Newton's Nook Designs' Christmas Favorites Week

Hello Everyone!  We’re getting in the mood for Christmas with our some of our favorite Christmas stamp sets by Newton’s Nook Designs! Get inspired all week long with beautiful christmas cards on the NND blog as the NND Design Team features some of their favorite Christmas stamp sets! Plus, you can save 10% off on any stamps currently in the Christmas category (and their coordinating dies) in their shop! The new NND christmas stamps will be released later this month too, so stay tuned for more holiday fun! 

I decided to showcase Newton's Holiday Mischief:

To make a card for our neighbors, who owns a pretty grey kitty:

I know you may have seen this card before, but I am still recovering from pretty extensive back surgery so I was only able to share a former of my favorite creations for you.  I  created the door by dry embossing some pieces of kraft cardstock with a woodgrain pattern and then sponging some Crumb Cake ink around the edges to add some additional depth & texture and added a big brad as the doorknob.  Cutting Newton (here Newton is dressed as 'Nigel' kitty, who is grey) out was a bit tricky, but once that was accomplished I hung his wreath from the door using a smaller brad and thought since his tail was curling that would be a cut way to attach the sentiment dangling by some sparkly twine as a sign with the sentiment stamped & punched out with a word window punch.  I hope they will like it!  They don't know I stamp.  A lot of folks find out this about me at Christmas, LOL!  

Hope I have inspired you to get started on (or keep working on) your holiday cards for this holiday season!  Enjoy!
~Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs Sponsors the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!

Hello!  I am so excited that Newton's Nook Designs is sponsoring this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge!  Here is there pretty picture and color combination we had to work with:

I know the easy route would have been to make a Halloween card, but I wanted to challenge myself to make something a little bit different, so I decided to use NND's Prehistoric Pals set, which I purchased ages ago (har har har) and show it a little love and make a birthday card for my nephew:

A whole lotta fussy cutting going on on this card, though the background is a stitched die from Lawn Fawn and the present and birthday hat are from NND's Fetching Friendship set.

So, what does this color combination inspire YOU to create?  I hope you will play along with this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #376, because NEWTON'S NOOK DESIGNS IS THE SPONSOR!!  WOO HOO!!  So play along for a chance to win some NND goodness!  Can't wait to see what you create!  And thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs' September Release ~ Newton's Boo-tiful Night

Welcome back to the fourth and final day of Newton's Nook Designs' September Release.  Newton fans and kitty fans are going to LOOOVE today's set - introducing Newton's Boo-tiful Night:

Aren't ALL the images in this set absolutely ADORABLE?!!  EEK!  I love all the little decorative images jen included in this set too - they are just right for envelope embellishment (see photo below - I always think it is nice to jazz up the envies a little too).  I had trouble deciding which to use until I saw this patterned paper from a DCWV stack that was purr-fect for the Newton kitty on a broom image, so I used that one and created this card:

I colored Newton in Hobbes' colors (Jen's other kitty) since I worried Newton's colors might fade into the orange background with my Copic markers and then thought 'wouldn't it be fun if he FOUND the candy?'  so I included it on the inside with a sentiment:

TA DA!  LOL!  

Would you like to win a 'Newton's Boo-tiful Night' stamp set?
This set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!

Here's how to win:

Comment on the NND blog and the Designs Team and Guest blogs (see list below)!  The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs' release posts.  Make sure you check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Thursday, September 15th at 9 pm CDT to comment -- the winner will be announced on the blog post on Friday, September 16th.  

Check out all these awesome Design Team & Guest Blogs below to enter: 

Newton's Nook Designs
Lydia Evans
Jess Gerstner
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Naki Rager
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka

Jess Gerstner is the next stop on the hop; I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see (she always does!).  Thanks so much for stopping by!  

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs Holiday Release ~ Day 4

Welcome back for the FOURTH (WOO HOO!) and final day of Newton's Nook Designs' Holiday Release.  I am SOOOO in love with today's set - MORE FOXES!!!  EEEEE!!  Introducing 'Fox Hollow': 

For some reason, when I first saw this set, I envisioned the gentle fox sleeping peacefully on top of the Earth, like this:

I couldn't find a globe die or an image of the Earth in any of my Cricut cartridges, so I did my best to cut out the land in green free hand (hope you geography majors out there will be kind, cutting out the continents is trickier than I originally imagines) after punched circles from green & blue cardstock.  I think it loos pretty good considering I did it using scissors...  Ty frequently sleeps in this cute position too, dogs and foxes are related after all, do your dogs sleep like this too?

