MCT Thoughtful Thursday: Cherry on Top...

It seems that CAS (Clean & Simple) is very in these days, and I'm LOVING that bandwagon! It's so crisp and, well... clean.

But isn't it funny how not-so-simple, CAS can be? I know that I can stare at my materials for a long time before I know what to do with them. *giggle*

Today's project is a birthday card I've made a la CAS. The 'challenge' for today was to use one of two MCT stamp sets. I used More of My Favorite Sayings for the sentiment and the ice cream dies from Celebrate Good Times.

The polka dots are embossed with a folder from The Paper Studio and the card stock and patterned paper are Stampin' Up! A little glitter (on the cherry) and a good dose of pop dots finish this card off nicely.

See what the other MCT designers have in store for this Thoughtful Thursday over at Emma's blog.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Birthday Bash Blog Hop: Flying By to Say...

*noisemaker*

Welcome, welcome to the My Creative Time Birthday Bash Blog Hop! Today we are celebrating our fearless leader's 42nd birthday with fun birthday-themed projects, a giveaway and a fabulous SALE!!! More on that in a bit...

If you've hopped here from Tracy's blog then you're headed in the right direction. If not, mosey on over to the Birthday Girl's blog to start from the beginning!

Our youngest nephew, Mason, is turning ONE this month! He's growing so big - so fast! To celebrate, I made him this sweet little 4.25" square card.

The sentiment (Fly Away With Me Stamp Set) is originally 'straight' - no curve at all. But with My Creative Time's fabulous photopolymer stamps, you can wiggle them all around to fit your card! I really love the way it follows the tail of the kite (Fly Away With Me Sentiments).

After coloring the tail flags of the kite with my Copics, I re-stamped the kite onto another sheet of white card stock, colored it, cut out the top portion and layered it with pop dots. I then glittered the tail flags and kite with Star Dust Stickles.

Card Inside

The little banner/flag hanging on the left was embossed with the Stampin' Up! Clouds Impressions Folder. The design of this card is very clean and simple - the layering adds pizzazz!

The inside simply says, "Happy Birthday" (Celebrate Good Times) so we can write our own message and sign.

Prize Package

***BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY ALERT***
How would YOU like to be the LUCKY winner of this FABULOUS  “Project Life COMPLETE Scrapbook Kit BLUSH EDITION”?  Yep, Miss Emma ordered an extra one to give away for this special day! All you have to do is leave a comment at EACH stop in this Hop!  For additional entries, you can spread the word on Facebook to all of YOUR friends! Once you do that, visit the My Creative Time Facebook page and let Emma know that you did so!  This is a FABULOUS prize - Good Luck!

Free Stamp Set with $20 Minimum Purchase

***SALE ALERT***

Okay, are you all ready for an AMAZING sale as well? For THIS WEEKEND ONLY, use code BDAY42  at checkout to get 20% off of your purchase! You can start shopping HERE! This sale will end on Sunday, May 12th at 11:59pm PST!  As a Birthday present from Emma to all of YOU, she is giving away this ADORABLE stamp set to orders placed THIS WEEKEND ONLY! *There is a $20 minimum order required to receive the free stamp set!*

The fun doesn't stop here! You still have ONE MORE STOP! We're so happy to have our former DT Member, Trell, back for this super fun Hop!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 3D Wednesday: Tooth Fairy Capsule

Welcome to another 3D Wednesday with the My Creative Time Design Team! Today I'm sharing an idea I came up with while scrapping with the girls last weekend.

Every other month or so (though we'd like to be more frequent) the ladies in my family and a few friends get together to craft all day. Last Saturday, my Mom's friend joined us and challenged me to come up with an idea for an empty medication bottle she had. Well, actually - she claims that she has MANY of these bottles and just can't get rid of them because she knows that there must be something great to create with them.

Ever have that thought about something? It's so hard to part with little treasures that you just know someday will come in handy, isn't it?

I stared at that bottle forever and just couldn't seem to come up with anything other than storage for small crafting supplies (buttons, brads, doo-dads, etc.). Finally, while going through my MCT stamps for inspiration, I found this adorable little tooth duo and knew just what to do with the bottle - a little capsule for the Tooth Fairy!

