A sweet, fond farewell :: Michele Gross

Very few people come into your life with such a sweet nature, gentle encouragement and genuine care.
When I first met Michele "online", I could tell right away that she would be a fantastic addition to our team. She's smart, kind, friendly, and encouraging. She doesn't complain, she doesn't push, and she is always the first one to leave you some positive comments on a blog post.

When I met her in person, my heart smiled, because she is just as fun in person as she is online, if not, even more so. I got along wonderfully with her and the other DT members who joined us in January, and I am so grateful for those few days we were able to chit chat and enjoy the creativity around us!

So today, it's with a bittersweet touch that I let you know Michele is leaving the Market Street Stamps DT to focus on her clean-and-simple challenge blog, CAS-ual Fridays.

I am SO excited to see her take off - the last CAS-ual Friday DT Call was a huge success, and I could definitely understand how it would become too much very quickly just by the volume of participants she sees each week.

We are truly humbled by Michele's generous offering of knowledge, friendship and creativity.
As sad as we are to see her go, we are anxious to see where CAS-ual Fridays takes her!!

Michele has created one final project for today's post, so please do go visit her to bid her a fond, sweet, farewell, and be sure to follow her for what I'm sure are great things to come.

I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate stamp set to use as a final project - when we believe in ourselves, we truly can reveal our hearts. Sometimes our hearts lead us straight to the path we were born to walk.

Best of luck to you, sweet Friend!!

Enjoy Today!
Angelica

make your own embellishments with Market Street Stamps!

Hey everyone! It's Brenda here with today's tutorial.

Who doesn't love to save a few bucks? Especially when you can make your own fabulous embellishments with the fun images from Market Street Stamps.

Several months ago I came across this tutorial and thought it was fabulous! So I got to thinking how fun it would be to make my own using Market Street Stamps. But I didn't have any wooden circles, so instead I'm using chipboard circles. And I didn't like the way the distress inks looked on the chipboard, so I'm using spray inks instead. So, even though I was greatly inspired by the tutorial I just linked up, I'm sharing my own revised version of it here.

Here's what you'll need. Some chipboard circles (or other shapes if you prefer), white paint (unless your chipboard is already white), spray inks in various colors, water spray bottle, stamps and ink, clear crystal lacquer (I'm using crystal effects from Stampin' Up!).

First, paint your chipboard if it's not already white. Let it dry completely.

Then drop splotches of ink over the painted chipboard. I used 2 colors and I dropped it by removing the lid and letting it slide off the tube.

Give it a quick spray with water to blend the colors together a little. Don't worry if it looks ugly. It'll look better as it dries. This one is using teal and orange ink.

Here's another one using red and gold ink.

Once it's completely dry, stamp your images on top. I used black ink so it would show up well over the ink.

Finally, top it off with the crystal lacquer. Then wait, and wait, and wait (ever so patiently) until it's completely and truly dry. Have son come by and stick his finger into one to test it for sure, and then fill in the hole his finger left behind. Then wait some more until your patch job dries. ;)

And now you've got your own, one-of-a-kind embellishment to add to your projects. it's a bit hard to see in the photos, but in real life , but with all their dimension they look a lot like the flair embellishments that are really popular right now.

Here are a few more I made.

And here's a card I made using one of these sweet little embellishments. Fun, right? I think so.

I have another card to share that I made using one of these embellishments. You can see it on my blog, so hop on over!

Thanks so much for stopping by on the Market Street Stamps blog today and joining me for this little tutorial. I hope you have fun with it!

Once We Believe In Ourselves,

Happy Friday it's Stephanie M here.

It looks like the Believing Butterfly set is popular with the designers this week!!!

I have to say this is one of my favorite sets of the new release . Whether you are just using the quote or the butterfly or both of them together it's one gorgeous set that i am going to be reaching for alot!!!

I did a fairly simple card with this quote I just love this stamp and matched with some pretty paper and journal piece from Basic Grey you have a pretty and sweet card for just about any occasion!!!

Hope you enjoyed todays card!!!

Background Texture

Background stamps simply have to be the most flexible of stamps in my opinion. It's Julia by the way, and today I have a card using a favorite background technique to share.

In this season of giving, I'm sure you may have some extra tissue paper laying around. If you do...go rescue it. I saved mine from the bin after our Christmas gift-opening-spree. It's a perfect surface for stamping on.



