MCT 26th Release Blog Hop: Makeup Brush Makeover

Welcome to the Release Blog Hop! If you've arrived here from Tracy's blog, you're on the right road. If not, mosey on over to Emma's blog to start from the beginning. Trust me, you DON'T want to miss anything!

If you're like me, you tend to not give yourself enough time to get ready. I always think I need about 15 minutes less than I actually do - must be a gift of mine. When I'm running behind schedule (as in, everyday), it's nice to have the things I need right where I need them.

But I don't like a lot of clutter on my counter tops. That's where this beauty comes in.

This makeup brush holder is simply a glass candlestick (you can find one for $1 at your local thrift or dollar store) glued to a gravy jar. Add a little paint to the candlestick and a cute new 'label' to the jar and voila!

I used Build A Chevy Background for my label and distressed the edges with Walnut Stain Ranger Distress Ink  and my Tim Holtz Distressing Tool. A satin, Tiffany Blue ribbon finishes the look nicely.

Since my gravy jar was taller than the handles of my brushes, I added little wood circles to the bottom of the jar to raise the brushes up.

Confession Time: This brush holder is a brand new addition to my bathroom, but sadly, the gravy jar is not. I've actually stored my brushes in the gravy jar (with the Heinz label still attached) for several weeks. I think The Hubs will be pleasantly surprised to find this new, much more stylish brush holder in the bathroom this morning!

BLOG HOP GIVEAWAY!

For our blog hop giveaway, we will have 2 winners:

• Winner #1 will win a PRIZE PACKAGE from Liz's Paper Loft Boutique AND a $50 gift certificate to the My Creative Time Store! 
• Winner #2 will be our "Guest Designer" for our September Release! 

All you have to do is leave your comments on our blogs! You are NOT required to comment on ALL blogs, but the more you comment on, the better chances you have! GOOD LUCK!

You've got one more stop on this fabulous Blog Hop! Head on over to our talented Guest Designer, Teri's blog for more great projects!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 26th Edition Sneak Peek: Smashin'

Have you "Smashed"? This is my first time. I didn't think I was interested in trying it until I found a bunch of Smash stuff on clearance. And if you know me personally, you know I can hardly resist a clearance!

I started paper crafting as a scrapbooker, but I've always had trouble with the organization part. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually quite organized. It's the organization of the book itself that frustrates me. Do I put like pages together? Should the book be chronological? Can I scrap this if I haven't scrapped that yet? It's a raging battle in my head - so I usually stick to cards.

But I've been wanting to document my running journey and I figured a 'quick and dirty' way to do it would be to Smash. I don't have a ton of photos of our races, but I have at least one from each. Plus I have our bibs (the number you wear when you race) and some other memorabilia. Of course, when I decided to Smash my running stuff I was faced with the dilemma: Where do I start? As The Sound of Music says, the very beginning is a 'very good place to start', so I decided that would do just fine.

On the left page, I've featured the new Photobooth Die from My Creative Time. It's the perfect little photo strip that allows you to use any tiny pictures you have in a fun way.

MCT Products Used
Photobooth Die
3x4 Stitched Journal Die
Journal It! Stamp Set ("Details" card)
Stitched Round Speech Bubble Dies
Fly Away With Me Dies (clouds)
You Are Here Stamp Set (little runner)
Things I Love Stamp Set ("Never give up!", "You got this!")
Stitched Tab Die


I have to admit, it was difficult for me to just 'Smash' everything on the pages. The Hubs said it's still pretty organized; I guess it's just in my nature.

click for larger view

Sneak Peek Giveaway
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We will be giving away the set we are showcasing each day to ONE
lucky winner! Today's winner will be announced tomorrow on Emma's blog. ALL you have to do is leave a comment on each of the Design Team members' blogs! You are NOT required to comment on EVERY SINGLE blog, but the more you comment on, the better chance you have for winning!