I also envisioned the side view fox looking up at a starry sky, taking a deep breath, and enjoying the cool winter air and sense of goodwill towards men (or foxes in this case) and peace on Earth that is so prominent this time of year.  I was excited to bring that vision to life with this card:

  

This is another card where I 'let the patterned paper do the work for me,' starting me off with a snowflake flurry filled sky.  Of course, I added plenty of my own heat embossing, rhinestones and sequin elements.  The snowdrift was die cut from pre-glittered white cardstock (the sparkle isn't showing up well in this photo, but it is there IRL).  Of all the cards I made for this release, thee two are my favorites!

And in case you didn't notice - this set has coordinating DIES too!  A little tip: I leave the dies for the main images stuck together, removing only the smaller pieces with a scissors, and run the whole thing through my Cuttlebug at once - I stamp them all right away and put the ones I don't use immediately in the backside of the plastic envelope for the corresponding NND stamp set - that way if I need to whip up a card super quick, some images are all set, ready to go!  :)  

Would you like to win 'Fox Hollow' Stamp wet?

This set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!!

 Here's how to win:

 Comment on the NND blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs' release posts. Make sure you check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, October 15th at 9 pm CDT to comment -- the winner will be announced on the blog post on Friday, October 16th. 

Check out all these awesome Design Team & Guest Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs

Lydia Evans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Jess Gerstner
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Nina-Marie Trapani
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka
Anette Allen - Guest Designer

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Jess Gerstner is the next stop on the hop, I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see!  Enjoy!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs' Holiday Release ~ Day 1

Welcome to the first day of Newton's Nook Designs' October Release!  Jen has created some ADORABLE sets for you this month, you'll want 'em ALL!  Today she has decided to sneak a whimsical set of animal couples - prefect for the holidays, valentine's day, any time to you to let someone know you love them.  Introducing 'Holiday Smooches':

I was inspired by this pretty wreath ornament I saw Chari Moss create years ago to make a wreath ornament (not sure you can really call it an ornament, it is about 5-6 inches in diameter) of my own:

I wrapped a sheer ribbon around the wreath (purchased from the dried naturals department at Michaels) and tied it to create a hanger, then I took a piece of red tinsel ribbon and tied it to the base of the hanger for a pop of color and sparkle.  The 'holly berries' were part of one of those holiday picks - I simply cut off some of the wire stems off and woe them through the wreath (the wire stems bents nice and easily to secure them in place!)  I was going to add punched holly leaves around them but thought it looked better this way.  Then I stamped the bears and doves and colored them with my Copic markers and fussy cut them out by hand and nestled the polar bears into a cotton ball 'snowbank': 

and hung the love birds with a silver cord tied around the wreath so that the mistletoe dangled above them:

So, what do you think?  Would you hang something like this on your door or tree?  Should I make more of them with different critters?  It was really quite easy and fun to make, I hope you like it!

Would you like to win 'Holiday Smooches' stamp set?

This set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!!

 Here's how to win:

 Comment on the NND blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs' release posts. Make sure you check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, October 15th at 9 pm CDT to comment -- the winner will be announced on the blog post on Friday, October 16th. 

Check out all these awesome Design Team & Guest Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Lydia Evans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Jess Gerstner
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Nina-Marie Trapani
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka
Anette Allen - Guest Designer

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Jess Gerstner is the next stop on the hop, I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see!  Enjoy!  

~ Crafty Math Chick

For our neighbor with Newton's Nook Designs

Hello everyone!  Today it is my turn to make something crafty for the Newton's Nook Designs Blog, so I decided to use Newton's Holiday Mischief:

To make a card for our neighbors, who owns a pretty grey kitty:

I created the door by dry embossing some pieces of kraft cardstock with a woodgrain pattern and then sponging some Crumb Cake ink around the edges to add some additional depth & texture and added a big brad as the doorknob.  Cutting Newton (here Newton is dressed as 'Nigel' kitty, who is grey) out was a bit tricky, but once that was accomplished I hung his wreath from the door using a smaller brad and thought since his tail was curling that would be a cut way to attach the sentiment dangling by some sparkly twine as a sign with the sentiment stamped & punched out with a word window punch.  I hope they will like it!  They don't know I stamp.  A lot of folks find out this about me at Christmas, LOL!  