Here's the card I created and keep reading...I'll share how I did it.




First of all you need to ink up your background stamp. I've used the Grace Background from Market Street. Doesn't it look oh so elegant simply stamped in black? Ink it up in a permanent black ink (I've used Jet Black Archival by Ranger), stamp onto some white tissue paper and heat set it.

Next step is to apply the thin layer to some cardstock or patterned paper. Cover the paper with a liquid adhesive or Multi-Medium and lay the tissue onto the paper. I love the texture you get by letting the tissue crinkle a little. Allow this layer to dry and then trim to the size you want to use.


Finish the design off with a beautiful image and sentiment. I've stamped the new Believing Butterfly set and the Mesh Background onto a Twinchie for a pretty focal point.


Happy New Year and Happy Creating!

December Release - Sneak Peek 1 {Believing Butterfly}

Good Evening Everyone!

Thanks so much for joining us for Market Street Stamps'

December Release Week!

This month we have just three releases {we'll call it a mini-release, 'cause why not?} so we'll be peeking samples from each release today, tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll have the final reveal and release on Thursday, December 22nd at 7 pm CST!

If this is the first time you're joining us for a release week, here's what we're doing this month:

• Show Sneak Peek images from our sets Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Sneak peeks are scheduled for 7 pm CST.
• On Thursday, our sets will be revealed and all the sets will go on sale at 7 pm Central Time. 
• For ONE WHOLE WEEK after that, new sets are 15% off individually or 25% off if you buy that month's bundle (all sets in the release). Pretty sweet, huh? And we always ship within 24 hrs, and shipping is FREE over $50 every day!

If you would LOVE to win the set showcased tonight, there are a few ways to enter!

1. Earn ONE entry for each comment you leave across ALL of our designers' blogs tonight. {p.s. if, for any reason, a designer does not have a new release post up don't worry!! Winners will be chosen only amongst posts that are published. :)}
2. Earn TWO entries for following us on Facebook OR Twitter (be sure to let us know if you do in a separate comment on this post)
3. Earn THREE bonus entries for sharing this giveaway on your Facebook page OR Twitter account (be sure to let us know if you do in a separate comment on this post)!

Behind the Stamp: While some of my stamp designs are whimsical, and some are elegant, they are always reflective of what's going on in my life. Like many artists and designers, I get stuck. In a rut. And I want to bury my head in the sand. I start thinking that I'm out of ideas, I'm not creative enough, blah, blah, blah. Then, suddenly, a friend, a relative, strangers even, will lift my spirits and that one little spark is all I need. Yep, a little spark is fuel for another good round of creative fire and - gosh, where would I be without each of you cheering Market Street on? While searching for inspiration, I came across one of my favorite poets/authors - e.e. cummings, this excerpt struck a chord: 

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

Many, many thanks to all of my friends, family members, and Market Street fans for believing in us!Jess Larsen -  How gorgeous is that color scheme? I love the whimsical stitching Jess added to her butterfly's flight path.

Look for Julie's card at Scrapbook News and Reviews January 15th!

Julie Ranae - Springtime in Paris is what I envisioned when I saw Julie's card for the first time! Simply beautiful and the soft, feminine color palette is a touch shabby chic and 100% romantic!

Sarah Jay - I adore the way Sarah created her background for this card! You must head over to her blog to find out how she created it. So simply yet what a WOW impact!

Tifany DeGough - Tifany has created this sweet CAS card using a die cut shape and a purple/aqua color combo. I love the flow of her shape and the surprise of spritz that gets lighter as your eye takes you up towards the butterfly! 

Stephanie Washburn - Another insanely beautiful background created by Steph! This looks *just like* real wood, doesn't it? Be sure to visit Steph's blog and take a look at her previous tutorials to create a similar look! 

Brenda Weaver - So creative! Who says you have stamp the entire sentiment? Not Brenda! She cropped words to highlight in her scrapbook-style card. I love this clever design!

Stephanie Muzzulin - Oooh this yellow and grey is super trendy and the beautiful unbleached twill tape is the perfect accent for Stephanie's eclectic signature style!

They all made MAGIC out of one little bitty stamp! Can't wait to show you our next sneak peek tomorrow! Join us here, same place, same time!