It's My Thoughts Exactly Thursday! Today it's my turn and my evil twin Bee's turn to show you our projects.
So I made a step card! Believe it or not in 4 years of papercrafting I have never made a step card. They are really simple to make and they are a lot of fun. :-)

I used a svg file from SVGCuts.com for my card base, but if you like step cards go visit Alyssa's blog, she has an easy video tutorial on how to make them, plus lots of cool step cards of her own... :-)
The clam, seaweeds, starfishes, and crab, are svgs from Lettering Delights. And my sentiment is from the  Under the Sea stamps set.

I'm sending this card to my niece who's recovering from pneumonia, I'm sure this will cheer her up. :-)

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: Cherry mouse

It's DT Thursday for My Thoughts Exactly, and today is the "Bee's posting day"... ;-) Don't forget to check out the other Bee's (aka Belinda) project here. :-D

Not quite sure what to tell you about my card for today. I think I was trying to have fun and make something a little different today, and I probably succeeded! LOL ;-)

I used the Sweet Thoughts stamps set, I really wanted to go with a cherry theme, I LOVE everything cherry, it is my favorite fruit and flavor for everything you can think of... ;-) This cute little mouse was feeling lonely in my drawer after I cut her out from A Cricut cartridge (Create a Critter) eons ago... ;-)  And I thought it would be unexpected to perch a tiny cherry on the top of her head... And it looks like she is wearing a little french beret... LOL ;-)

The Tag and the Trendy Twine  are of course from Annie's Paper Boutique... :-) The tag was just sitting on my desk, and when I picked this yellow striped paper it called out my name!... ;-)

My Thoughts Exactly October release: Surprise Pumpkin

It's October 1st, which means it's time for another My Thoughts Exactly Stamps release, and this month 2 stamps sets are released just in time for your Halloween projects! :-)
I took a lot of pics and you'll be here for a while so settle down comfortably... ;-)

For my card today I used svg files from  SVGs by Bee. This cute little pumpkin-cat combo is called Pumpkin has a surprise...

And here is the surprise! The card contains a little cat slider...

Here he is if you take him completely out... :-)

The card opens like a regular shaped card...

Now for the stamps, there are 2 sets released this month and I used both on my project. You won't believe the number of sayings those sets contain. They are perfect for scrapbook pages, cards, and all those little treat bags projects!... :-)

 The sign on the front of my card comes from the Fright Night Phrases set.

This cute little tag attached to the cat's neck comes from the Ghostly Greetings set.

The inside sentiment comes from the Ghostly Greetings set also.  And let's not forget the cute little bat smiley that comes from the Fright Night Phrases set.

I hand cut the little leaf out of felt and used some twisted Lime Trendy Twine to add some details and make little tendrils.
(To make the tendrils, simply wrap some wax paper around a pencil, drench some twine in glue and curl it around the pencil, let it dry, then fight with it to remove it from the damn wax paper, and voila!!  :-D)

Each stamps set is $15 (shipping included) but if you buy both sets together as the Halloween Bundle, it's only $25! :-)

And to reward you for reading all the way till the bottom of this long post... My Thoughts Exactly is giving away a $5 gift certificate to one lucky commenter on this post! (that's like 33% off any one stamp set...). This time I ask that you either become a follower of my blog here, or that you follow me on Facebook. If you do both, post a 2nd comment for an extra chance to win... I usually don't ask for anything from you but I thought it would be nice for once to acknowledge the people that have been kindly following me! :-) (thanks for your support!)

Don't forget to visit the other DT members' blogs for some awesome projects highlighting those incredibly versatile stamps!:

Alyssa at My Thoughts Exactly
Bee at Bee's Hive O' Drama
Jessica at Crafty Rocket Science
Jennifer at Our change of Art
Lenae at Sugar Gem
Thienly at Mod Paperie

And last but not least, let me take this opportunity to announce the Fang-tastic Halloween blog-hop that will take place next Friday (till Sunday), come back for more Halloween projects and giveaways! :-D

My Thoughts Exactly Thursday: September

You might have noticed there was no release for My Thoughts Exactly this month... Not to worry, there are currently several sets in production and things got a little backed up but you will soon get to see the new sets and it will be worth the wait... ;-)  But honestly, Alyssa's sets have so many sayings in them that we could post projects for months with just one set!!... ;-)

Here I used the Birds & Bees set again, because it was such a great match for my Fluffles and my Echo Park paper, and I thought it would be a great pick-me-up for a sweet friend of mine... :-) Of course I had to add a little bit of Trendy Twine there too... ;-)

This week my partner in crime is Bee, and don't forget to also visit Alyssa's blog for more DT projects... :-D

"My Thoughts Exactly Thursday" (part 2) : Birthday fishes

This is post #2 for the My Thoughts Exactly Thursday, so if you missed post #1 just scroll down...
I took tons of pics and thought it would be better to separate in 2 posts...
First let me tell you I am in LOVE with this card! I hope I don't toot my own horn too often, but it's not everyday that my card comes out exactly the way I wanted it!!... So I am so thrilled about that! ;-)

When I saw this koi fish in the Asia collection of Lettering Delights, I knew right away I would use it... If I ever had my dream house one day it would have a zen garden with a pond with fishes... :-)
But back to my project... ;-P Please bear with me for the load of pics...

I cut out windows in my card front and background paper with Nestabilities, and used blue vellum paper as my "water"...

To have this as a true window, I used the same background as the card's front (origami paper) on the inside to have a finished look...

To reinforce the "water feel", I crumpled my vellum paper before flattening it again, I just love all the wrinkles this created! :-)

For my sentiment I used balsa wood and a Nestabilities tag, and stamped birthday Fishes from the Under the Sea set.

Don't forget to visit Alyssa's and Bee's blogs today for more projects with My Thoughts Exactly stamps! :-)

"My Thoughts Exactly Thursday" (part 1) : Fairy Dust

It's Thursday and this week it is my turn and Bee's turn to post our My Thoughts Exactly Design Team projects. :-)
I made this card for one of my nieces whose birthday is coming up... Every little girl love fairies, right?...

I used a fairy silhouette SVG that was a freebie from SVG Cuts (cut it out twice to have 2 arms and 2 wings), and used a beautiful dark blue shimmery cardstock (from PTI), and added a little bit of stickles for the "fairy dust"... ;-) (with that sentiment there HAD to be sparkle somewhere!... ;-))
The gift is made by simply cutting out a square and tying Trendy Twine around it. :-) (couldn't decide on the yummy colors, so had to use 2! ;-))

For the sentiment I used the Sweet Thoughts set, and wanted to have a little fun with it so I bent my stamps to give them this little curve and then cut my little banner around it by hand...

This is my post #1 for today since I took a lot of pics for my card #2. If you missed it post #2 is just above this one... :-)
Don't forget to visit  Alyssa's and  Bee's blogs today for more projects!... :-D