I'm BACK!! Bringing you some Pumpkin Spice goodness!

Hi everyone! I'm back with lots of inspiration for you this week! I was out of town for a while and just got back! I was lucky enough to spend an entire week craftin my heart out! I think I really needed this time to regroup! Lately I had not been feeling inspired by anything. But I think I got my mojo back!
Today I used the Echo Park Yours Truly collection and the beautiful Chalk White crinkle ribbon! Thanks for stopping by today and check back tomorrow for more inspiration!
Tomorrow is the My Thoughs Exactly release party blog hop!!!! You won't want to miss out on all the fun!!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

PRE-Order!!!! Eeeeee Can't wait!

That's RIGHT I cannot believe it! NEW My Thoughts Exactly February stamp release available NOW for Pre-order! Stamps begin shipping January 23rd!

Ok this is a first for My Thoughts Exactly! They want to give you a chance to pre-order the February release so that you will be able to receive them in time for your Valentine projects! We (The Design Team) will still have our release party like normal and bring you tons of inspiration on February 1!

Ok first off let me say I am SO excited to get this collection! I seriously CANNOT wait! I want it yesterday! You guys are so lucky you will probably get yours before I get mine because I am leaving out of town Monday! I ordered the whole set because it is so adorable! Plus I think it will be useful all year long not just Valentines day! Second this collection is unbelievably cute for you moms, aunties and grandmas that have little ones in school! I can totally see these on little Valentines for school projects. I can still remember Valentines Day in Elementry School! It was one of the best days ALL year.

MTE is also trying a few different things this release. Take a look-see!

Lovey Puns Animal! I can use this all year round!

I think I want to adopt a school classroom and make Valentines for them with these! 

 Here is the Lovey Puns food set! I know I will use this ALL the time! This is a must have!

 OH MY GOSH look at this candy heart set! I have been looking for a candy heart set for months now and I think Alyssa read my mind!!! The 3 little sets all coordinate with this set too! How incredible!!!

 Take a look at this label! This is the new MTE signature label! It has the tiny heart graphic that I am flipping over!

Okay everyone check out the MTE blog page for more details!

Plus you will be able to see the new Thursday inspiration from Bee, Belinda and Tracy!

XOXO SugarGem

HB2U

I am entering this in the SB.com January Card Challenge!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Smooches

Hi everyone! I wanted to play with a new stamp set I got from Lisa at The Crafts Meow a while ago. She was really super nice so I wanted to make sure to give her a shout out and share the store with you! They have amazing customer service and her stamps are so cute!
My card is super simple, but I love the way it turned out. I have been wanting to use my dies as embossing plates for some time now so I figured this would be the perfect time!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Yours Truly

For today's Pumpkin Spice inspiration Tuesday I used the beautiful Yours Truly Collection from Echo Park. I also used the Maraschino Twine and Stickles!

Thanks for stopping by today!

If I can inspire just oneperson today I have done my job!!!

XOXO SugarGem

MTE Winner!!!

The winner of the My Thoughts Exactly Sweet Thoughts set is-

#17

(I removed all of the DT members and used random.org)

Steph @ Crafting in the Rain

Congratulations Steph! Please email me at Lovesugargem@gmail.com with your contact information and I will forward it to Alyssa at My Thoughts Exactly!!

Thank you everyone for playing along!

And just in case you missed it yesterday here is a tutorial I did! Showing you a little trick I do to get a perfect stamped image every time!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job! 

XOXO SugarGem

Stamp Trick! -Youtube Tutorial

Hi everyone! Want a perfect stamped image everytime???

 I made this little Youtube tutorial to show you how I use my stamps and more importantly how I use my My Thoughts Exactly stamps.

Happy Friday!

I am trying out different video background colors. I've tried white, wood and black now. I don't think I like the black? What do you think? I am trying to figure out what color is better to give you a clearer picture. I also found out that my stupid video camera wobbles when I zoom in so I hope you can actually see what I am doing here!

I had to tape this a couple times because Kalani (my puppy) kept wanting to have her film debut! One video she started squeaking her toys and another she started SNORING! I should have kept the the clips to show you, but I erased them. It was funny!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow I will announce the winner of my favorite MTE stamp set!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

My Thoughts Exactly Inspiration Thursday Plus Free SVG

Hi there! So lately I have been on this ultra clean and simple crafting kick. Today I made some little 3"x3" tag cards using my ultimate favorite Sweet Thoughts set from My Thoughts Exactly.

Here are the sentiments I used-

Cupcake-licious

 Cherry-licious

 Choco-licious

The little cherries and the cupcake are also in the set.

Sometimes I get so excited to use the sentiments I overlook the darling image stamps. So I wanted to give them some love today.