Challenges entered:

• Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: Christmas/Holidays.  (Did you know Simon Says Stamp also carries Newton's Nook Designs?  They do!  You can always check them if a set you want is temporarily sold out on the website!)
• A Random Fan Challenge 20: Christmas with a Hand-colored image (Newton is colored with Copic markers)

I hope you like my card and I hope I have inspired you to continue (or start...) your holiday cards and projects... unless you are finished already.  I am finished with Hanukkah and started my holiday & Christmas cards long ago, but still have quite a few more to complete before the holiday.  Don't forget - any Christmas themed cards or projects you make using NND stamps you can enter in our current Inky Paws Challenge running through Friday, December 12th at midnight CST as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs March Release - Day 3

Welcome to the third and final day of Newton's Nook Designs' March Release.  Today we are revealing 'Basket of Wishes' - a set perfect for so many occasions with its variety of images you can fill the pretty basket with.  

Don't you just love versatile sets like this?  I sure do!  For me, the gardening insert drew me in and I knew I wanted to use that image and make a seed packet using THIS easy tutorial from Dollar Store Crafts and some pretty kraft designer paper from Recollections' Garden Harvest collection (I know you can't tell from the photo, but the tomatoes and carrot in the DP are actually sparkly!):

(Please click on the photo for clearer resolution).  Can you tell I paper pieced the gardening gloves with a scrap of floral patterned paper that I used for the duckie's umbrella on Day 1?  (you know how gardening gloves always seem to have bright floral patterns on them, right?)  Every Day is Earth Day after all - reduce, reuse, recycle!!  I can't wait to plant that basil - did you know even after you pick basil it can live up to a month in a vase of water in your window sill and continue to make your house smell delicious?  And I LOVE cooking with fresh basil too.  What is your favorite thing to grow?  Are you more of a vegetable, herb or floral gardener?  Would love to hear in your comments!  Speaking of comments...

Would you like to WIN Basket of Wishes?
This set will be given away to TWO lucky winners!!

Here's how to win:

Comment on the NND blog and the Design Team and Guest blogs (see list below).  TWO WINNERS will be chosen at random from the collective blogs' release posts.  Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog has been chosen, so the more you comment on, the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Thursday, March 20th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment -- winners will be announced on the blog on Friday, March 21st.  

Check out all these AWESOME Design Team & Guest Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Christine Drogt
Samantha Mann
Larissa Heskett
Crafty Math-Chick (<-- you are here)
Danielle Pandeline
Valerie Ward
Tessa Wise
Katie Brooks  - Guest Designer
Michelle Lupton - Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Dare to Get Dirty Challenge Cards - Post 2

Hello again Friends & Followers!  It feels so good to be crafting again!  I wanted to share a card I made today to satisfy the requirements of 3 different DTGD challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.com (see yesterday's post for more info. about DTGD if you are interested), in addition to a few others out there:

(please click on the photo for clearer resolution if it is blurry).  First I created the background by spreading some Brocade Blue ink with an Aquabrush on watercolor paper.  Then I freehand cut the 'sand' from Crumb Cake (i.e. kraft) cardstock.  The shrimp, fish and trees were stamped on Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss and Garden green and fussy cut and glued in place (the shrimp was paper pieced due to his stick-like legs).  I added a little Stickles here and there (Waterfall to the water & waves at the top, Fruit Punch to the Shrimp, Patina to the vegetation and Pink to the fish) and punched the wave border with a Fiskars border punch.  Lastly I created a fishhook out of a paper clip and added the 'You're swell' sentiment being lowered into the water from it.  Voila!  Card complete!
     This card also fulfills the requirements of the following additional challenges:

• All That Stickles Challenge - Waterfall (added to the water & waves at the top),
• Craft a Scene Challenge - Under the Sea, 
• The Squirrel & the Flax Challenge - Nautica/Sea Life, 
• Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge - Anything Goes with Paper Smooches stamps (I used several images from their 'Surf & Turf' set), 
• The Paper Girls Challenge - watercolors, and 
• Pile It On Challenge 30 - Anything Goes (why not?) 

    Thanks again for stopping by to see my creations!  I appreciate your time and your comments.  Have a wonderful evening and stay tuned for more cards tomorrow!
~ Crafty Math Chick