Newton's Nook Designs October Release - Day 4

Welcome back to the fourth day of Newton's Nook Designs October Release. Haven't the sets been AMAZING?!!  The awesomeness continues today with everyone's favorite kitty making his Christmas debut with 'Newton's Curious Christmas':

SOOOO many cute images in this set!  I was really drawn to the one with Santa's sleigh so I used it to make this card:

I tried to brayer the background, but after the mask moved on two different attempts I got tired of wasting paper and decided to create the background with lots of sponging instead.  With Newton & the moon masked I sponged Tempting Turquoise - Pacific Point - Brilliant Blue - Eggplant Envy - Night of Navy to create the sky.  Then I masked the sky and sponged So Saffron and Summer Sun to create the moonglow.  Then I cut several thin strips of Really Rust and punched them with a scalloped border punch and aligned them up to make the roof shingles (that was rather tricky, LOL).  And lastly I colored Newton with Copic markers in his signature ginger hues and cut him out and paper pieced him on the roof (I wanted his tail to stick out).   

Then I got playful and created this card in conjunction with Tuesday's 'Holiday Hounds' set:

Hee hee hee!  The happy-go-lucky dachshund 'innocently' marking the poor snowman with Newton peering from behind to witness the event and wonder if his doxie friend will make the 'Nice List' (hee hee hee I amuse myself!)  The snowman is completely covered in iridescent glitter (SOOOO sparkly in real life!) and his earmuffs are topped with red flock.  This was a fun card to make and I hope I didn't offend anyone with my quirky sense of humor.  :)

Challenge Entered:

The Glory of Christmas Challenge 44: Snowmen on a Christmas Card
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge: Snowman Fun

Would you like to win 'Newton's Curious Christmas'?
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)!  One winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs listed below.  Make sure you check out each blog and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog will be chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Friday, October 17th at 9 pm Central Daylight Time to comment -- winners will be announced on the NND blog on Saturday, October 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Lydia Brooke
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Shellye McDaniel
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Tessa Wise
Heather Hoffman (Guest Designer)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see what I created for you.  I really do enjoy doing it.  Next stop on the hop is Shellye McDaniel I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see - Enjoy!  Happy Hopping!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs October Release - Day 3

Welcome back for day three of Newton's Nook Designs' October Reveal.  Today we introduce a set I loooooooove that you can personalize to fit your family - even your furry family members!  YESSS!!!  Introducing 'Flaky Family':

You see there is a snow PUPPY and a snow KITTY right?  I KNOW!!!  EEEEEEE!!!!!!!  My heart skipped when I saw this set!  And Jen included so many cute winter accessories to dress them up with too!

I made this card, which I think is going to be the holiday card we send out this year, which represents my little family:

I stamped each snow family member separately, masking for the hats, cut them out and laid them on the snow drifts individually to get just the huddled together look I was hoping for.  I can't tell if it shows up in the photo, but I outlined the stitched snow banks & snow family members with a Quickie glue pen and sprinkled some iridescent glitter on top.  I felt like the project needed a little pop of red so I recruited the little Birdies from Winged Wishes, stamped them in red, paper-pieced them onto the background (it is from last year's Recollections 6x6 stack from Michaels) and added some red glitter to their bellies.  If I may say so, I really do love this card, and I love Jen for creating this set for us.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - the large snowman is perfect for those Tic Tac holders I love to make too (I bet other snow family members would work fine as well)

So there you have it:

A cute little duo, no?

Challenge Entered:

The Glory of Christmas Challenge 44: snowman on a Christmas card
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge: Snowman Fun

Would you like to win 'Flaky Family'?
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)!  One winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs listed below.  Make sure you check out each blog and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog will be chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Friday, October 17th at 9 pm Central Daylight Time to comment -- winners will be announced on the NND blog on Saturday, October 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Lydia Brooke
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Shellye McDaniel
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Tessa Wise
Heather Hoffman (Guest Designer)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see what I created for you.  I really do enjoy doing it.  Next stop on the hop is Shellye McDaniel I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see - Enjoy!  Happy Hopping!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs October Release - Day 2