Now, I realize that this isn't exactly an idea to mass produce with all of the bottles this friend has, but I was happy to come up with something! *giggle*

The project is pretty simple, but I think it's just darling. I added a little sparkle with some Star Dust Stickles and a little rhinestone. The teeth are very lightly colored in with gray Copics.

MCT Products Used
All Around Everything Stamp Set
All Around Everything Accessories Stamp Set

Thanks for stopping by to see my project today! Be sure to check out Emma's blog to see what the other designers have in store for you!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 24th Release Blog Hop: Graduation Congratulations!

Hey there!

Thanks for stopping by for the 24th Release Blog Hop! I'm sure you came here from Tracy's blog, but if not: mosey on over to Emma's blog to start from the very beginning (a very good place to start... or so I've been told).

This year my oldest nephew, Mitch, is graduating from high school. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. I still remember the day he was born. I was in third grade and my classmates and I were enjoying "Fun Friday" where we got to watch a movie and eat Jolly Ranchers towards the end of the school day. My teacher, Mr. Avoledo, called me up to his desk to tell me that he just received a call that my sister-in-law had her baby. I was FILLED with joy and went back to my seat bragging to all of my little friends about becoming an Aunt. 

I cried tears of joy when he first called me "Ron Ron" (his young way of saying "Aunt Ronnie" at the time). And I was so proud when he became a percussionist in his school band (following in my footsteps). I don't think he'll ever really understand how special he is to me.

For his graduation, I created this fun, colorful card. The faux-stitching on the outside border was done using a white gel pen and I used my Copics to color in the plane. I embossed the orange layer with Stampin' Up!'s Cloud Impressions Folder.

MCT Products Used
Details Journal Stamp from Journal It! (new today!)
Stitched Journal Card Die (new today!)
It's All About You (new today!)
Fly Away With Me Stamps
Fly Away With Me Dies (airplane)
Fly Away With Me Sentiments (with banner dies)


***BLOG HOP GIVEAWAY ALERT***

For our Blog Hop giveaway, there will be 2 winners chosen from ALL the comments combined!  Both winners will win a $25 Gift Card to the My Creative Time store!  All you have to do is leave a comment here along with the rest of the design team's blogs AND also leave a way for us to contact you!  Emma will use random.org to pick the lucky winners!  Just leave a comment on all blogs in this hop for more chances to win! The deadline is Sunday, April 21st at midnight! Emma will announce winners on her blog on Tuesday, April 23rd!  EASY PEASY!!! GOOD LUCK!
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Thanks again for hopping by today. I'm your last stop.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 24th Edition Sneak Peek: Mini Frame Magnet

Welcome to another Sneak Peek day for My Creative Time! Today I'm featuring one of MCT's newest dies (available this Friday): Stitched Mini Frame (with arrow) Die.

For my easy-peasy project, I created a sweet little fridge magnet to hold a photo. I cut the frame out twice: once out of a magnet sheet and once out of patterned paper. I'm showcasing my cousin's "Save the Date" photo for this sample since I demolished her original Save the Date for the project (had to get the magnet sheet somewhere, right? *giggle*) I must admit, I wasn't sure how well the die would cut through the magnet sheet - but no worries - it cut like buttah!

I simply added the sentiment to the flag, stuck on the heart and VOILA! I told you it was easy-peasy!

MCT Products Used
Stitched Mini Frame with Arrow Die (available Friday)
Chocolate Greetings Stamp Set (and flag die)
Stitched Heart Layering Dies

Sneak Peek Giveaway Time!
With all of our Sneak Peek weeks, Emma likes to do some FUN giveaways!

We would like to announce a winner every day, so to qualify, all you have to do is leave comments on our blogs! You do NOT have to comment on every blog, BUT if you do, you will have more chances to win! We're switching it up this time: Emma will be picking a winner each night and announcing the winner the next morning! Example: for today's sneak, leave your comments here & share on Facebook, then Emma will announce the winner (for today) tomorrow morning! That means a winner will be announced every day during sneaks!

 ***SPREAD THE WORD TO THE WORLD ON FACEBOOK about this release to whatever connections you may have! Let us know on My Creative Time's Facebook Page that you did so! OR you can just tag Emma in your post!