 Cherry-licious

 Cupcake-licious

 Choco-licious

Mmmmmm Mmmmmm!  Don't you love those cute little sentiments? I just can't get enough!

Here is the link to get yours!

Plus I have a Free SVG file download just for you!! It's the little mini window card. I sized it in my program to be a simple 3"x3"mini card! Enjoy

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Introducing 2012 My Thoughts Exactly and Giveaway

Hi Everyone! All week we have been introducing the new 2012 My Thoughts Exactly Design Team and today is my day to say HI!  I was asked what my favorite MTE set is and I wrote down Sweet Thoughts! Sweet Thoughts IS my favorite of ALL TIME, but Many Thanks is too now! I really don't know how I lived without both of these sets! I have so many ideas twirling around in my head with the Many Thanks set and so little time! The Many Thanks set is fabulous by itself. But if you are like me and have other Thank You sets it is also a perfect addition to any other thank you set you might have! That is what makes it THE BEST Thank You set EVER!  It really has endless possibilities! You can add the 2nd half of the phrases to any Thank You you have or even make something like I did with this one!

When I think of Thank You cards I think of very clean and simple....and especially easy to mail! So I had a hard time with my Thank You cards for Christmas this year because I wanted them to be easy to mail, but also special.....hmmmmmmm???  I got this idea when I went to a local stamp store a couple weeks ago! Here is what I came up with.

Ultra clean and simple outside, but wait something is hiding.....

The Chandelier is not MTE it is from a set I got when I signed up with A Muse Studio.

Waaaaaiiiiit for it.........

Waaaaaiiiiit for it.........

It's a pop up!

Isn't that FUN? I am so in love with this technique! I have a bunch more ideas

too that will be coming soon!

It reads "MERCI for your thoughtful gift" Don't you love that little My Thoughts Exactly touch? Totally a FAVE now!!! I love the font it's so CUTE!!!

I added Crystal Stickles to the top to give it a pop! Not sure if you can see it in the picture? IRL it is so pretty.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

Next I want to introduce you to the

 2012 My Thoughts Exactly Design Team

New Design Team Members

Ashley- USA

http://hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com

Benedicte -France

http://benelun.over-blog.com

Kendra-USA

http://luv2scrapnmakecards.blogspot.com

Tracy-Scotland

http://queeniesscrapmad.blogspot.com

The Returning Design Team

Bee:

  dare2beecreative.blogspot.com

Bee (B...elinda)

  beeshiveofdrama.blogspot.com

Jennifer

  ourchangeofart.blogspot.com

Jessica

 craftyrktsci.blogspot.com

Lenae -(me)

 sugargemscrafts.blogspot.com

You may be noticing that Thienly is not listed? Thienly has decided to keep her options open for now. I know we will ALL miss our Thienly! I am a huge fan of hers!
It was such a pleasure to work with her this last season and I wish her all the best!
Thank you everyone for your encouragement and support! I couldn't do this without all of you! And I can't wait to see what my Co Team Members create this season!

GIVEAWAY

My Thoughts Exactly has generously donated one of my favorite stamp sets, SWEET THOUGHTS, for me to give away to one lucky follower! All you need to do is leave a comment here from now until January 13. I will randomly draw one name and announce the winner here on Sat. January 14th.

Free SVG Gift
Before I say goodbye to you today, here is my little gift to you for just being you! Free SVG file Merci Download! Hope you enjoy!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Pumpkin Spice January Blog Hop

Welcome to our January Pumpkin Spice Blog Hop! If you are here from Carissa's blog you are in the right spot!
I am super excited for our first blog hop with our new 2012 Design Team! The theme this month is "Your Style"!
I would say my style is Clean and Simple 3D Sweet Surprise! (whatever that means) I love Clean and Simple and I love incorporating 3D or a quirky surprise.

So here is the story behind this project. Because if you don't know me there is always a story behind all my projects... A friend of mine was looking for a tea dispenser box SVG and could not find one, so I made her one. I am not a big coffee drinker, but I love tea so this really fits for me personally too! I wanted to make a little gift for a sweet friend so I finally had an excuse to make my tea box! 

And here is the Truly Yours Tea Box.

Isn't that paper cool? Everytime I think Echo Park can't possibly get any better they DO! I would say that last year's Echo Park Be Mine collection is what really got me into blogging and what helped me find Pumpkin Spice. So using this years Yours Truly Collection is absolutley perfect to make a complete circle for our first 2012 DT Blog Hop Project.

Plus aren't those roses darling too? A very special friend special ordered the die for me from Pumpkin Spice! They are so easy to make!  I so love that die. I put a link below to order it if you like them!

This next picture just shows you how I put it all together to give this as a gift. Because I designed the box to just be open on the bottom I wrapped some tissue paper around the tea bags so they can't fall out when I give this to her! Here is a picture of what that looks like.

