Mark's Finest Papers July blog hop day 2

Hello! Welcome to the July 2011 MFP New Releases Blog Hop!

This week's new releases are: Little Birds With Big Mouths, Planted with Love, Lilacs in the Summer, and Adirondack Summer.For your convenience, all these sets are available TODAY at Mark's Finest Papers.

So, do you want to WIN today's Featured Stamp Set: Planted With Love? (If you don't want to wait to win, you can always purchase the sets right away! We'll substitute a set from NEXT month's release if today's winner has already purchased this set!)

For your chance to win: Comment on the following Design Team members' blogs TODAY before midnight EDT. There will be ONE random winner chosen from the comments on today's Blog Hop blogs. That winner will win Planted With Love. We will announce the winner's name on tomorrow's blog post.

Lois
Vicky
Dawn
Anne
Peggysue
Connie
Emily
Karen
Patty
Roxie
Vicki
Liz
Geri
Lynn
Mark’s Finest Papers

I made a card last week with this set and tried using the ink-spray-smash technique to make the background look like the outside of the watermelon. I think this one turned out even better. Usually when I do that technique I try to smash the colors together so that there aren't stripes or blotches of one color, but this time I tried to be extra careful so that there would be distinct stripes. I also embossed some vertical lines on the base.

I love the title of this set... planted with love. So many times we need to plant love to see it grow and bloom. It may start out as a little seed and with care and nuturing grow to a big love.

This set made me think of my first time planting a garden. My family had just moved to Illinois and we had the opportunity to start a garden. My kids were all giving input to what we should grow. Pumpkins and watermelons were on their list. In my inexperience I did't know that pumpkins and watermelons shouldn't be planted near eachother because the cross pollinate. We ended up with watery pumpkins and really gross tasting watermelons.