Welcome back for Day 2 of Newton's Nook Designs October Release!  Today's set is going to knock the socks off you dog lovers - especially if you love dachshunds (which I of course do).  Introducing 'Holiday Hounds':

Isn't it ADORABLE?!!  AHHHHHH!!!  A friend of mine actually owns five dachshunds in a variety of colors & coats, so I made her this card for Christmas playing off of the '4 out of 5 dentists surveyed...' kind of pitch:

(feel free to click on the image for a larger picture)  The inside says "... wish you a long & joyful holiday season - I used a marker to get 'wish' instead of 'wishing' from the sentiment included in the set.  I used a little trick my friend Anna told me about - using a tracing wheel along the edges to give the appearance of faux stitching and then sponged some Crumb Cake ink along the edges of the image panel.  The doxies are colored in with Copic markers and I created the sentiment using an alphabet from Hampton Art and punched out the individual letters and numbers using a 5/8" circle punch I believe, maybe it was 1/2"?   I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to ink just the 'dachs' from one sentiment in the set and created some holly berry accents with tiny red rhinestones and some holly leaves cut free hand with a scissors.

Additional Challenge:

Crafty Bloggers Network October Challenge: Christmas

I also got this cute idea form a Cross Stitching magazine I saw online that had little dachshund die cuts used as spools.  I have been bummed because I couldn't find this issue in any of the stores, but when Jen mailed us this set I thought 'I can create some of my own using the sweater-wearing doxie!  So that is what I did, you just stamp them, cut them out and then cut up a little bit in-between their front two legs to create the space to hold the end of the fiber.  Next time I think I will use something heavier like chipboard, it's a little sturdier.  Here is one holding some pretty aqua twine so you get the idea:

Would you like to win 'Holiday Hounds'?
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)!  One winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs listed below.  Make sure you check out each blog and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog will be chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Friday, October 17th at 9 pm Central Daylight Time to comment -- winners will be announced on the NND blog on Saturday, October 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Lydia Brooke
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Shellye McDaniel
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Tessa Wise
Heather Hoffman (Guest Designer) 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see what I created for you.  Next stop on the hop is Shellye McDaniel I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see - Enjoy!  Happy Hopping!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs October Release - Day 1

Welcome to the first day of Newton's Nook Designs' October release reveals - WOO HOO!  Day one starts off with that adorable bear you all know and love - Winston!  In 'Winston's Home for Christmas':

Cute right?  I was in the mood to do something other than a card to mix things up, so I decided to alter one of the many little notebooks I purchased from Michaels during the Christmas Clearance sale.  I especially like the ones that come with coordinating pens attached.  They are regularly only $1 - $1.50 depending upon which state you live in, and if you use one of the '% off your entire purchase' coupons or wait for the items to go on clearance you get them for even less.  And with one small piece of paper and some help from Winston you can go from this:

To this:

I think I swapped out the yellow pen for a green one that coordinated with the patterned paper (last year's 'Christmas Basics' stack by the Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby) which I selected to cover the notebook with.  I punched some tabs using a We R Memory Keepers tab punch so the recipient can label different sections - shopping list, to do, Christmas card lists, recipes, decorating ideas (hey - I should have created more tabs!!  LOL!)

Additional Challenge:

Crafty Bloggers Network October Challenge: Christmas 

Would you like to win 'Winston's Home for Christmas'?
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)!  One winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs listed below.  Make sure you check out each blog and comment for your chance to win.  You will not know which blog will be chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning!  You have until Friday, October 17th at 9 pm Central Daylight Time to comment -- winners will be announced on the NND blog on Saturday, October 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Lydia Brooke
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Shellye McDaniel
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Tessa Wise
Heather Hoffman (Guest Designer)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see what I created for you.  Next stop on the hop is Shellye McDaniel I am sure she has created something spectacular for you to see - Enjoy!  Happy Hopping!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Creative Blog Hop

Hello!  Hope you are enjoying the extra day off if you are lucky enough to have one.  Last Monday my crafty friend Tessa nominated me to join the Creative Blog Hop where we get to share a little big about ourselves.