For EXTRA entries, you can spread the word about this release on Facebook, Tweet about it OR even Instagram it! #mycreativetime!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE & let's start spreading the word!
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Don't forget that you can start pre-ordering this release TODAY!!! Head on over to the My Creative Time Shop to start ordering! Be sure to use code AUGUST2013 to save 20% on your entire order through September 6th!

Thanks for stopping by today! Head on over to Emma's blog to see what my DT sisters have up their sleeves for you.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Inspire Me Tuesday: Let's Bake!

One of my favorite hobbies is baking. It's something I picked up in high school and have been doing ever since. I'm a cupcake girl myself - it's so easy to just pipe on some cute frosting, add a little somethin' on top and VOILA! I still have yet to master frosting a cake smooth (how DO they do it?!?!), but that shouldn't last too long: I've signed up for a cake decorating class at my local bake supply shop and they claim that I'll learn how to make buttercream frosting look like fondant - can't wait!

For today's project, I was inspired by photos of a Baking Day I had with my 6-year-old niece, Evelyn.

Evelyn had asked me if we could bake a cake for Grandpa (my Dad) for his birthday this year. Since his birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, she insisted that it was themed accordingly: including lots of green, clovers and Lucky Charms cereal.

She loved my idea of tinting the vanilla cake green, so we went with that. Of course, we had to test the cake before subjecting our family to it, so we made a couple of extra cupcakes for us to try out. *giggle* We had such a fun time baking and decorating together.

I can be a bit of a perfectionist (and by "a bit", I mean that I'm totally OCD), so I'll admit that it was a little difficult to let her go nuts on the decorations (notice all the green sprinkles and Lucky Charms). But since this cake was her idea, I wanted to be sure that it followed her 'vision'.

She wanted the cake to say, "Happy Birthday", so I used a toothpick to draw the letters and she traced them with the brown and yellow frosting (her choice of colors). Everyone agreed that the cake was beautiful and delicious (once you scooped off most of the sprinkles!).

I used the colors from the photos (our aprons, the cake) and the birthday theme of the cake to inspire today's card. This will be for my mother-in-law's birthday next week.

MCT Products Used
Stitched Doily Die
Celebrate Good Times Stamp Set (Cupcake Dies)
Birthday Buddies Stamp Set ("Happy Birthday")
Tab Notes Stamp Set (Banner)

I hand-cut the candle and colored the flame with my Copics.

Thanks for stopping by today. Head on over to Emma's blog to see what the other designer's have been inspired by today!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Designer Challenge: Black & White ONLY!

It's Designer Challenge day over at My Creative Time and my fellow Design Team member, Cassandra, has whipped up QUITE the challenge: use black and white ONLY! We can create whatever our little hearts desire, but it can contain NO COLOR!

I've been wanting to do a card made up of squares for a while now, so I though since I wouldn't be using any color, the squares would add some interest to the design. To get the hot air balloon stamped onto the same layer as the clouds without either one overlapping the other, I first cut out the hot air balloon shape from Fly Away with Me Dies and used just a little adhesive to stick it to my white layer (5" x 5"). Then I stamped my Cartoon Clouds Background onto the white layer (with the hot air balloon shape covering a part of it). When I removed the little cover, that space was left blank - a perfect spot to stamp my hot air balloon (Fly Away with Me Stamp Set). I colored in my balloon with gray Copics (gray is safe to use in this challenge, right?) and then cut my white layer into 25 1" squares.

After pop-dotting all my squares onto my black card base, I glittered the hot air balloon a bit (Star Dust Stickles), popped up some gray and white Cartoon Clouds and called it done.

There are a ton more beautiful black and white projects from the other Design Team members listed on Emma's blog, so be sure to pop on by there.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit today!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Inspire Me Tuesday: It's Take a Long Time...

Hey there!

Today at My Creative Time, we are showcasing projects we've created and what inspired us to create them. I was inspired by this photo of an old pocket watch. I loved the gold color of the metal, roman numerals, and wood background of the photo.

Image via Wikipedia

Typically, pocket watches are seen as masculine, but I wanted to 'girly' it up by using rhinestones, pearls and flowers in my design.

