wonderful friend

Just a quickie post today, with another Lily of the Valley card. I think I was following a sketch with this one, but for the life of me, I can't find it now (I've searched and searched through my Google Reader!). If anyone recognizes the design from a recent sketch somewhere, please let me know, LOL!

UPDATED TO ADD: the sketch I used was MTSC79 from Mercy Kerin!  Great sketch, and wonderful inspiration on the Lord Have Mercy blog!  Big thanks to Suzanne for figuring it out for me, LOL!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI YOF: Lily of the Valley, Take 3: Summer
Ink: Memento Black
Cardstock: PTI White, Summer Sunrise
Patterned Paper: Prima
Misc: buttons; embroidery floss; Copics

happy birthday from a bizzy little bee!

I've been eager to share this card! It's my first one with the new All About You and All About You Additions set from the PTI June release. Ahhhhh, I love this set! I can tell you right now that it will see a lot of ink.

Flowers are colored with Copic, and cardstock is Summer Sunrise and Orange Zest.  I stamped the scalloped border with the grid design from Background Basics: Geometrics.  The sweet little bee is paper pieced and I bent his wings up just a smidge to add some dimension.  The "Happy Birthday to" is stamped between the lines from the new Library Ledger set.  I was so proud of myself for noticing how the words would fit there, and thought I had made a brilliant discovery.  Then I found a card in the DT gallery where one of them had done the same thing, lol... so I might have seen it and then just forgotten about it!  ;)

I hope you enjoy!  Have a wonderful and creative day!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI All About You & Additions, Library Ledger
Ink: Memento Black, PTI Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest
Cardstock: PTI White, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest
Misc: Creative Charms Gradient Gems; Copics

my FIRST PTI blog hop!!

Woohoo! I'm excited - this is my first time to participate in the monthly Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! The June Blog Hop challenge is to work with a favorite Papertrey Ink color combination. I came up with a lot of different fun color combos - in fact, the birthday card for my dad that was in my last post was originally a potential blog hop project. ;) Soooo, here is the color combo that I will highlight tonight:

I love the richness of the brown and orange, and the simply chartreuse is just the perfect green to work with them!  So, here is my card:

I used my new Outlines Alphabet and colored the letters with Copics from the Terracotta Tile and Simply Chartreuse trios.  I also tried a tip from Nichole's blog and colored some white ribbon with Copics, but then I ended up almost completely covering it up, LOL!  I found some brads in my stash that also coordinated well with this color combo, and thought they made a nice addition.

By the way, just to share it - here is the color combo from Dad's birthday card, in my last post:

I'm off to hop to some blogs!!  Be sure to check out everyone's great projects that will be linked up on Nichole's Blog tonight, starting at 8:00pm Eastern!

Happy Birthday to my daddy!

Yesterday was my dad's birthday, and now that I know he has seen his card I can share it! :)  I've been inking up A Little Argyle from PTI and am starting to feel a little bit more comfortable with it.  Also used Polka Dot Basics 2 on this one, and one of my new faves, Outline Alphabet, which I colored with Copics.

The sentiment is from Birthday Basics, but I cut it apart to align it the way I wanted it. The sentiment circle is popped up with foam adhesive.

Added a few brads, and good to go!  I LOVE YOU DADDY!  Happy Birthday!  ♥


Supplies:
Stamps: PTI A Little Argyle, Polka Dot Basics 2, Birthday Basics, Outline Alphabet
Ink: Memento Tangelo, PTI Fresh Snow, Enchanted Evening, Orange Zest
Cardstock: PTI Simply Chartreuse, white, Orange Zest, Enchanted Evening
Misc: Stampin Up border punch; Fiskars border punch; brads; Copics

still lovin' Lily of the Valley

I can't wait to get my hands on PTI's newest set in the Year of Flowers series, but until my June release order arrives, I'm still having plenty of fun with Lily of the Valley!  I just loving coloring this image in with Copics.  Here is a card I made a few days ago:

The base cardstock is orange, not quite as "coral" as it looks in this photo (it's a Bazzill smoothie).  Cutting the focal point so that the image would extend past the edges was inspired by something I saw on someone's blog, but I'm sorry to say that I can't remember where I saw it!  Once the image was colored in, this card came together very quickly.  And of course, the little Creative Charms Gradient Gems are always a perfect finishing touch!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI YOF: Lily of the Valley, Background Basics Geometrics
Ink: Memento Black, PTI Fresh Snow
Cardstock: PTI Simply Chartreuse, white; Bazzill orange
Misc: Creative Charms gems, Copics, ribbon, button,  embroidery floss

Creative Charms projects: a layout and card

Creative Charms gave me such fun boyish embellishments to play with this month, from the Playtime Boy embellishment pack.  I knew these would be perfect for a layout of the biggest boy in my house ;) playing with his new Lionel trains, on the train table that he recently built.