And before I get too far along!

Blog Hop Lineup!

• SPS Blog - www.pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com
• Carissa - www.happilyeverpapercrafter.blogspot.com
• Lenae - www.sugargemscrafts.blogspot.com
• Diana - www.dianamlarson.blogspot.com
• Saundra - www.luvscrappingtogether.blogspot.com
• Ann - www.raindropechodesigns.blogspot.com
• Lezlye - www.lezlyes.blogspot.com
• Dorcas - www.dorcasdesigns.blogspot.com
• Courtney - www.courtscrafts.blogspot.com
• Alyssa - www.mythoughtsexactly.co (yes .co - not .com)
• June - www.simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com
• SPS Blog - www.pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com

Products I used are-

Echo Park Yours Truly collection!

Lipstick Red Crinkle Ribbon!

I made the cute roses from an awesome die I received from a sweet

friend that Special Ordered it at Pumpkin Spice. You can too!!!

SugarGem's SVG Tea box.

Felt from my stash.

 MORE

EXCITING NEWS

 Pumpkin Spice is introducing *new card and scrapbook kits this year. This

month the theme will be Love and Valentines Day the kit is called "Fun Love".  June will be showcasing the kit this month for Pumpkin Spice! Take a peek below at all the goodies!!!

Kit includes

January Kit “Fun Love”
1 – MME “Fun Day” 6 x 6 paper pad
... 1 – MME “Love Me” 6 x 6 paper pad
1 – Rangers Stickles
4 – Paper Accents “Smooth White” 8 ½ x 11 sheets of Cardstock
4 – Bazzill “Kraft” 8 ½ x 11 sheets of Cardstock
3 – yards Twinery “Stone” Twine
1 – yard Red Twill
1 – yard Tan Twill
1 – 18” length of Pearl Flower Lace/Ribbon
3 – 4” paper doilies
1 – Set of button mixture
1 – MME Alpha sticker set (Lime Twist)
5 – MME Journal/Frame/Die Cut Cards (Lime Twist/So Sophie)
3 – Jenni Bowlin Valentine mini Bingo Cards
3 - Petaloo color Me Crazy™ Floral Crocheted Flowers
4 – Echo Park 6 x 6 sheets (Style Essentials/Winter Park)

Thank you for joining us today in our first 2012 Blog Hop!!!

Ok next on the hop is Diana.

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Runway Inspired #3

Hi there! Have you seen the new Runway Inspired Challenge? My Thoughts Exactly Team member Jennifer Rzasa started this new challenge! I have wanted to play along, but haven't had time until today! When I saw this weeks inspiration I KNEW I had to make time!

I used My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks set for my sentiment!
Don't forget our Pumpkin Spice January Blog Hop starts on January 7! You will get to meet all the new Design Team members and get lots of inspiration along the way!
Plus if you have missed it this week check it it out now....My Thoughts Exactly is introducing the new Design Team all week. I will be featured on January 8 and I have a little surprise for you and a giveaway! check back!!!

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

Happy Tuesday! Pumpkin Spice

Are you all ready for 2012? It seems like today is really the first day of 2012 since everyone starts to get back into the groove of life! Here is a little thank you card I made for my Pumpkin Spice Store inspiration Tuesday!

I used Fine and Dandly Tinkled Pink layered stickers
Echo Park Style Essentials
Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky Twine
Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs and Tags Die
EK Success Scallop Border Punch
Kraft Cardstock Base
My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks set
Clear and Simple Taglines Set
Detail White embossing powder
EK Success Large Corner Rounder
Pink Crepe paper

If I can inspire just one person today I have done my job!

XOXO SugarGem

2012 What's Happening?

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year! We went to the ocean for Saturday night with my mom and aunts, uncles and friends! We had a blast! During the day we stopped by a casino to meet my dad for his birthday and had a bunch of fun too because we all won a little bit of money!!! I won $60 which is HUGE for me. You know where I will be spending that, right? Did you do anything exciting?

 Today I wanted to let you know what is happening this year! I will be continuing to work with My Thoughts Exactly Stamps and Pumpkin Spice Store in 2012. Both companies are introducing some new Design Team members this week. My Thoughts Exactly will be introducing one Design Team member each day with giveaways!!! I will be featured on January 8th with a GIVEAWAY so check back!!!

Here is what our calendars will look like this term. 

My Thoughts Exactly

will be releasing new product on the first of each month with the entire design team. I will also bring you some MTE inspiration the first Thursday after the release.

Pumpkin Spice Store

I will be posting new inspiration every other Tuesday of the month with a fun Blog Hop with the entire design team the first weekend of every month!

I am so excited for this next year with you and my teams!

I want to wish you all a fabulous New Year!

Lenae

XOXO SugarGem