I embossed the clock (All Around Birthday Time) in gold and stamped the sentiment (More of My Favorite Sayings) in brown.

A diamond score pattern on the Kraft card base, paper piercing on the chocolate layer and gold shimmer card stock add more dimension and class to this already sophisticated design.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to head over to Emma's blog to see what the rest of the Design Team was inspired to create.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 3D Wednesday: Dishwasher Magnet

As the "Woman of the House", I take great pride in keeping my home clean and tidy, but feel no shame in asking for some help every now and then. Turns out, I'm NOT Superwoman. 

Who knew?

The job I most often ask for help with is loading and unloading the dishwasher. Why?

1. It's a fairly easy task.
2. The Hubs knows where almost everything gets put away. Almost.
3. It can be done without me having to ask.

Well, #3 isn't always so true. Many a time I will find a single dirty plate in the sink and wonder to myself,

Why was this left here? The dishes in the dishwasher are dirty. This plate should be with its friends in the dishwasher. 

 But I forget that I'm 'in charge' of the dishwasher all day, and I can't expect The Hubs to know that the dishwasher is full of dirty dishes waiting the arrival of more friends. I mean, how is he supposed to know that the dishes are dirty? It's not like there's a way to find that kind of classified information out! (Ladies, I know that WE know there is a way. *cough* open the dishwasher and check *cough* But can we really expect the men in our lives to know that secret? *giggle*)

Since I'm always looking for ways to making life easier (on both of us), I created this super simple magnet that we (*cough* I *cough*) can flip around on the dishwasher so we'll always know what state of cleanliness our dishes are in.

After designing and printing the graphic on my computer, I simply cut it out using the Stitched 3x4 Journal Die. To give it some extra weight, I also cut out the die in chipboard and adhered the graphic layer to it.

Pro tip: If you don't have chipboard laying around, a cereal box or backside of a paper pad will do fine!

I adhered a couple of magnets to the back and VOILA! It's ready for its kitchen debut!

If you're thinking to yourself, Wow! This is a great idea! I wish I had one just like it!, you're in luck. You can click here for a free download of the graphic file and cut it out for yourself at home!

Thanks for stopping by today. You can see the other designers' 3D projects on Emma's blog.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 25th Release Blog Hop: 13.1

Welcome to the 25th Release Blog Hop! If you've hopped here from Tracy's blog, you're on the right track! If not, mosey on over to Emma's blog and you can start this Hop from the beginning.

Today I'm showcasing the new set Treasured Moments on a card I've made for my BFF, Stephanie. This Sunday, she and I (along with my husband) will be running in our very first Half Marathon. I'm so excited to be 'earning' my 13.1 sticker for the back of my car!!! *giggle*

I haven't been running for too long, but Stephanie is a very new runner, and I know she's nervous about the Big Day. So I made her this card (with a photo from her first official 5K) to remind her how awesome she is and how much I believe in her.

MCT Products Used
Stitched Round Speech Bubble Dies
Stitched 4 x 6 Journal Dies (numbers)
Type Calendar Stamp Set (July 21)
Treasured Moments Stamp Set ("I have faith in you!")

***BLOG HOP GIVEWAY ALERT***

For our Blog Hop giveaway, there will be 2 winners chosen from ALL the comments combined!  Both winners will win a $25 Gift Certificate to the My Creative Time Online 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!  Leave a comment on all blogs in this Hop for more chances to win! The deadline is Saturday, July 20th at 11:59pm! Emma will announce the winners on her blog on Monday, July 22nd!  EASY PEASY!!! GOOD LUCK!

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The Hop doesn't stop here - you've got one more blog! Check out what our Guest Designer, Jessica, has in store for you on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

P.S. If you happen to be in the downtown Chicago area this Sunday and see Stephanie and me running (we'll be wearing our Hope Water Project jerseys - just like in the photo above), be sure to shout out some love to us. We can use all the motivation we can get!