I used the felt words in the pack to create the title, after brushing just a bit of ink around the edges.  That's a page from a Maya Road chipboard album, which I covered in the Bo Bunny Mamarazzi patterned paper to create a fun focal point "base" for my title work.  I also used October Afternoon letter stickers and vinyl Thickers.

Now, I know what you're thinking...  the Mamarazzi line did not exactly "scream" to me "TRAIN LAYOUT" when I first saw it, either!  But I just loved the slightly grungy, distressed feel of these papers, and I thought the colors worked well for these pictures!

The train made a fun little accent for the bottom of the page.  You can also see here, and in the photo above, the background stamping with PTI's Round & Round set. I think it adds just the right little something to the page... and don't those circles remind you of train wheels??

I also made a fun little card to share this month:

I accented my card with a couple of the sweet little felt butterflies from Blooming Garden, added a blue Gradient Gem Brad to the center of my flower/sentiment, three Gradient Gem Stickers along the bottom scallop, and some blue Polka Dot ribbon.  I love how quickly these fun embellishments made this card come together!

I hope you enjoy these projects!  Be sure to check out the Creative Charms website for more great products, and the June Deal of the Month!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I wanted to share the two cards I made this year for the two greatest dads in my life!

This is the one I made for my daddy:

I dragged my brown chalk ink (which I also used on the paper edges) over the twine to rough it up a bit.

Here is the card I made for my hubby: 

I just recently got the PTI Outlines Alphabet and I love it!  I stamped the word "dad" and then colored in with Copics, with just a tad of shading to give it sort of a gradient effect.  The "you're a super" is from PTI Star Prints.

Thanks for looking, and I hope that you and all the special dads in your life have a wonderful day!

Supplies - 1st card:
Stamps: PTI Through the Trees, A Little Argyle, Fillable Frames 4
Ink: Memento Brown, Versamark, dark brown chalk ink
Cardstock: PTI Simply Chartreuse; Bazzill cream
Misc: button, twine, Fiskars border punch

Supplies - 2nd card:
Stamps: PTI A Little Argyle, Outline alphabet, Star prints, Polka Dot Basics 2
Ink: PTI Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, Ocean Tides, Fresh Snow; Memento brown
Cardstock: PTI white, Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, Ocean Tides
Misc: Copics, brads, Fiskars border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder

better late than never...?

Here's a fun little card that was inspired by the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #1.  The only problem is, by the time I got the card done, the deadline for the challenge had passed, LOL!  But I loved the sketch and had an idea for it, using PTI's Up, Up and Away set, the minute I saw it! The white panel here is popped up, and I stamped the clouds on the blue panel underneath.  For a bit of texture on the clouds, I stamped against the inked up cloud stamp with Polka Dot Basics 2 before I stamped the cloud, to remove some of the ink. I am still having fun with my Copics, which I used to color the balloon.  Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Up, Up & Away; Polka Dot Basics 2
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Memento Black, Misc chalk inks
Cardstock: PTI white; Bazzill blue, orange
Misc: CM Circle Cutter, Copics

Papertrey Posse Challenge #1 - Jessica's Sketch

I'm so excited to get to share what I came up with for our first Papertrey Posse challenge! Jessica is our June Posse challenge hostess, and she came up with this lovely sketch for us to work with:

SO many possibilities! I ended up making two very different cards.  First is this sympathy card.  I thought the large, 3-tree image from Through the Trees would be perfect in that circle as a focal point. Then just lots of matting and layering.

The next card has a whole different look, from the same sketch. 

How cute is that little fox??  That's an Imaginesce stamp that I picked up ages ago, but it was still unopened!  Until I discovered Copics, I just never found a way to use it.  I colored him and cut him out (tip: after I carefully cut him out, I inked around the edges, which covered up the little bits of white here and there from my imperfect cutting job).  The background yellow grid paper was from my stash, and the blue is Bazzill smoothie cardstock stamped with Background Basics: Geometrics. Now, see that scalloped circle? I punched it from tan cardstock, but it felt like it needed a little something. So, I stamped around the edge in each scallop using a small leaf from Beautiful Blooms 2. It doesn't look at all like a leaf; I just liked how the rounded end of the leaf fit nicely into each scallop!

I hope you've enjoyed these, and be sure to check out the rest of the Posse gals' creations! A link to each of their blogs can be found in my sidebar, or go to our group blog here. Have a wonderful day!

4 card simple set: PTI Turning a New Leaf

So I'm still working on that "production line" style stamping, to put together some nice matching sets. I think I'm getting better at it! These are pretty simple but I like how they turned out.

Used PTI's Turning a New Leaf, and Round & Round (the anniversary set) for the background strip of dots. The inks are Simply Chartreuse and Hawaiian Shores, and the green cardstock is also PTI SC. The blue is a Bazzill Smoothie.





Thanks for looking, and have a wonderful day!

some more cards: stitching and Copics

Here are a couple more cards that "go together".