Here are my answers to the hop questions:

1.  What am I working on now?
Well, I just finished all my projects for Newton's Nook Designs October Release Hops (feel free to check the posts later this morning and the rest of the week for chances to win).  I have to clean up the craftermath and then begin making a bunch of cards - three get well cards for three different friends recovering from accidents, three retirement cards for friends retiring from the USAF back in OKC and four birthday cards for my MIL, a friend back in GA, my cousin and my sister.

2.  How does my work differ from others in my genre?
Hmm, that is a toughie.  My mind tends to interpret things in a bit of a quirky way sometimes - with sentiment & image pairings and sketches.   It takes me a little longer to get on board with new trends compared to some other papercrafters - if I like a technique or style or product I keep using it well after its outshown by newer trends and sometimes I need to see a LOT of samples before something new will win me over (of course, other times I am WAY too impressionable, LOL!).  I tend to create with bold bright colors most often, and have been known to frequently use cardstock in retired colors & patterns because they are my favorites, retired or not.  I don't personally have a flair for the vintage or shabby chic style, and a lot of other crafters excel at this.  And you are going to laugh, but I find sketches and layouts with tilted pieces offputting - if they don't have a sense of 'balance' or better yet - symmetry - my mathematical mind will struggle with it.

3.  Why do I create what I do?
Crafting is FUN!  So I create things that make me happy or that I think will make others happy.  I usually design projects that cater to my tastes, though if I am creating a card or project for someone who I know prefers certain things - particular images, colors, styles, etc. - I will cater to what I hope will make them happy instead.

4. How does my creative process work?
My mind is constantly processing (seriously, my husband frequently tells me I need to 'shut down' but I don't know how) and I pick up ideas all over - I frequently find color combinations I like from fabrics I see on clothing and bedding in department stores, and often use sketches from challenges or other cards I see on people's blogs as inspiration.  I usually sketch out the card I want to make ahead of time with an idea of which images & papers I want to use ahead of time, then select them and make sure they coordinate, then I begin assembling.  I tend to move things around a bit before I begin adhering them down at the end to make sure I am happy with the placement and sometimes at the end there is additional embellishments that are added here or there.  I don't think I have ever sat down to create without most elements preconceived in my head first.

I know nominate these two talented crafting ladies to continue the hop next Monday:

Kimberly Rendino - I recently 'met' Kimberly when she was the Guest Designer for Newton's Nook Designs' September Release and I look forward to getting to know her better.  She is extremely talented and has a terrific sense of style - if you haven't seen her blog before check it out!  You are in for a treat!  I expect big things from Kimberly in the crafty future.  :)

and

Amber Hight - An  SCS 'Dirty Girl' alum and long time designer for Verve Stamps and Reverse Confetti (just to name a few of the numerous companies who spotted Amber's creative genius early on), Amber has a huge following in the papercrafting community - and rightly so!  She's got skillz we all admire (in addition to being an absolute sweetheart who also protected and served our Country and is a terrific doggie Momma!)  Make sure you stop by her blog and take a look at what she's been up to lately!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I was so honored to be asked to participate in the hop (thanks Tessa!) and help my readers get to know me a little better.  I look forward to reading Kimberly's & Amber's post next Monday!

Have a great week!  (Psst - remember to check back this week for the Newton's Nook Designs Release Reveal posts!  Jennifer really planned a spectacular release this month!!)  ;)

~ Crafty Math Chick

Apple Delights Keurig k-cup Holder with Newton's Nook Designs

Hello!  With the lovely autumn weather arriving I have been craving all kinds of apples products - including cider, especially since Newton's Nook Designs' 'Apple Delights' set came out recently:

I have seen lots of folks make these cute Keurig k-cup holders as gifts so I figured I would try my hand at it when I spied this at the grocery store:

I figured it was a sign.  I am not a coffee drinker (I know, 'GASP!' right?) but I am all over hot cider, tea and hot cocoa).  I actually decided make two holders and attach them back-to-back (I found the symmetry visually appealing).  To make a double k-cup holder, you will need the following supplies:

• Newton's Nook Designs' 'Apple Delights' stamp set 
• two slices of 7" by 10" cardstock for the base
• four slices of 1 3/4" x 3 3/4" patterned paper for the four sides
• two slices of  1 1/4" x 3 3/4" patterned paper (if you wish to decorate the handles)
• 1 3/4" circle punch
• oval punch for handle
• Memento Tuxedo Black inkpad
• Copic Markers of choice (I used R24, R27 & R29 for the apple)
• stylus or something to score with
• scissors
• scrappy tape or super sticky tape adhesive
• k-cups
• other embellishments as desired

First you take the 7"x10" piece of cardstock and holding it with the 7" side across, score 1 1/2" from each side, leaving you a 4" space in the middle.  Then turn the cardstock 90 degrees so that the 10" side is horizontal and score at 1/2", 2 1/2", 4 1/2" and 6 1/2".  Cut each of these scores to where they intersect with the 1 1/2" score lines in the other direction and cut out sections at the the four corners entirely, like this:

(I think you can click on the above picture for a larger image if this is difficult for you to read).  The solid lines indicate a cut and dotted lines indicate scoring.  Once everything is scored and cut and the corners are removed it should look like this:

The holes are punched in the center rectangle above that thin 1/2" strip.  I punched a few 1 3/4" circles from a piece of scrap paper to help me determine where I wanted to position the holes and made tiny markings to help facilitate punching in the correct location, then punched them out:

Remember - the above steps need to be repeated for each of the two cardstock bases when making a double holder.  Next, I punched a scrap piece of paper in an oval shape as well to help me determine where I wanted the handle to be placed (the horizontal line helped me make sure the oval wasn't crooked):

Since I am making a double holder I matched up the handle I just punched with the second piece of 7" x 10" piece of cardstock and traced the hole where the handle was so they line up when they were attached back to back at the end:

After that I attached the patterned paper slices to the fronts and handles of each of the holders (it is easier to do when you are working with flat pieces of cardstock, before adhering all the flaps):

Next, use your scrappy tape or another adhesive to assemble each holder - the little 1/2" flap will be folded onto the base under the handle, and it should look like this:

Attach these two holders back to back, and adhere the remaining two slices of 1 3/4" x 3 3/4" patterned paper to the two sides:

Then all you have left to do is embellish it as you choose and fill it with k-cups!  VOILA!

I'd like to thank my friends Lori and Diane who inspired me with their creations.  I hope mine will inspire you to make one of your own!  If you do, I hope you will come back with a link to show me.

Additional Challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Fall (did you know Simon Says Stamp also carries Newton's Nook Designs?  They do!!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

~ Crafty Math Chick

Newton's Nook Designs ~ Inky Paws Challenge #14

Hello everyone!  It's time for a new Inky Paws Challenge from Newton's Nook Designs!  This time Jennifer decided upon a color challenge:

I used Wagon of Wishes and Winged Wishes to create this card using these colors:

I wanted to just reach out and cuddle the little kitty in the inspiration picture, so I made sure to color the kitten on my card in grey hues with my Copic markers.  I thought it would look pretty if the pretty little birdies were holding up a sentiment banner over him.  The green gingham patterned paper is from the 'Pumpkin Patch' stack by American Crafts and I paired it with some DCWV glittered yellow paper and Stampin' Up!'s Pumpkin Pie which was punched with a cool pumpkin border punch by EK Success that I found for an amazing price at Marshalls last year.  The maple leaves bling is by the paper Studio from Hobby Lobby.

Additional Challenge:

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: anything goes (did you know Simon Says Stamp sells Newton's Nook Designs images too?  Pretty cool huh?)

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at my card.  Make sure to stop by the Newton's Nook Designs' blog and see more inspirational samples from my talented teammates.  I hope you will play along with us!  If you do, you have a chance to win a gift certificate to Newton's Nook Designs - isn't that awesome?!!   Newton's Nook Designs images are required but Jen generously provided some freebies on the blog that you can print out so you can play along too, so please -- join us!  I can't wait to see what you create!

~ Crafty Math Chick