 GOOD LUCK!

 Log onto to your Facebook now and start spreading the word!

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Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure to check out Emma's blog to see what the other designers created.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

24th Edition PRE-Sneak Party: Running in Color

Hey there! Welcome to the very FIRST My Creative Time PRE-Sneak Party. Today the Design Team will be showcasing stamps from the NEWEST MCT edition (which will officially release on Friday, April 19th). But there's a catch... we're not spilling the beans on what is new in our projects. More on that later...

If you've arrived here from Tracy's  blog, then you're on the right track! If not, hop on over to Emma's blog to party from the very beginning.

As you may know, over the last year I've adopted a much healthier lifestyle I've reached my goal weight! Woohoo! One of the major changes has been running. And guess what? Nothing's even chasing me! This year, The Hubs and I have two kinda-crazy goals:

1. Run at least one official race every month
2. Run the Detroit Marathon on October 20, 2013. That's 26.2 miles. Twenty-six. POINT two. Because 26.3 would be nuts, right? *giggle* 

In fact, today (Friday, April 13th) I'm out running a 10k with my other half and a couple of friends. April race: check!

Somehow, I've convinced my BFF to join me (and a gaggle of others, including The Hubs) in running the Color Me Rad Detroit 5k in May. This is her first 5k and I'm really looking forward to running it right next to her. This isn't just any ol' race, though. This is a 'color run'.

As we run the race in all-white, we will be showered with colored cornstarch. By the time we're through, our clothes (and bodies) will be a colorful MESS. How FUN is that?!?! We have seven people running on our team. Team name: Slow Expectations!

To get my BFF pumped for the BIG DAY, I've made this simple 4.5" square card inspired by the race itself.

Can YOU see what's new?

***GIVEAWAY ALERT***
Would you like to win one of the AMAZING new sets from this release? All you have to do is guess what new item I'm featuring on my project today and leave a comment with your answer! The more blogs you comment on, the better your chances at winning! Winner will be announced on our "official" first day of sneak peeks on Monday, April 15th! You have until Saturday, April 13th at 11:59pm to leave your comments! Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by to PARTY with me today! I'm the last stop.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

P.S. The Hubs and I are super excited to be running the Detroit Marathon this year, but we're not doing it alone! We've teamed up with 1300 other people at our church (yep, you read that right: THIRTEEN HUNDRED) to raise money for clean water for the Pokot in Kenya. If you're interested in learning more or feel inspired to donate to this truly awesome cause, check out the Hope Water Project link in the sidebar. We're also super happy to accept your prayers for the Pokot and for our safe training and marathon. Thanks!

MCT 3D Wednesday: Gummy Bears!

Every year, my father-in-law creates special Easter baskets for all of his kids and grandkids. He hides 'em (sometimes too well), we find 'em and then relish in the sugary goodness that comes along with Easter candy.

Since a few of us are trying to avoid having A LOT of the 'typical' candy, we receive a text message earlier in the month instructing us to reply with our wishlists. On my list this year? Jelly Belly Sugar-Free Gummy Bears. That's it.

In years past, I've been ALL about Kit Kats, Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and other chocolaty sinfulness heaven, but nowadays, I'm craving gummy candy. My absolute favorite are Sourpatch Kids (Who knew I love sour stuff? Not I!), but they are WAY too high in sugar and calories for me to indulge often. After doing some research on the Sugar-Free gummy bear genre of candy, I discovered that Jelly Belly makes the lowest calorie version. And guess what? They're delish! My FIL spoiled me to bits when he couldn't find this variety in any store and actually ordered them ONLINE to fulfill my wishlist!

Since these sweet little sugar-free packages deserve more love than just floating around our pantry, I put them in this little container I purchased from the Dollar Spot at my local Target and made a super simple label for the front.

MCT Products Used
Stitched Vintage Label Die
Beary Special Thoughts Stamp Set

I created the gummy bear by simply stamping him (her?) in the same color that I planned to color in with.

Easy. Peasy.

All the little gummy bears are now in their places. In my craft studio. Uh oh.

Check out Emma's blog to see what the other designers came up with today!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica