Confessions of a Paper Junkie

Dress Form Card

2011-04-19T14:36:00.000-06:00

Today's card is one I made for my MIL's birthday later this week. She loves to sew!
I don't. I like paper a lot, but fabric....mmm, not so much. Unless it's for a card! She even has a dress form in her sewing room.

I was showing her on the PTI website their die of a dress form, with a stamp set to match, and she just loved it. Coincidentally, she just recently bought a Big Shot, so now she can diecut to her heart's content! So I ordered her the set and die, along with another die, for her birthday this week. I just got that shipment, and I opened up her die and used it for her card! Here it is:

Cardstock is PTI (Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream). DP is Making Memories. Stamps are PTI (Signature Greetings). Dies are also PTI (Signature Series: Dress Form; Banner Borders). Ribbon is Hug Snug Seam Binding (black), pearls are Mark Richards. The little skirt is made from a paper doily bought at Hobby Lobby in the cake-making section.

Thanks for visiting!

My final Twisted Card...

2011-04-02T20:03:00.000-06:00

Hello! Happy Saturday! It is so warm and beautiful here in the Denver area today, FINALLY. Geesh, it always seems like winter will never go away! I kept waiting for the nice weather, I mean, HELLO, it's SPRING! We would get warm days, but they were ruined by the crazy high winds. Not good! So today was 75 degrees, partly cloudy, so fantastic. I stayed outside as much as possible! I might even have a teeny little sunburn on one arm from sitting facing one direction while watching a soccer game (my daughter's, and yes they won!).

Today's card is my final card for the Twisted Sketches blogsite. I love Anam and her beautiful sketches, but it's time for me to be done, and I hope you keep coming to my blog! I promise to try and post more often...

The twist for this sketch was "fun", and here's my take:

I kept it really clean and simple here. The green and white is something I've been thinking about and "strategerizing" in my head for a while now. I've been longing for warm weather and green leaves, something that's been missing for a while, so this clean color mix reminds me of leaves and sunshine and blossoming plants. While it may be getting warm, there's no green yet. Darn!

My ink colors were CTMH (Topiary, Pear) and my plain old white cardstock. Stamps are Papertrey (Leaf Prints) as were the dies (Leaf Prints, Limitless Layers 2.5" Collection) and a circle punch by EK Success (2"). The sentiment was printed out on my computer and cut with another Papertrey die (Double-ended Banners). Gems are Hero Arts.

Thanks for visiting!

Twisted Card #49

2011-03-05T10:00:00.001-07:00

Hello, welcome back! Today's card is a birthday card that is already gone from my house. I thought this sketch would make a great birthday card, and my daughter needed a card for a party today, so I made it, photographed it, and now it's being enjoyed by a nine-year-old. Hopefully she doesn't toss it too soon!

The twist for today's sketch is "spring", which I incorporated by using spring colors. Man, I can't wait for spring! This last week in Colorado has actually been rather warm, in the 60's, but it IS March, which is usually a very crazy month for us weather-wise. But the trees are already starting to show little buds, which makes me so happy! Okay, tangent over...here's the card:

Hardly any stamping here, just the sentiment. I played off the colors in the strip of patterned paper (from Basic Grey's "Lemonade" line), which I die cut with the PTI medium scallop border die. The felt (PTI Simply Chartreuse) was die cut with the PTI eyelet lace border die. Ribbon is Offray. The doilies are Martha Stewart, and the buttons are from my stash. The sentiment is PTI (Communique Curves Sentiments) stamped in CTMH Black ink. The felt ice cream cone is also from the Basic Grey Lemonade line. Cardstock base is CTMH (Pink Carnation).

Come on over to Twisted Sketches today, submit your card and play along!

Welcome Little One

2011-03-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today I have a baby card for you, since I am attending a baby shower this weekend, I thought I had better get going on the card! This is a CASE of Lea Lawson's card here, I changed the colors and stamps, and held on to the cute layout.

I used a stamp set from Papertrey Ink (Bitty Baby Blessings), stamped in CTMH chocolate ink. The little elephant is stamped in chocolate, then colored in with a CTMH Breeze marker, then glittered. Normally my favorite thing to do with this onesie stamp is to paper-piece it, but that just didn't seem right on this card.

Patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye (Wild Asparagus line). Felt, ribbon and cardstock are from Papertrey (Vintage Cream felt, Aqua Mist cardstock and grosgrain ribbon). Glitter is Stampendous.

I'm going to go slack on the couch for the rest of the afternoon now, I have a bit of a cold that needs to be nursed. I'm gonna drink orange juice and snuggle with my tissue box while watching shows I recorded last week. Happy Wednesday!

Twisted Card 47

2011-02-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone....happy Saturday! Today's card is for Twisted Cards #47, over at Twisted Sketches. The sketch this week is a great one, and the twist is "distress". I totally almost spelled that "distresssss"....but I digress.

So I made this card, feeling very "white on white" while doing so, got it all finished and photographed, and ready to send off before I realized....I didn't incorporate the twist! Ack! It was all polished and pretty, with absolutely nothing distressed about it. So I went back in and frayed the edges of my ribbon, which I really wound up liking because it added another layer of texture to this extremely monochromatic card. Don't the words "texture" and "monochromatic" sound all artsy? Lol. Then I got to re-photograph and re-edit the whole thing. Good times.

Anyway, my point is that these twists are pretty easy to incorporate in a card you may already be making, it's just another way to think "outside the box" and change things up a bit.

Cardstock is CTMH (White Daisy). Yep, all of it. I ran that bottom layer through my Big Shot with a Cuttlebug embossing folder (Provo Craft, yes I'm too lazy to look up the name of the folder. But I will if you really want me to). Butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch. Bling is Mark Richards. Stamp is Papertrey (Wedding Day), ink is CTMH (Black). Ribbon is Hug Snug seam binding.

Make It Monday #2

2011-02-16T17:09:00.001-07:00

I created a card for this week's Make It Mondays over at Papertrey, and I did it completely by accident! I colored an image, made a card, added a vellum sentiment strip...and then realized I could submit it to MIM. What a coincidence!

So here it is:

Why, oh why, is this at an angle?

Cardstock is CTMH (Sorbet) , Neenah (Solar White) and Papertrey (Spring Moss). Vellum is by The Paper Company. Ink is PTI (Ripe Avocado) and Memento (Tuxedo Black). Colored with my Copics. The stamps are PTI (Friendship Jar Fillers; Communique Sentiments). Dies are PTI (Limitless Layers 2 1/2 " Circles).

Don't you just love that font? That's one of my favorite sentiment sets ever...I'll be using it forever. Hey PTI, I would like all sentiments from now to be in this font, K? Thanks.
Glad we straightened that out.

Valentine Swap

2011-02-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

I just had to pop on here and show off what I received from my Valentine Swap partner, Denise. Look at all this beauty!!

And that's not all, folks. Here's what was inside this precious tote:

What a spoiled little chickie I am today! That's some wonderful PTI felt, and satin ribbon (in the beautiful melon berry color), and TWO Ghirardelli milk chocolate bars. All covered in one of my fave paper lines of all time, Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket)!

Thanks again, Denise!

Buttons, buttons....

2011-02-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

You know it's anniversary time over at Papertrey Ink.....when everyone in blogland suddenly starts blogging a LOT more frequently, so we can participate in all the cool contests!

Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed by this card.
It's old.
Really, really old.
Like, I made it a couple of years ago. *blush*

I made this along with some others for a swap, and this one is the one I was left with. I thought it was really cute (at the time) and creative. I have since learned so much more, and (hopefully) make much more polished cards and projects.

But I wanted to participate in this contest SO. BADLY. so I am sticking this card up here for all to see. I will hold my chin up high. IT'S PAJAMAS, YA'LL! You know, like Christmas pajamas? The buttons are part of the little outfit.

OK, I still think it's a cute idea, even if I could have done it better. Here it is:

It's a little wraparound pocket card. Here's a pic with the little insert pulled out:

See the little scalloped edging? Done with....yes, you guessed it....scissors. Oh man, do I have such better tools now. And I love the little candy in the pocket, so cute.

I must admit, I made this so long ago I'm not sure who everything is by. I know the cardstock is CTMH (that's where most of my CS comes from). I *think* the patterned paper is a Bo-Bunny line. Doesn't it look like something they would make? I'm gonna stick with that.

Buttons were from my stash. I bought the cutie little candy in a pack of sticker embellishments at my local LSS. I think they're Jolee's. Stamp was CTMH (I don't even have this set anymore!) as was the ink.

So there's my little "Christmas in February" for you all. Enjoy!

Twisted Card #45

2011-02-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today's card was a little "quickie" that I whipped up for the Twisted Card #45 sketch. Super-easy to make this little guy...

Ya gotta love those coordinated sets of stuff that scrapbooking companies make. Just about everything on here is from the Basic Grey "Nook & Pantry" line....

Cheater cheater, that's me.

Cardstock is CTMH (Colonial White, Autumn Terracotta). Patterned Paper and felt are Basic Grey. Stamps are PTI (On My Couch). Ink is CTMH (Black). Done.

Valentine's Package

2011-02-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I would post the rest of the Valentine's package I sent off to my swap partner (see the card below!), so I'm FINALLY getting around to it! Here's a pic of the whole ensemble, then some close-ups of the little packages:

I had sooooo... much fun making this package! I love red and white together, and it's great paired with Kraft! The pink just makes it a leeeeeetle more soft and feminine, and valentine-y. LOVE.

The little flat box held some mini-cards with matching envelopes. I didn't take pictures, but that's okay. It's all good. The other box was made with one of the PTI's Timeless Templates (by Lauren Meader), and it held some Ghirardelli caramel chocolate squares. Also no pictures, but you all know what those look like!

Ah, another Saturday...nothing super-fun planned today, just working on the basement and gearing up for the Superbowl! Love me some football....but I gotta admit, mocking the commercials is the best part. Gonna have some yummy food and slack for the afternoon. Bliss! Looking forward to tomorrow!

January Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

2011-01-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

This month's challenge: With the new year comes a clean slate along with many resolutions. This month's blog hop challenge involves you challenging yourself to use a Papertrey stamp set that has yet to see ink or even one that might be collecting a little dust! Go through your stash and see what little used treasure it might hold.

I opted to use a newer, but yet uninked (by me!) stamp set, called Love Lives Here. I bought this set when it was new, but due to Christmas, New Year's, and other time-consuming things, it has been neglected....until now! And wow, do I ever remember why I bought this set! Once I started using it, I couldn't put it down and started making all kinds of stuff.

Here's the card I created for this challenge:

I'm delving a *tiny* bit more into the "vintage" style, I've found it gets easier with pratice! I deliberately didn't "shabby" it up using distress ink, I wanted my whites to be really pure white. Here's my materials:
Cardstock: PTI (White, Kraft). Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye (Laundry Line). Cork: Quickutz; Lace:American Crafts; Ribbon: Hug Snug seam binding; Stamps: PTI (Love Lives Here; Mat Stack 2 Collection); Dies: PTI (Love Lives Here, Mat Stack 2, Double-ended Banners); Ink: CTMH (Black, Baby Pink, Juniper); Felt: PTI (Pure Poppy); Glitter: Stampendous.

This card got sent, along with some other cute treats, to my Valentine swap partner (Hi Deb!). I'll post the rest of the contents of that package another day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Card 43

2011-01-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hello again, friends! My card for you today is based on Twisted Card Sketch #43, and the twist this week is "bling"! Gotta love some bling.

Here's my "ingredients":
Cardstock is CTMH (Bamboo). Patterned paper is SEI (an older collection called Ashville). Stamps are PTI (Fancy Flourishes, Cupcake Collection). Dies are also PTI (Bloom Builders #2, Leaf Prints). Ink was CTMH (Black), gems are from Hero Arts (colored orange with a Copic marker), and the button is from my stash. Felt is PTI (Simply Chartreuse).

There you go, a simple little card. This one literally only took a few minutes to pull together. I think it turned out cute and fun!

Twisted Card 41

2011-01-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday! Today's card is a valentine card for my daughter, who's 9. I'm going to hang on to this card until Valentine's day morning, and leave it for her at the breakfast table with a little valentine's treat. I'll have a treat for my son, too, but since he's not quite 5, the card thing doesn't really do much for him, LOL! And this card is WAY too frilly for the Manly-man, so I'll make something else for him.

So the twist this week for Twisted Sketches is "ribbon", which was so great for a Valentine's card! I paired it with some lace and flowers, making it ultra-girly!

Cardstock is PTI (Sweet Blush, Ocean Tides, Kraft), as were the stamps (Tiny Treats: Valentine, and Signature Greetings). Ink is CTMH (White Daisy, Juniper). Flower is by Prima, lace is American Crafts, and ribbon is Offray. Pop-dot (under the sentiment) by All Night Media.

That's it! Actually a very simple card to put together. And now I'm almost prepared for V-Day!
Have a great weekend!

Twisted Card 39

2010-12-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!! I hope you're all having a very happy, peaceful holiday with the ones you love. Today's card is for Twisted Sketches, and the twist this week is "faith". I realize I could easily have turned this into a Christmas card (being as it's Christmas and all) but I felt like the yellow was calling me, and I wanted to use that gorgeous yellow satin ribbon!

Okay, so I totally just realized that both this week's card AND last week's card were yellow and black. Maybe there's a hidden meaning there?

Maybe not.

Anyway, on this card I used PTI cardstock (Lemon Tart, True Black, White) as well as PTI stamps (Fancy Flourishes, YOF: Violets). Ribbon is Offray, bling are from Hero Arts. Ink is CTMH (black) and Versamark. Clear embossing powder is by CTMH. The flower and brad are from another project aaaaaages ago (I've been doing this a long time, ya'll), and I can't remember who made them. Oh well.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and prosperous new year!

Twisted Card #37

2010-12-11T10:00:00.001-07:00

Allright, ya'll, I'll admit it: I'm cold. And I don't like snow. Too bad I live in Colorado, huh? The winters here are cold and snowy! And while I'll confess that this winter hasn't been as bad as last winter (yet), I still am already longing for spring. It's a loooooong way away...

So today's card has a sunny theme, to warm me up, and it fits perfectly with the twist for this week's Twisted Sketches, which was "shine". Here's my big shiny warm sun!!

Here's the deets:
Cardstock: CTMH (Colonial White, Black). Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird line). Ink: CTMH (Black, Sunflower). Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Scattered Showers, Up Up & Away). Gems: Mark Richards.

Ah, I feel warmer already! Feel free to head on over to Twisted Sketches and play along with Anam's great sketch. Have a wonderful weekend!

Popcorn Treats

2010-12-07T15:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a little treat I came up with recently for some friends. The jar turned out so cute I had to show it off! I found these little shaker jars at my local Michael's store for $1...love it! I used the Mat Stack 2 die from Papertrey, along with the stamp set Just For You, to make the label. It's held on with some twine (and glue dots). I put an herb-butter-parmesan flavored snack flavoring in the jar, for them to sprinkle over their microwave popcorn. Here's the pic:

Thanks for visiting!

Twisted Card 35

2010-11-27T10:00:00.002-07:00

Hello again! Today's card is a little "cheer up" kind of card, and when I was making it, I was thinking, "What cheers me up?". Well, flowers cheer me up. Bright pink is nice and cheery! Bling makes me happy, as do satin ribons. So I just combined them all for today's Twisted Card! Today's twist is "layers", which you see in abundance here.

Cardstock is CTMH (White Daisy, Black, Watermelon). Stamps are Papertrey Ink (YOF: Roses, Scattered Showers). Ink is CTMH (Watermelon) and Memento (Tuxedo Black). Die is PTI (Mat Stack 2), ribbon is PTI (Raspberry Fizz Satin), and bling is Mark Richards. Eyelets are from my stash.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Are you all gearing up for Christmas yet? I'm pretty much done shopping, so now it's time to make neighbor treats, and start decking the halls (as of December 1...I'm a bit weird about leaving fall stuff up until November is over!).
Have a great weekend!

Twisted Card 33

2010-11-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

Hey hey, look at me, on time this week and everything! Is it just me, or is time just flying by? I can't believe we're almost to Thanksgiving, and that Christmas is around the corner. 2010 is almost over! Wow, it was fast.
This week's card is based on the sketch over at Twisted Sketches, with the twist being "brads". I felt like this layout lent itself easily to a kind of CAS format. Not a lot of embellishments, mainly a black-and-white color scheme, with the flowers being the only pop of color.

My brads are some little square "blingy" brads that I've had in my collection forever...I think I originally got them in the Target Dollar Spot. Cardstock is CTMH (White Daisy, Black). Ink is Memento Tuxedo Black, and the stamps are Papertrey Ink (Year of Flowers: Larkspur). I colored the flowers with my Copic markers, and added some glitter (Stampendous) to the darker centers for a little more sparkle.

Hey, maybe I'll post again soon....I've actually been doing a LOT of paper-crafting stuff. I'm teaching a card-making class next week, so I can show a few of those samples, as well as Christmas cards and tags and stuff. I need to quit neglecting this little blog-o! Poor little thing...

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Card 31

2010-11-01T13:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry, sorry! I'm a little late posting my design for the Twisted Cards sketch this week...shame on me! Such a cute layout this week, and the twist is a great one, "glitter"! Ya'll know I love me some glitter...

Here's my card...

Can you see the glitter? Huh? Can you see it? I actually cheated *just a smidgen* and used paper that already had glitter in it (My Mind's Eye, Laundry Line collection). I cut them with the medium scallop die (Papertrey) and attached them to my card front (Juniper cardstock, CTMH). The little birdie and sentiment are from Papertrey (Birds of a Feather) in chocolate ink (CTMH). The sentiment was stamped on colonial white cardstock, and matted with chocolate cardstock (both CTMH). Ribbon is Offray.

For those of you who haven't already, come on over to Twisted Sketches and play along! Thanks for visiting!

Twisted Card 29

2010-10-16T10:00:00.001-06:00

Have you ever been inspired by something a little "offbeat" for you? This week, I was inspired by a cake. A wedding cake, to be exact, and I wasn't even at a wedding! I was reading Cake Wrecks (awesomely funny blog!!) and I LOVE the Sunday Sweets section. This blog focuses on the hilarious mess-ups by cake makers, but the Sunday Sweets zeroes in on the absolute beauties out there. And last Sunday, this cake was on there:

This cake was baked by Cake is Life , and featured on Cake Wrecks. Isn't it gorgeous? I've been dying to try out the green and white stripes with the colorful autumn leaves, and the sketch at Twisted Sketches this week was perfect for that "falling leaves" look I wanted to achieve. Here's my card:

Well, what do you think? I used the chocolate brown mat to represent the "branch" on the cake, and I cut the leaves with my Silhouette. The twist this week is "jewel", so I sprinkled some jewels in with those falling leaves. Don't jewels fall from your trees, with your leaves, in the autumn? So realistic.

Cardstock: PTI (Dark Chocolate) and CTMH (Sweet Leaf, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red). Ink was CTMH (Sweet Leaf) and Versamark, with Silver embossing powder (CTMH). Jewels were by Mark Richards. Stamps by PTI (Distressed Stripes, Signature Greetings). The silver cord was some I had bought at Joann's, I can't remember the brand..sorry!!

Why don't you come on over to Twisted Sketches, and play along with us? We'll see you there!!

Twisted Cards

2010-10-09T10:00:00.001-06:00

Today is the day that some new gals are announced on the Twisted Sketches card design teams...Congrats, ladies! Welcome to the team, I look forward to seeing your work!

Both teams were assigned to work with the sketch this week, with the twist of "friend". You know, I've noticed that I take a lot of these twists literally, and this one is no exception! I just made sure my little sentiment had the word "friend" on it. Now, I need to invite somebody over so I can use this card!

Ahhh....I just can't get enough of that adorable little couch. So cute and comfy! Now, I have a confession...I hoard paper. Especially Basic Grey paper, I *heart* that stuff. I'm sure none of you know what I'm talking about...Anyway, it was time to get some out and use it up! It was painful to cut into at first, but I recovered and had a great time!

DP: Basic Grey (Lemonade line)
Cardstock: CTMH (Grey Wool, Bubblegum, Cranberry)
Dies: PTI (Eyelet lace die, couch die)
Stamps: PTI (On My Couch, On My Couch Additions)
Bling: Prima
Other: MS Circle Cutter tool

Thanks for stopping by today!

Twisted Card 27

2010-10-02T14:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, everyone! What's on your agenda today? I'm watching my daughter's soccer game (cutie little 9-year-olds) and completing some assignments while floating around the house.
Today's card had the twist of "love" to it, so I had to squeeze that word in there somewhere!

Let's see, ingredients....stamps are PTI (Autumn Abundance, Polka Dot Basics, Damask Designs) and so are the dies (Mat Stack 4, Rick Rack border). Cardstock is CTMH (White, Outdoor Denim) and the felt is from my local fabric store (yes, even the cheap stuff cuts great with PTI dies in my Big Shot!). I colored the image with my Copics (love those things!). Oh, and ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, and CTMH Outdoor Denim.

Wanna play along with this sketch? Head on over to Twisted Sketches and join us!

Twisted Card 25

2010-09-19T12:51:00.000-06:00

This post is a day late...sorry! I've been on painkillers for a dental surgery I had a few days ago, and they've made me rather loopy. But here's my contribution for the latest Twisted Card sketch, and the twist this week was "big"! I took it rather literally...

Well, I owed someone a big thank you, so that's what they're getting!

This card uses a variety of products. The cardstock is CTMH (Outdoor Denim, Sweet Leaf, Cranberry, White Daisy) and the stamp for the background is from PTI (A Little Argyle, stamped in PTI Outdoor Denim). The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird line). The "thanks" stamp is also from PTI (Daily Designs Sentiments), but the "Big" is cut out using my Silhouette. The gems are from Mark Richards.

I'm a bit bummed about this photo, because the word "big" is popped up using foam adhesive, but you can't see the dimension in this photo, it looks rather flat. Just know that the dimension is there in real life!

We'd love to have you join us this week, so pop on over to Twisted Sketches and play along! Thanks for visiting!

Twisted Card 23

2010-09-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

This week, I have sports on the brain! Not only did pre-season football start (Yay!! Finally!) but my daughter started her fall season of soccer this week. Awww, those girls running around the field are so cute....

Anyway, I thought what better card for a soccer gal, than an "All Star" card, just to get her going? I thought about using her team colors, but the colors for her whole league (not just her team, all of them) are blue and white. They just switch off wearing white jerseys or blue jerseys depending on who the "home" team is, etc. So, I went with the back-up plan: she's a cute girl, she likes pink, so pink and black it is!

Allright, here's what I used: The cardstock is from CTMH (White Daisy, Black, and Blush). I stamped the soccer balls (from the CTMH set Let's Play Ball) in Versamark ink. The scallop is black craft felt die-cut with the PTI small scallop die. The pennant was stamped in black ink (CTMH) on white cardstock, using the PTI set All Star Team. The chipboard "go" is from Basic Grey. The clear stars are from Apple Pie Memories, and the bling is the Bubbles and Bling stickers from atd (division of Momenta).

In case you hadn't noticed, the twist on the Twisted Card this week is "clear". I hope you can see my clear stars! I stamped a little star on them in black Staz-On ink (the star is also from PTI's All Star Team) to make them a little more noticeable, and easier to see. You can see this week's sketch, as well as the rest of the Design Team's samples, over at Twisted Sketches. Then, you can add your card and play along! See you there!

Twisted Card 21

2010-08-23T13:25:00.000-06:00

I'm excited.....it's time for another Twisted Card sketch! You know how sometimes you just can't put something together, creatively? Occasionally I feel that "funk" descend over me, and I love sketches to help get me out of it!

I've been a *bit* obsessed with coloring these flower stamps with my Copics lately. It seems that the more I practice my coloring, the better and more fun it gets! Go figure, right? Anyway, I have more cards to share using these flower sets and my markers, but this one was created specifically for this sketch. And the twist this week is "staples". Now, normally I don't care for staples on my cards, I've never really "gotten into" that look. But when I tried it as an accent on this card, I truly liked the result, and went a little crazy putting staples everywhere! The contrast of the hard metal with the softness and rusticity of the rest of the card is quite pretty. I turned the sketch on its side for this card.

For this card, I used stamps by Papertrey Ink (YOF:Sweet Pea and YOF:Larkspur). These were colored with my Copic markers. Cardstock is Curious Iridescents in Cryogen White (for the part with the colored flowers), PTI Berry sorbet and Kraft. Stamp pads are Memento Tuxedo Black, and PTI Fresh Snow. The Kraft layer has been impressed with the PTI Woodgrain impression plate. The staples just come from my regular old office stapler! Glitter is from Stampendous, just applied with a glue pen.

Pop on over to Twisted Sketches today, see if you can work yourself out of a funk!

Twisted Card 19

2010-08-09T10:39:00.000-06:00

Time for another sketch from Twisted Cards! This week's sketch has the fun little twist of "stripes". Ooh, I love stripes! I have a difficult time staying away from patterned paper with stripes on it...it's a huge weakness of mine. And this week I'm being "forced" to play with them! Ha ha!

So without any further ado, here's my card:

So this is what I call a "cheater" card....no stamping whatsoever, just pretty patterned papers, and a premade embellishment! I just dressed up that little chipboard tag a bit with some bling and ribbon to make it prettier. All patterned paper and the embellishment are from WRMK (Nonsense line). Cardstock is from CTMH (Breeze, Bubblegum, Orange). Ribbon, button, and bling are from my stash. Fun! This card took me five minutes to make. Gotta love that!

Pop on over to Twisted Sketches and play along with us! See you there!

thank you

2010-08-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone! I'm back today with a little set of two cards. I keep meaning to make more in different colors, but the opportunity just hasn't presented itself...

Anyway, these little cuties were inspired by this card by Nichole Heady. I used a different main stamp set, and I kept some of the other details the same, like the black dots on the grey cardstock. I can't wait to try that black-on-grey thing with some damask stamps. Yum!!

Stamps are by PTI and CTMH. Colors are CTMH (Breeze, Kiwi). The colored panels are popped up on foam tape. Easy, easy!

Hope you all have a great day!

Shocking

2010-07-31T00:07:00.000-06:00

Hey look, everyone, I'm posting a card and it hasn't been two weeks! Hee hee!

This is a card I made for the hubs. He's leaving on a week-long campout with his Boy Scout troop (he's the Scoutmaster) on Monday morning. They won't get back until Saturday afternoon! Just the thought of all that time without indoor plumbing or a comfy bed gives me the heeby-jeebies! I made this little card to tuck in his pack somewhere that he can find it. I'll put it in an envelope, then probably have to wrap it in a sandwich bag or something so it stays dry while in his pack.

Just so he knows we're thinking of him while he's gone!

Stamps are Papertrey Ink (Tiny Treats: Valentine; Polka Dot Basics II). Colors are CTMH (Sunkiss Yellow, Sorbet) and Bazzill (grey cardstock). The felt was cut with the uber-cute rick rack XL die cut from Papertrey.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Card 17

2010-07-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hello again! I have a fun little card for you today, courtesy of Twisted Cards! I followed the sketch , then applied the twist, which was "glitter"! I love glitter.

So here's my card for this week:

Wow, I struggled to photograph this one! First of all, it's clear, which makes it hard to photograph because of the glare issues. Second, it's been really cloudy in Colorado, which is good for our grass (yay rain!) but not good for taking pictures of cards. I need a little more light, please! And after all that, you can hardly see the glitter, which is on the "2" in front, as well as the blue flowers and the little leaf. It's much more sparkly in real life!

I used patterned paper by American Crafts, then matched my inks to it. I used ink and cardstock by CTMH (Pink Carnation, Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue). The stamps and dies are from PTI (Beautiful Blooms II; Trajan Monogram Alphabet) and CTMH (Solos 2). Glitter is by Stampendous.

Pop on over to Twisted Sketches to get the sketch, and play along! See you there!

Papertrey Favorites

2010-07-10T06:00:00.003-06:00

I'm basically just editing this old post (previously Twisted Card #15) so everyone can see what my favorite card was last year! These aren't my favorite colors, or papers, or even stamps, but the combination sure made me smile!

I used PTI's "On My Couch" and "Chair-ished" stamp sets for this card. Love the little chairs! Patterned paper is from Scenic Route (Sonoma), and the cardstock and inks are CTMH. I cut the circle frame with my Coluzzle (circles template), and curved the sentiment to fit. I love acrylic stamps for that reason! The tiny little hearts are from another PTI set, "Sweet Love" (an oldie but a goodie!).

Thanks for visiting!

Jam...just for you!

2010-06-29T06:00:00.011-06:00

Hello everyone! I'm just popping in to share a little cutie gift/gift tag I made last week. I actually made four of these to give away to some gals I visit for my church every month. I always like to take along something cute, just to brighten their day. This month, I took along some homemade strawberry jam (Yum!). Yes, I made it! I made plum jam too, but I'm hoarding that. Plum is my favorite!

The new stamp set from Papertrey Ink, Friendship Jar, was perfect to make a little tag to go with my jam! Oh, I was just dying to get my hands on this set and play, play, play! I die-cut the little jar and its lid (with the cutie matching dies! Love!) and then stamped them both. I used the filler stamp in red for the "jam". I also die-cut the little label and frill for the jar. I stamped the "cloth" in green, then layered it and the lid (colored with my C1 Copic) on top of the jar. The label was stamped, along with the "Home made" sentiment, on the cutie label, and also layered on the jar. I stamped a plain manila shipping tag with Background Basics: Tin Types in red, then layered the jar on with foam tape. The sentiments below were then stamped in black.

The fabric on my jar was just plain white fabric (from an old bedsheet, purchased at the Goodwill for $0.50!) that I stamped with the BB:Tin Types in green. 'Cause it's gotta match. I tied some jute around the lid, and tied my tag on. I likey!

Ink: CTMH (Black, Cranberry, Topiary). Stamps: PTI (BB: Tin Types; Friendship Jar)

I love giving little gifts like this. It brightens my day, maybe even more than the people who get them! And I'm definitely thinking of experimenting some more with different jams...maybe even try my hand at lemon curd (anyone who knows me knows my love affair with lemons, and all citrus fruits).

Thanks for visiting!

Twisted Card 13

2010-06-26T06:00:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post today....to share my card for the latest sketch over at Twisted Sketches! The challenge is to combine the sketch with a weekly "twist". The twist this week is "flourish"!

And here is my card:

I had so much fun with the sketch this week...for some reason it seemed just a smidgen easier than usual...not that it's usually hard! This one was just super-simple.

Stamps, cardstock are PTI (YOF: Roses; Fancy Flourishes; Polka Dot Basics II) (colors are Smokey Shadow, Lemon Tart, Ripe Avocado, Berry Sorbet). Ink is Versamark, and I used Ranger Clear Embossing Powder. The sentiment is stamped in CTMH ink (Black). I added shadows to my embossed rose with a Copic marker (Y11).

Pop on over to the Twisted Sketches blog, view the other designers contributions, and join in the fun!

You Are a Blessing

2010-06-24T06:00:00.011-06:00

Okay, ya'll, I'm still really liking PTI's Distressed Stripes. Can't....stop.

This is a little gratitude card, made with Distressed Stripes (of course) for the plaid, and First Fruits for the cutie pineapple. It has a little glitter on each pineapple point, making it sparkly!

The sentiment is from Signature Greetings. The colors are CTMH (Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, New England Ivy).

Stay tuned on Saturday for another Twisted Cards post. See you then!

Cottage Floral

2010-06-21T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! Today's card is just a fun little summery card. I used CTMH Cottage Floral set for the flowers, and I believe the sentiment is from PTI's Autumn Abundance. Colors are CTMH (Watermelon, Ocean, Citrus Leaf). The embossed background is made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder (Swiss Dots) and I mde the scallops with my corner rounder.

I don't know how well you can see it in this photo, but the top flower is covered with glitter. It sparkles like crazy in real life!

Thanks for taking a peek!!

And the birthday present!

2010-06-19T06:00:00.005-06:00

So here's the little birthday treat I sent out to the receipient of the card in my last post. It was sent to my little sister, Julie! She lives waaaaaaay across the country from me, in Pennsylvania. Hear that Julie? They know where you're hiding now. :)
This card is actually one of a set of ten I sent, and they're similar to the cards in this post, where the center circle is empty, and there's a bunch of sentiment stickers she can use to customize the card. I actually made more stickers than cards, just in case she needs more thank-you cards than anything else, or whatever.

Are we noticing a pattern yet? I LOVE this layout for a card, it's so versatile! The Mat Stack 2 die from PTI is my favorite die ever. So user-friendly! For this card, I die-cut the mat from white cardstock, then glued it to Heavenly Blue cardstock (CTMH) and just free-hand cut around it so there's a cute little blue mat (a mat for the mat...hee!)

The colors are CTMH (Garden Green, Heavenly Blue, Chocolate) and the ribbon is Offray, a pretty pale yellow. Stamps are PTI (BB: Tin Types; Daily Designs; Daily Designs Sentiments). I drove ALL OVER TOWN looking for brown buttons...apparently they're hard to find! I might just have to break down and buy PTI's buttons, so I can get lots of the color I want. See, Julie, the button vent from the other day was YOUR FAULT! I had to finish the vision for your cards...hope you like them!

A little birthday card...

2010-06-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

This sweet little card got sent out to someone for her birthday...we won't say who, just in case she hasn't received it yet! (Of course she reads this blog...she knows what's good for her!)

I used PTI's stamps (BB: Tin Types, Daily Design Sentiments) and their Mat Stack 2 die. The colors are CTMH, and the DP is from an old My Mind's Eye line. Ribbon is Offray.

Papertrey Chicks Design Team Case Challenge

2010-06-14T06:00:00.003-06:00

My turn, my turn! I am hosting the challenge this week over on the Papertrey Chicks blog. It's a place where some of us PTI addicts meet to challenge and inspire each other, but everyone is welcome to visit and play along!

This week we are going to be CASE-ing a design team member. I chose....wait for it....Debbie Olson. Big surprise (NOT) for those who know me! It's no secret that I love Debbie's work....her precision, her coloring and choice of colors, they're all sophisticated and unique. I love how her work always looks so professional and "finished". Here's the card I chose to CASE:

First off, this card caught my eye because it's square, instead of the standard rectangle card shape. The colors are lovely (Spring Moss, Sweet Blush) and her use of flourishes keep the card from being too symmetrical. My bows are never this perfect, nor is my coloring, but hopefully I can do it some justice!

Here's my version, I switched up the colors and changed the main focal point, but otherwise stayed true to the layout:

Ink and cardstock are CTMH (Dutch Blue, Sunkiss Yellow), stamps are PTI (Fancy Flourishes, BB: Text Style, YOF: Lily of the Valley). Ribbon is Offray, the button is just some random button from my stash. I colored the flowers with my Copics.

I think the lilies, when colored blue, *sorta* remind me of the Texas bluebonnets, from my home state! Anyway, play along over on the Papertrey Chicks blog! See you there!

Twisted Card 11

2010-06-12T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! Today's card is part of the Twisted Sketches post, over on the Twisted Sketches blog. Check it out, and play along! Here's the twist, Distressing!

Here's my card:

I was playing with PTI's set, A Day At The Beach, for this card. Ink and cardstock are CTMH (Orange, Sunny Yellow, Citrus Leaf) with some clear Stampendous glitter. I don't normally do distressed edges, but it seems to work here!

Have a great day!

Break over!

2010-06-09T13:42:00.000-06:00

Whew, I'm back! I took a little break from blogging for a while! We went on a short vacation, I started a diet, and I'm getting things back on track around my house, along with some other stuff. So blogging took a back seat, and so did crafting! I did have a chance to do a little crafting this past weekend, so things should pick up again shortly!

Today's card is one I made while playing around with the Distressed Stripes stamp set (PTI), making my own plaid. I didn't do much else to it, just matted it with black, stamped a sentiment, and tied on a ribbon. The die-cut flowers are from a Cuttlebug die, and are stuck on with glue dots. Colors are CTMH (Watermelon, Sunny Yellow, Ocean). I need to send this to someone as a little pick-me-up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Card 09

2010-05-29T10:00:00.001-06:00

Time for another Twisted Sketch! Scoot on over to Twisted Sketches to play along...there's some great inspiration!

This week's twist is "rub-on"! I took that literally, and applied a little cross-stitch rub-on, made by Doodlebug Designs, to the side of my card:

DP: American Craft; Cardstock: CTMH; Felt: Hobby Lobby; Dies: PTI; Gems: Hero Arts; Ribbon: Offray; Button: from my stash!

We'd love to have you play along with us!

Another Thank You Card...

2010-05-27T06:00:00.001-06:00

This card is the "continuation" of a set I showed in this post here. I used the PTI set YOF: Lily of the Valley to make this card, and kept it simple with some drawn lines and easy coloring.

Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!

2010-05-25T17:00:00.005-06:00

It's time for the May Blog Hop with Papertrey Ink! This is my second time participating in this blog hop, and it's been fun so far! This month the challenge was to use felt on a project, any project. I decided to utilize my felt and make a card holder/pocket to hold a card kit. Here's the whole project, laid out together:

The card holder is made of white felt, sewn with my sewing machine (just folded over and stitched on the sides, easy-peasy!). I used the PTI Eyelet Lace die to cut black felt for the border, and the Mat Stack 2 die for the pink mat. Yes, I stamped in black ink directly on the pink felt (Just For You stamp set). Here's a close-up of the pocket:

I made some cards to coordinate with the cutie-pie pocket, but with blank spots on them. This blank spot is the perfect place for one of my little matching stickers, made with sticker paper that I punched out and then stamped on. This way, the cards can be used for any occasion! Here's the card when blank:

Here's the pocket, all loaded up, but not yet tied shut:

Mmmm, I love the sight of all that delicious yumminess, just tucked baaaarely out of sight. And here's a peek at the pocket when tied shut:

And, just in case you were curious, here's what the card looks like with the little label attached. This card used a variety of PTI sets: BB: Tin Types; Daily Designs, Daily Design Sentiments, and Just For You. The little labels were stamped on sticker paper, so after I gussied them up I peeled their backing off, and stuck them on some wax paper that was wrapped around pink cardstock. The labels peel off easily!

Swap Card

2010-05-22T10:12:00.000-06:00

Today's card was made for a swap I participate in with some friends. It's a Father's Day card, even though you can't tell from the outside. Inside it does have a "Happy Father's Day" sentiment!

Cardstock, ink, and DP are from CTMH. Stamps are PTI (Enjoy the Ride) and it's coordinating die. The inside sentiment is also a PTI stamp (Father Knows Best). Wrapped some twine around it and called it good!

Thanks for visiting!!

You Are Chair-ished!

2010-05-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

I LOVE the little couches in the On My Couch set from Papertrey, and now that I have the cutie little coordinating dies, making these couches is even easier! So fun...

I've been working on putting together a stack of cards for a friend, she won them in a little service "auction" we held at my church last month. I donated a "promise" of 20 handmade cards, whatever type she wanted. After she won, she immediately turned to me and told me to do whatever I wanted, but to make five thank you cards, five birthday cards, and ten "thinking of you" cards. Yay, freedom of choice! Awesome.

So this card is going to her, with some others. As I make them, I'll post them here for us all to enjoy before she gets them. This one is made with some ooooold Basic Grey paper (Two Scoops line) that I had laying around. I like how it looks on this armchair!

I highlighted some of the swirls on the background paper with Crystal Stickles. The scallops are made with my corner rounder (old school! Someday I'll have the PTI dies and catch up with the rest of the modern world...). Ink is Memento Tuxedo Black.

Thanks for visiting!

Thank You set

2010-05-17T13:13:00.000-06:00

Today's cards are a shameless CASE...of Nichole Heady. I LOVE the Year of Flowers series at Papertrey Ink, and in the May release the YOF set is Lily of the Valley. Of course, it's been ordered and is on its way to my house, but in the meantime, I loved THIS card she made for the release peeks. She made hers with the new Aloha set (here's the whole post). I thought it would be fun to do as a set! Here's my spin:

I drew the black lines first, with a fine black pen and a straight-edge. I stamped the flowers with Memento Tuxedo Blac, and colored in the leaves and stems with Copics. I stamped the flowers again on Curious Iridescent (Cryogen White) cardstock, and colored with Copics. I cut the flowers out and layered onto the Kraft card base. The yellow parts are done with Yellow Stickles. Then I stamped the sentiment in Tuxedo Black. Really basic, and fun! I love the pop of color against the kraft. That Lily of the Valley set needs to get here so it can be added to the set!

Twisted Card 07

2010-05-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone! It's time once again for a Twisted Card, brought to you by Twisted Sketches!
The twist this week is "black and white", any way you like! In my card below, I incorporated the black and white into both my sentiment square (diamond, whatever) and the embroidery floss I wrapped around the card. I think the black and white makes a nice contrast to the colored frogs and their pathways!

I apologize for the rotten picture quality, but winter is still rearing its ugly head here in Colorado. It's been snowing (snowing! In mid-May! Ugh!) and the light for the last week or so has been horrible. Stamps are PTI (Tiny Treats: Valentine and Round and Round). The frogs were stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black, and colored with a copic. There's red stickles on their little hearts (so cute!). Their little paths were stamped with CTMH ink (Holiday Red, Sunny Yellow, Star Spangled Blue, Hydrangea). The sentiment was stamped in Tuxedo Black, except for the "hoppy" part which is Holiday Red.

Pop on over to Twisted Sketches and play along! See you there!

Missing...

2010-05-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Missing: My mojo. Has anyone seen it? I would like it back, please. Thank you very much.

Seriously, I have done no paper-crafting in the last 3-4 days! Ack! That's a HUGE break for me, I don't know what's going on! However, I have gotten other projects done, and worked on some stuff that's been looming over me. Like my basement, my poor neglected basement. The basement of our house is unfinished, it has two large rooms, and a large (semi-finished) crawl space. We mainly keep boxes, etc. in the crawl space, and it has a nice door and is easy to maintain. The other two rooms....well, let's just say that they've seen better days. The back half has been our "storage" space, mainly with shelves for our food storage, large tupperware containers with holiday supplies, and other stuff. My husband's camping gear is everywhere! I've also just been tossing stuff in the corner or onto a shelf when I needed it out of my way.

I spent two hours down there this afternoon, just clearing up the back half of the basement. It looks so much better! Now for the front half, which is a really large room. When we first moved to this house, I put carpet remnants in this room, and my kids' toys were down there for a "playroom". We also had an old TV with a portable DVD player, so they could watch the occasional movie. Fast-forward three years: the DVD player no longer works, all the kids' toys are up in their rooms, it's a disaster. I turned the guest room/workroom upstairs in to an all-purpose room for me (mainly my crafting stuff, my workout stuff, and our keyboard so I can give my daughter lessons), and moved the queen-sized bed to the basement. But it's not set up yet! AND, I'm still working on re-finishing some furniture for my son down there. So now, I need to finish staining that furniture, clean the space, throw out some stuff, and set up a guest room in that basement. We opted to move the guest bed down there because most of our family lives nearby now, so it doesn't get used as often and doesn't need a dedicated space.

Wow, what a little novel I just wrote there! Aren't you so glad you know the intimate details of my basement cleaning experiences? I know you are...hee hee!

To reward you for slogging through all that, here is a card! This is one I created with teachers in mind, I'll probably put it with the teacher gift for my daughter's second grade teacher this year. She's been a great teacher, she deserves everything good!

Stamps are PTI (Teacher's Apple, Distressed Stripes); Cardstock and Ink are PTI (Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy); Border punch is EK Success; Ribbon is Offray. Embossing Powder by CTMH, used wiht Versamark ink.

Thanks for visiting!

More Baby Stuff...

2010-05-08T06:00:00.003-06:00

I have a LOT of friends lately who are pregnant, so that means lots of baby showers! I've already posted the cards I made for those recipients, that went with the gifts, but I've had a few requests to show the actual gifts. So here is what I made for the baby shower I went to on Thursday night. My friend is having a little girl, so I got to make little girly things. I stamped on some onesies again, and tossed in a package of thank-you notes, and decorated the packaging to match. You gotta match. Just sayin'.

Here's the package, and then a close-up of the details on the package:

Here's the thank-you card:

And here's the onesies!

Here's everything together!

Wow, that's a lot of pictures!! All the argyle is hand-stamped, with the Papertrey Ink set "A Little Argyle". It took some time, but I love the way it turned out. The card in the back was the one I posted a while back, I based the whole set on this card. The onesies turn out so cute, although sewing the buttons on is NO FUN! In hindsight, I should have made her 20 cards instead of 10, because there were a lot of people at this shower! Hopefully the ones she got will make her thank-you's a little easier, anyway.

Thanks for stopping by!

You've Been So Kind...

2010-05-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

And for today, we just have a CAS thank you card. Easy peasy...

Stamps are CTMH and PTI. Inks are CTMH. I colored the little fruits with my copics. The end.

Double the Love

2010-05-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

I was invited to a baby shower this last weekend, and the pregnant gal is having twins! Ack! I think I would go crazy if told I was having TWO babies, at the same time! One at a time was hard enough! She deserved a huge shower, and she got it. Lots of people, lots of cutie-pie stuff. And, BONUS, she's having a girl and a boy, so super-fun!

Here's the card I made to go with my gift:

The inside says "Good things come in Multiples". LOL! The original shower invite had a "two peas in a pod" theme going on, so I ran with it and sorta went "garden" with my gift and card. For a gift I made more of the personalized onesies (did I ever show those on here?) and made ten instead of five (she's having two babies, she gets double!). I also added a stack of thank-you notes.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps are PTI, Inks and Cardstock are CTMH. Ribbon is Offray. I don't remember who made the gems, but they were originally clear, I just colored them green with my Copics.

Trees...

2010-05-03T16:24:00.000-06:00

Today's card is just a little quickie...I sort of tossed it together at the last minute for an upcoming swap!

Stamps: CTMH and PTI. Ink: CTMH; Pop Dots: All Night Media.

Hmmm..not so many supplies this time. This card is pretty basic...I did have to cut the trees and trunks out by hand, but you can see that there's not much to them. Easy to mass produce!

I'm a little slow on the home-front over here, because I somehow managed to sprain or twist or *something* my right shoulder. It really hurts to lift my right arm! I would love to say I did it hang-gliding or something cool, but I think I managed to sleep on it wrong and probably pinched a nerve. How embarrassing...all this pain and no cool story to show for it. I've been gypped! Or....I could have done something to it while chasing my kids around....okay, still not a cool story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twisted Cards #05

2010-05-01T10:00:00.002-06:00

It's time again, for another Twisted card! Today's sketch is Twisted Cards #05, by the lovely and talented Anam. Every week, Anam provides a card sketch for you to try, with a little twist to keep things fresh! This week's twist is ribbon! Which is good for me, since I almost always have ribbon on my cards! Here's the sketch provided by Anam:

And here's my take:

Cardstock is CTMH (Honey, Petal, White Daisy). Ink is CTMH (Honey, Cranberry) and Versamark. Embossing powder is by Ranger. Stamps are PTI (BB:Woodgrain, Polka Dot Basics, Chair-ished). Yellow Stickles (Ranger) and ribbon (Offray). Gems are CTMH.

Scoot on over toTwisted Sketches this week and play along! See you there! And while you're out, stop by the Moxie Fab blog, and check out the Three Cheer for Chairs! It occurred to me that this card has a chair, and could therefore be entered into that little challenge. Check out the chair-y goodness!

Hip, hip, hooray!

2010-04-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today's card is a quick little card, made for my son's friend's birthday! I procrastinated, in a BIG way, until an HOUR before the party, so I had to slap this together really fast!

Stamps, paper, cardstock, and ink are all CTMH. I believe the colors are Barn Red, Twilight, and Desert Sand. The nailheads are Mark Richards. Jute is from Hobby Lobby. You can't see it really well, but the cupcake has glitter on the frosting!

Woodgrain Car

2010-04-27T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hi, everyone! Today's card is a guy's "bon voyage" card, that I made with my nephew in mind. He's about to graduate from high school, and is heading off to college soon. I already have a grad card for him, so this is his "good luck in school, and all that" card. The wood is actually a wood veneer paper made by Creative Imaginations. It's real wood, shaved so thin that it's like paper! Love it. And it's "husband-approved"! I sometimes force the Manly-man to give me his opinions on cards. Then, once he gives me his honest opinion, I force him to say something nicer! Hee.

April 2010 Papertrey Ink Bloghop!

2010-04-25T16:00:00.001-06:00

Tonight, I am thrilled to participate in my first ever Papertrey Blog Hop! Hooray!

The focus this month is on tissue paper. Nichole Heady challenged everyone to use tissue paper in a creative way on their projects, and since Papertrey conveniently ships all their stamp sets wrapped in tissue paper, we all should have plenty of material to experiment with!

I opted to use tissue paper with my recently purchased stamp set, Year of Flowers: Sweet Peas. Now, I've been doing floral design for approximately sixteen years. I've worked in flower shops off and on over that time, so I've seen a LOT of flowers, and lots of sweet peas. They're gorgeous! In my opinion, the petals of the sweet pea flower look kind of "papery" (not sure if that's a word, but I'm sticking to it!). So, I thought I should try to make the sweet pea flowers on my project out of tissue paper. Here's my card:

And here's how I did it:
First, I stamped the sweet pea cluster on my white cardstock. I used Cryogen White, by Curious Iridescents, because I was going to color with my copics. I then proceeded to color the stems and leaves with YG95 and YG97.

Next, I stamped the same image on yellow cardstock (in this case, Sunkiss Yellow by CTMH). I cut out only the little center parts of each flower, and accented with an Acid Yellow copic.

Then, I sponged some pink ink (Blush, by CTMH) onto the tissue paper. I then stamped the sweet pea cluster on the now pink tissue paper, twice. I cut out each flower. (The ink I used to stamp all the images was Memento (Tuxedo Black). I crinkled, crushed, and balled up each flower, then unrolled it to get a nice, wrinkly flower.

After cutting out each flower, I adhered them to my white stamped image. Each flower has two layers. The first tissue paper layer I glued down the whole thing, but in a wrinkly fashion. The top layer I only glued down partially, so the petals would ruffle up. I then glued down the center pieces on top.

Here's a close up of some of the dimension:

After I had my flowers the way I wanted them, I stamped the sentiment and matted the whole thing on Ripe Avocado cardstock. The pink layer underneath is the sweet pea cluster stamped multiple times on Blush (CTMH) cardstock, with its matching ink. Ribbon is Offray, white satin.

Anyway, it turned out to be a fun project! I think I might try some other flowers this way, now.

Thanks for stopping by!

A little argyle, baby!

2010-04-22T06:00:00.001-06:00

I got some happy mail yesterday! My box from Papertrey Ink's April release arrived, and I raced around doing all my "mom" stuff so I could play! I needed to make a baby card, for a shower that's coming up soon, and I also needed to do an argyle card for the Papertrey Chicks challenge. So I combined the two!

Let me just say...that argyle set is FUN! I made several different argyle papers (that I might force you to view here on the blog-o) with different combinations of colors. And it's EASY! Such a snap to line up and use.

For this card, I combined A Little Argyle with Enjoy the Ride to make this baby card. I don't have Hibiscus Burst, Spring Rain, or Smokey Shadow from PTI, but I do have very close equivalents from Close To My Heart (Pink Carnation, Heavenly Blue, Grey Wool). The black ink is by Memento (Tuxedo Black). Bling is CTMH. I also used that super rick-rack die from PTI, and tossed a little vellum in there for good measure!

I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of stuff from my new PTI haul over the next week or so...lots of good stuff to play with! Thanks for stopping by!

2 Sketches 4 You: Laura's Sketch #50

2010-04-21T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today I'm playing along with the sketch at 2S4Y again...love those great sketches! Here's the sketch provided this week:

And here's my take:

This is from a super-cute stamp set from Stampendous, which I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with my Copics. The cute umbrella border is from the set as well. After coloring the umbrellas, I cut along the edge of the umbrellas to make a "scalloped" edge. It's easier to see that dimension in real life! Here's a pic of the inside:

Have a great day, everyone!

More Quilter's Sampler Cards...

2010-04-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

I mentioned yesterday that I couldn't stop playing with my Quilter's Sampler set! Here is the little set of cards I made with it...The three cards are basically the same, just with different color combinations. The front card, for some reason, shows up as a lot of white, when it's really a pale pink color (the quilted hearts and the mat). No matter what I did, it's just washed out! And I took pictures at different times of day and everything...oh well!

Clean and Simple: FTL #86

2010-04-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

Hey, ya'll! Today's card is for the Clean and Simple blog, using Fall-To Layout #86. This one was fun for me! I pulled out a set I LOVE, but haven't used much lately, and started playing! The set is from Papertrey Ink (Quilter's Sampler, and Quilter's Sampler Additions) and once I got started, I couldn't stop. I'll post this card today, and then the rest that I made with it tomorrow.

I think this will probably end up being a Mother's Day card for my MIL! She's into quilting and all that.

Cardstock: CTMH (White Daisiy, Breeze, Holiday Red); Ink: CTMH (Breeze, Holiday Red) Memento (Tuxedo Black); Stamps: PTI; Gems: CTMH (Clear), Mark Richards (Red).

Twisted Cards 03

2010-04-17T15:26:00.001-06:00

It's time for another Twisted Card! Anam has provided this lovely sketch for you to try, with a twist! The twist this week is Twill, any how, any way!!

And here is my spin on it! I tried something I've never done before...shabby chic! This is a first for me, so be kind...*cringing*

Patterned paper is Basic Grey (Nook & Pantry); Cardstock is CTMH (Cocoa, Twilight, White Daisy); Ink is CTMH (Cocoa); Stamps are CTMH; Flower is by Prima; Butterflies punch by Martha Stewart; Twill by Martha Stewart.

Head on over to Twisted Sketches, and link up your creation in the comments. Then fly around to all the other Twisted Sisters' blogs and view their creations. The creativity will leave you breathless! Have a great day everyone! Thanks for stopping by !

Swap Time!

2010-04-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

I participate in a swap with some gal pals of mine, who all work (or have worked) at our local Archiver's store. This month, we are swapping gift card holders! I utilized a Timeless Template (from PTI) for mine. Hopefully I'll have some pics soon of what the other gals made for the swap!

Here's the flap:

Here's the back:

And here's what it looks like when open:

I used a little velcro dot under the flap to keep it shut. There are places to punch holes (on the template) that match up with the flap, so you can tie it shut with the ribbon, but I wanted it to open and close easily! Patterned paper is some reeeeeally old Buttercup gingham paper from CTMH. Stamps are from YOF: Violets from Papertrey Ink.

2 Sketches 4 You

2010-04-14T06:00:00.002-06:00

My card today is for the Kazan's Sketch 50 over at 2S4Y. The paper is from We R Memory Keepers, so is the rub-on (the bird). Cardstock is CTMH (Sunflower and Dutch Blue) and the ribbon is Offray. The stamp is Papertrey Ink (Signature Greetings). Gems are Hero Arts.

My New Obsession

2010-04-13T06:00:00.002-06:00

I have to confess...I have a new obsession. It's this stamp set, called Distressed Stripes. It's made by Papertrey Ink. I love making background paper with this set! I can't stop!

I'm especially loving plaids right now, and I can make as many as I want, in whatever colors I want, whenever! How cool! The only thing I feel this set is missing is a skinny stripe, for that tiny pop of color in my plaids, but I'm sure I can figure that out on my own.

Meanwhile, here's a card made using some of my custom-made plaid:

That lovely diagonal plaid on the bottom half is my own creation, thank you very much! Not that it's hard, or that it makes me very accomplished. But I love it!

Stamps are Distressed Stripes, Year of Flowers: Daffodils, and Fancy Flourishes by PTI. Cardstock is CTMH (White Daisy, Key Lime). Ink is CTMH (Heavenly Blue, Sunkiss Yellow and Key Lime) and Memento (Tuxedo Black). Colored with copics. Ribbon is Offray.

Becky's Compose a Card Challenge

2010-04-12T12:53:00.000-06:00

Today's card is for Becky's Compose A Card challenge! Actually, it's kinda funny...after seeing the challenge on Becky's blog, I was a little stumped with what to do. So I ignored it for a while. Yesterday, my hubby and kids and I went on a bike ride over to our little local park. While we were there, this couple walked to the park with their kids, and she was carrying a diaper bag, with a cute design of green and white leaves on a dark brown background. That was it! I could do that for my card!
So I used these *sorta* polka-dotted trees from PTI (Daily Designs) on my card. I embossed them in white on Cocoa cardstock (CTMH) , and then I colored in some of them with a Copic marker. The ovals are made with my Nestabilities. Buttons are from my stash.

I know I'm fudging it a little bit, since there should be polka dots and these aren't *technically* polka dots, but hopefully that will get overlooked! Have a great day everyone!

You Color My World

2010-04-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

Today's card was a quickie...less than ten minutes! The only stamping was the sentiment. I'm also liking the color combo...I think the pop of blue adds a lot! Let me know what you think!

Cardstock, ink, stamps: PTI; Ribbon: Offray; Punch: Martha Stewart, Fiskars; Gems: Hero Arts; DP: Cosmo Cricket

Embellish Color Challenge

2010-04-05T15:13:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to making my card for the Embellish Color Challenge, over at the Embellish magazine blog. The colors were light pink, light aqua, and kraft. You know, I struggled a bit here. I made the card base, no problem. I stamped the stripes, cut the border, stitched, etc. No problems. Aaaand, then I was stuck. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to use as a focal point! So I let it sit over the weekend ( I made this last Friday) and figured it out today. Hopefully it works for all of you!

And here's my take on it:

Cardstock: CTMH, PTI; Stamps: PTI; Ink: Memento, CTMH; Lace: Joanns; Pearls: KaiserCraft; Copic Markers, Pop Dots.

Hooray!!

2010-04-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

Okay, I already posted this card. So you've probably seen it. But what I didn't mention is that I submitted it to the CARDS challenge blog last week. The challenge was to make an Easter card, so that's what I did. Did I mention that this card was TOTALLY out of my comfort zone? I don't do bunnies, or lace. But maybe I should more often, because I was featured in their gallery this week. Hooray! So here it is again, and a big thank you to Paige over at CARDS!

Twisted Cards!

2010-04-04T19:25:00.000-06:00

It's finally time for our first card sketch over at Twisted Sketches!! I'm so thrilled to be on this design team, the other gals are *fantastic*, it's an honor to work with each and every one of them! Here's the sketch for this week, the twist is "squares", any way you choose:

And here's my interpretation of Anam's great sketch:

Cardstock is CTMH (Sweet Leaf, Breeze, White Daisy) and PTI (Kraft). DP: Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird); Stamps: CTMH and PTI (sentiment); gems (Hero Arts); ribbon (Offray); corner rounder punch (EK Success); ink (CTMH).

Fly on over and try it out, and check out the other DT gals awesome cards. Have a great week!

Easter Eggs

2010-04-04T19:13:00.000-06:00

Hello! I mentioned that I was going to try silk-dyed Easter eggs...and I did! I got the idea and the instructions at Our Best Bites (an awesome food/cooking blog, not that I like to cook, because I don't), and this looked so simple that maybe even *I* could do it. Here's the results:

And here they are all together, little birds in a nest!!

Apparently, how you wrap the eggs in the silk makes all the difference. And you never know what the outcome will be, it depends a lot on the dyes used in the silk, etc. I'm definitely going to try this again next year, and maybe wrap them a little differently! It was fun, and my kids thought they were amazing!

Stay tuned, up next is the post of my card for Twisted Cards!

Twisted Sketch 01

2010-04-03T21:30:00.000-06:00

I don't have the picture for you tonight, but today is the first card sketch over at Twisted Sketches! I, and the rest of the talented DT, have our interpretations of the sketch posted to inspire you. Hop on over and give it a shot! I'll have my card and the ingredients for it posted here tomorrow night. Tonight, we're visiting my parents for Easter.

Tomorrow I'll also post some pictures of something new I tried recently: silk-dyed eggs! They turned out really cool!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter day! Check in again tomorrow night!

April Fool's!!

2010-04-02T10:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was April Fool's day, and I don't normally play a lot of jokes, or even really celebrate these "minor" holidays in any big way. I might wear green on St. Patrick's day, etc., but I don't usually go crazy doing stuff. So my kids were really surprised when I played a little April Fool's joke on them!

I make dinner every night. Darn kids, they expect food at regular intervals! I had been reading earlier in the day about making dinner look like dessert, so I tried it and surprised them. Cupcakes for dinner! Yay! They were thrilled, even when I told them these were "special" cupcakes that had to be eaten with a fork. Their faces were truly funny when they discovered that their dinner was meatloaf cupcakes, with mashed potato frosting! They laughed, and then ate it all up. Here's some pics:

My frosting skills could use some work...LOL!

New toys!

2010-04-01T16:12:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I received a little shipment from Papertrey, with a couple of new stamp sets! So I sat down to play and came up with this:

Cardstock is Papertrey (Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, White). Ink is Memento (Tuxedo Black). Colored with Copics (Y11, Y8, 0, YG95). Stamps are Papertrey Ink (Year of Flowers: Daffodils and Violets). I also used buttons from my stash, Pop Dots (All Night Media) and Mini Glue Dots.

Lacy Days....

2010-03-30T14:29:00.001-06:00

Today's card was inspired by Caardvarks Lacy Days Challenge. Any card layout, any colors, but you must use lace. This was a real challenge for me! Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't do frills, lace, ruffles, flounces, etc. So here goes!

Cardstock, Ink: CTMH; Stamps: PTI; Punches: EK Success (circle) and Fiskars (Apron Lace); Gems: Target $1 Spot; Lace: Joanns

Fall-to Layout 84

2010-03-28T18:13:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! I thought I'd jump in and start playing with the challenges over on the Clean and Simple Stamping blog. This week is the fall-to layout #84, and here is the sketch:

And here is my take:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink; Cardstock, Ink: CTMH; DP: Cosmo Cricket; Copic markers
Have a great day!

Twisted Cards!

2010-03-28T16:15:00.000-06:00

I am so thrilled to be able to finally share my news with you. I am part of the new card sketch design team at Twisted Sketches! I was so happy to get the invitation from Anam to join the crew. Here is the card I submitted for the design team call:

This card was based on a provided sketch, with a twist added, which was "transparent". These should be fun challenges for everyone to play along with, there's a different twist each week!
Hop on over to the Twisted Sketches site to play with us every Saturday!

Cupcakes!

2010-03-23T17:46:00.003-06:00

Today's card is something new for me...rainbow colors! I don't normally work with this kind of color scheme, but it's a refreshing change for me! I like the glittery cupcakes...

Cupcake stamp is from Hero Arts, birthday stamp from PTI. CTMH cardstock and ink. Gems are clear Hero Arts gems, colored with my copics.

MMSC45

2010-03-18T16:26:00.001-06:00

I got this new stamp set from CTMH the other day....SO CUTE! All these little birds, sheep, baby birds, etc. that would be super-cute to do some paper-piecing with. So I went a leeetle crazy with the paper piecing, but I like it! I used the luscious Early Bird papers from Cosmo Cricket again (can't get enough, I tell you!). I actually used the little squares on the front of the package, because they had teeny little versions of the papers, so the patterns would be small enough for my little birds, etc.

Happy Birthday!

2010-03-18T00:00:00.003-06:00

Today is my husband's (Manly-Man) birthday--35! So old! Of course, since I'm 5 months older than him, that means I'm old too...so I take it back. Not old! Here's the card he's getting today:

Mojo 130

2010-03-17T18:12:00.001-06:00

This is my first time playing along with the Mojo Monday challenge blog! This week they had a great sketch, I was excited to join! Here's my card:

Cardstock, Ink: CTMH; DP: Scenic Route; Ribbon: Offray; Stamp: PTI; Gems: Mark Richards

CPS 158

2010-03-17T13:06:00.002-06:00

Wow, I have been AWOL for the last week! I guess I just got busy...life gets in the way of creativity sometimes. My little guy is sick with this horrible cold, and it makes him cough*cough*cough. Poor little dude. I've got a steamer going in his room at night. We were using a cool mist humidifier in there, but it wasn't enough, and when he was coughing so hard it started making him gag, we switched over to the steamer. It helps a lot! He's actually able to get some sleep.

So, on to the card! This is my take on CPS 158. I *love* the Early Bird line by Cosmo Cricket. I can't get enough of the yummy colors and little retro patterns. This card uses two of my favorite papers from the line.

Cardstock: PTI; DP: Cosmo Cricket; Ribbon: Offray; Stamp: PTI; Gems: Hero Arts; Ink: CTMH

CPS 157 and Tuesday Trigger

2010-03-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm combining two challenges into one today! The Tuesday Trigger, over on Cath Edvalson's Moxie Fab blog, is the color green, and here's the sketch we were given for the CPS challenge:

And here's what I came up with:

See, it's not at all confusing! LOL I actually was trying to come up with something for the CPS sketch, and was hitting a bit of a creative block. I was cruising around the internet, trying to get inspired, and saw the beautiful photo on the Tuesday Trigger, that lovely green! I automatically thought of this gorgeous paper from Basic Grey, so I had to include today's card in both challenges!

Cardstock: CTMH; DP: Basic Grey (Origins); Stamps, ink: CTMH; colored with my Copics.

MMSC44

2010-03-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm playing along with the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #44 this week! Here's the sketch we were given:

And here's my take:

All cardstock and ink is CTMH: Ocean, Citrus Leaf, and Watermelon. Stamps are CTMH (Cottage Floral) and PTI (Autumn Abundance). Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug), corner rounder punch (EK Success) and glitter (Stampendous).

A Wedding Card

2010-03-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

Today I have a card I made a few months ago, and never loaded on here. Oops!

This card was made with papers from Cosmo Cricket (Everafter line), stamp from Papertrey Ink (Wedding Day) and jewels from Prima. Ribbon is Offray, cardstock is CTMH (Juniper and Creme Brulee). Tag was made from Spellbinders die.

Time's Fun...

2010-03-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today I have a cute little froggie card I made a while back. My family has always poked fun of the saying "Time flies when you're having fun" by saying "Time's fun when you're having flies". Blame it on my sister and her frog obsession....

Anyway, when I saw a stamp set from CTMH with that little saying and a cute frog, I just had to have it! LOL So here's what I created:

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: CTMH; DP: Chatterbox; Cardstock, Flowers: CTMH; Gems: Hero Arts

Tuesday Trigger

2010-02-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

No, I know it's not Tuesday anymore!! But I'm playing along with Tuesday Trigger over on the Moxie Fab blog. Here was the trigger, a gorgeous card by Kimberly Crawford:

And here's what came out:

Materials used: Fancy Flourishes, Polka Dot Basics II, On My Couch Additions, On My Couch (Papertrey Ink); Lemon Tart, Pure Black, and Kraft CS (Papertrey Ink); brads, circle punch, black ink, Versamark ink, embroidery floss.

I won!

2010-02-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Yay, I've never won anything before! I won a prize from Dawn McVey's blog, a Color Cubbie for my markers! Now I can store my markers on their sides, like I prefer, instead of trying to choose which end to stand them on. Woo hoo! Here's a pic...

Chicken Card?

2010-02-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute little chicken card for you...LOL! No, this isn't really a chicken, it's a bird. But my dh took one look at the "chickadee" sentiment, and asked why I was making chicken cards! Weird man...

This used the Everyday Button Bits set from Papertrey, along with Polka Dot Basics (that's the embossed white dots behind the bird piece). DP is from American Crafts, ink is CTMH.

Thanks for looking, and happy Wednesday!

MMSC42

2010-02-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

So this is my contribution for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge, MMSC42. I took a few liberties with this sketch, like turning it on its side. I used some K& Company paper I had floating around, with some CTMH cardstock. Enjoy!

SFYTT

2010-02-21T09:58:00.001-07:00

Today I am posting for the SFYTT over on Jen Del Muro's blog. Here's my contribution!

Cardstock is CTMH, Patterned paper is Basic Grey. The big flourish embellie is just part of the Ambrosia line from Basic Grey, I just cut it out of the patterned paper. Stamp by PTI. Versamark ink, white embossing powder, and some ribbon from my stash. Oh, and some red stickles.

CPS Sketch 154

2010-02-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today I am participating in the CPS Sketch, #154. This is my rather loose interpretation of their cute sketch!

And apparently I cannot take straight pictures today, so this little guy is at an angle.

Patterned paper and embellishments are Little Yellow Bicycle. Stamps and ink are CTMH. Ribbon is from my stash.

Baby Gift Ensemble

2010-02-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi! Tonight I am going to a baby shower for a friend of mine, who is having a little girl. I got fancy with the Baby Button Bits stamp set from PTI, and ended up making a whole little package to give her. Everything (including a little set of 10 thank you notes, which are not in these pictures) only took part of the afternoon to do. I love how they turned out!

I apologize for the quality of the photos...I was really shaky when taking them.

This is the gable box I put everything in. I got the box pre-made from a paper emporium nearby, and just decorated it.

Here's the card that goes with it. I love the little bee!

There were five onesies in the package I bought, so I decorated them all slightly differently. I used the PTI inkpads, and on a couple of them I did some coloring with my Copics.

And here's the whole ensemble. This picture is rotten...Sorry!

I also threw in a set of ten thank-you cards (to use after the baby's born) and a little "jitterbug" baby toy. We'll see what she thinks later tonight!

A lament...

2010-02-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, Dr. Pepper, how I miss thee...

And Coke Zero, you hold a special place in my heart...

But not in my fridge.

Alas! I have had to give up all things caffeinated. Now I have never been a coffee drinker, nor do I drink tea, so no problems there. I don't even care so much about the caffeine, really. But I have a minor condition called a "benign essential tremor". Note the word "benign", that means "not harmful". It's genetic. I blame my Dad. Sorry Dad.

Anyhoo, caffeine makes the tremors worse. And since the tremor is mainly in my right hand (my crafty hand!!) I have given up all caffeine so I can function better. And it's helping.

But I miss my Cherry Zero. *sniff*

Yes, I drink Caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper. I drink Diet Sprite, and root beer, and cream soda. And I must give a little shout-out to Diet Cherry 7-Up. But it's not the same. It's been a sad, sad new year. (And now for a moment of silence...)

Happy Birthday, Beepus-Boy!

2010-02-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the Beepus-Boy's 4th birthday. Hooray! What a cutie...

You're probably wondering...."What is a beepus?" Well, my little guy here is in LOVE with all construction vehicles. LOVE. When he was two, he started getting excited whenever he saw what he called a "beepus". We were really confused until we figured out that he said that whenever he spotted a backhoe, or a crane, or a dump truck...you get the idea. A beepus is any kind of vehicle that beeps as it backs up. Tractors and garbage trucks count. Oddly enough, buses don't count. We figure that since he made it up, he makes the rules!

So what did we give him for his birthday? Not another beepus...we're swimming in construction vehicles here at my house! We gave him a toy doctor's kit...a boy can only have so many beepuses before you run out of space!

Happy Birthday, buddy! We love you!

PTI Color Favorites Challenge - #2

2010-02-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here's another card made for the Color Challenge going on today over at Papertrey! This time I used Melissa Phillips' color combo.

And here's my card:

This card will double as a valentine's card for my hubby, the Manly-Man. I know he's fine with the ribbon knot (no bows!!) but he's just gonna have to suck it up and deal with the bling.   It's not like he's taking it to work to show the guys! Plus, it helps that V-Day is on Sunday this year!

Materials:      Cardstock: PTI (Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet) CTMH (Garnet, Cream)
                     Stamps: PTI (Background Basics: Diamonds, Daily Designs, Daily Designs Sentiments)
                    Ink: CTMH (Garnet)
                    Ribbon: Joann
                    Bling: Mark Richards
                    Other: corner rounder (for scallops) Pop Dots, 13/4" circle punch, scallop circle punch

PTI Color Favorites Challenge - #1

2010-02-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's another day of great fun going on over at Papertrey Ink! Today Nichole posted all the Design Team girls' favorite color combinations, and the challenge is to make a card (or two, or three) from some of these combos!

Here's my contribution, using Lisa Johnson's combo:

Materials: Cardstock: PTI (Spring Moss, Kraft) and CTMH (Black, Cream)
                Stamps: PTI (Damask Designs)
                 Ink: CTMH (Black) and Versamark
                 Other: Bling by Mark Richards, Ribbon from Joann, 1/2" circle punch, Pop Dots

PTI "Paint by Number" Challenge

2010-02-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Today's card is my little interpretation of the "Paint by Numbers" sketch over on Nichole Heady's blog. Since my screen name on the PTI forum is "flowrmama" (I've designed florals for years, hence the name) I had to use the "A-G" color scheme, which included kraft, spring moss, lemon tart, ocean tides, and vintage cream.

All cardstock, stamps, and ink are PTI. I used vintage cream ink for the polka dots, and Ocean Tides for the sentiment. Stamp sets used are Polka Dot Basics II and Signature Greetings. Ribbon is from Joann.

Thanks for visiting!

CPS Sketch 153

2010-02-07T15:52:00.001-07:00

This will be my first time participating in the challenge over on the CPS blog. I'm finding all these challenges to be really good for me, they're forcing me to think about a card and a layout at a time I might not otherwise be doing so.

My card uses cardstock and ink from CTMH. Patterned paper is from the "Earth Love" line by Cosmo Cricket. Ribbon and button are from my stash, stamp is from Papertrey. The crocheted flower I made myself out of white embroidery floss, then sprayed with Glimmer Mist (Wheatfields). Thanks for visiting!

New Year's Resolution

2010-02-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

So, my resolution this year was to use up some of my stash of paper. Did I mention that I LOVE paper? It's like fabric was for a lot of our moms (and a lot of my friends!). When I see a great paper, I have to get a sheet (or two, or four). Then I stash it away until the perfect time to use it.

Sometimes, that time is right away. More often than not, that time is undetermined. And sometimes I just can't bring myself to cut up that loveliness! So I have a HUGE stash of gorgeous yumminess, that I really need to make a dent in.

So, with that in mind, here is another card. This one uses some beautiful paper by CTMH. Stamps are from Papertrey (On My Couch). Bling is from Hero Arts. I think the ribbon and cardstock are CTMH as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Papertrey Emboss Resist Challenge!

2010-02-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

This is it! My first challenge! Nichole Heady and the gals over at Papertrey Ink are having a huge anniversary bash this month, and today's challenge is to use the emboss resist technique on a card.

I had a hard time getting a good picture of my card, and no matter what I did, it still turned out a bit wonky. The card is much prettier in real life (at least according to me) but I'm going to post it anyway.

Stamps, ink, and cardstock are all CTMH. Ribbon is from JoAnn, button is from my stash.

So, here I am...

2010-02-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hello! Well, I have decided to take the scary plunge into the world of blogging. Eek! I enjoy papercrafting of all kinds, but especially card-making. In order to challenge myself more, I am starting this blog. I will be posting my miscellaneous endeavors, and maybe some other stuff from time to time. I'm looking forward to participating in some challenges as well!

Here's my first photo. I don't have the whole lighting thing down yet, so my pictures aren't the best they could be. But they can only go up from here!

I'm a huge fan of Papertrey products. I love their stamps! So this card utilizes the "Baby Button Bits" stamp set. Love that cupcake. I used a glue pen and some prisma glitter to "glitterize" (is that a word? It is now!) the cupcake. Designer paper is some reeeeeally old EK Success/Laura Ashley paper, as is the matching button. Cardstock is Bazzill.

Thanks for visiting!