I think the patterned paper is Crate Paper.  For the background of the panel, I used PTI's Beautiful Blooms 2.  The sentiment circle is from a Fiskars set.  I love the added texture of stitching on cards and pages... but I sure wish I had a sewing machine fairy to change my thread color for me each time! ;)

Here I used Turning a New Leaf for the background, and the sentiment is from Take Three: Summer.

This next card is another Lily of the Valley colored with Copics, one of my first attempts, actually.  I love this set.  By the way, I know that the flowers "should" be white, but I just think coloring them adds so much more to the card! ;)  The background is Polka Dot Basics 2, and the sentiment is Take Three: Summer. 

Thanks for looking! Have a wonderfully crafty day! :)

a fun set of 4 coordinating cards

This started out as my attempt to produce multiple versions of a similar card so that I could "quickly" turn out a nice little set. I found that I'm not very good at the "quickly" part, LOL, as I end up tweaking and customizing each card as I go (rather than truly doing them "production line" style). But I like the result. These are all blank inside, because I wanted them to be fairly general-purpose. I think I will try to make up another set of 4 more with specific greetings and then put the 8 together as a "set".

The patterned paper is all from Fancy Pants Delight - scraps I had in my stash! What a fun way to cook up a coordinating set. The sentiments are PTI Take 3: Summer, Round & Round, and Wise Owl, which is also where that cute little Copic-colored owl can be found.  The flower and gems are Creative Charms, brads and buttons are miscellaneous from my stash.

Here is a closer look at each card:

CPS #170

I made this last night for the CPS #170 sketch challenge, and I just love how it came out.  I haven't done a square card in a while.

Ahhh, love PTI's Lily of the Valley, and it's soooo pretty when colored with Copics!  I'm still learning how to use Copics, but I think this came out pretty well.  Then sentiment circle is lifted off the base with a dimensional adhesive.

Love those Creative Charms Gradient Gems - such a nice finishing touch!  :)

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Lily of the Valley, Text Style 2, Polka Dot Basics 2, Round & Round (anniversary set)
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow and Simply Chartreuse
Cardstock: PTI Kraft, white and Simply Chartreuse
Misc: PTI scallop die; Fiskars border punch; Copics; Creative Charms gems

Here is the sketch:

some more cards

I actually made these a while ago, but am just getting caught up on posting them! I hope you enjoy. :)

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Round & Round (anniversary set); Turning a New Leaf
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow and Pure Poppy; misc chalk inks
Cardstock: PTI Kraft
Misc: Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); Fiskars embossing plate

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Take Three - Summer
Ink: Memento Tangelo; Misc. chalk ink

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Round & Round (anniversary set); Turning a New Leaf
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow; Memento Rich Cocoa; misc chalk inks
Misc: Creative Charms gradient gems; twine; Fiskars border punch

happily ever challenged #7

Ted posted another lovely challenge on his blog! This one required using only shades of red, yellow and orange. I took this quite literally, since Ted said we could use white or black for our sentiment, I took that to mean that the rest of the card should only come from the 3 designated colors.... so here is what I came up with:

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Round & Round, Beautiful Blooms 2; Studio G; Fiskars
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy; Memento Tangelo
Cardstock: Bazzill
Misc: Creative Charms Gradient Gems; misc brads
 

Thanks for the challenge, Ted!

a few cards

I've been on such a card-making binge lately... but unfortunately, I haven't been very consistent about photographing and posting them.  So I'm just going to post a few at a time for a few days to get caught up.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Through the Trees, Turning a New Leaf
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy; Memento Rich Cocoa; Versamark Chalk - wheat
Misc: Sharpie pen, brads

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Take Three - Summer
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow
Cardstock: PTI Kraft; Bazzill Smoothie (blue)
Misc: Fiskars embossing plate; White embossing powder, button, ribbon

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Fillable Frames, Round & Round
Ink: Memento Tangelo
Cardstock: Bazzill Smoothie 
Misc: patterned paper, buttons, ribbon, Fiskars border punch

TESC #116

I found Taylored Expressions through the blog of fellow Papertrey Posse member Jackie, who does amazing work as part of the TE "Baker's Dozen" design team! The sketch for this challenge looked like fun. Here is the sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

I just love that little cupcake that is part of PTI's Baby Button Bits - it was fun to color with Copics!  That isn't a stamp set that I originally gave much thought to, since it isn't all that frequently that I need a baby card.  But as I saw more examples of it with other themes, I took a closer look and decided that it had some really fun images!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Baby Button Bits, A Little Argyle, Round & Round (sentiment)
Ink: PTI Terracotta Tile; Memento Black, Tangelo
Cardstock: PTI Terracotta Tile, White
Misc: Copic Markers, Buttons, jewelry cording

Papertrey Posse Petite Challenge #1 - Color Trio

I can't recall whether I mentioned that I joined a blog group with some other very creative and talented gals from the Papertrey Ink forum. We call ourselves the Papertrey Posse (cute, huh?) and will be taking turns hosting challenges each month and enjoying each others' work. (You can find the whole Posse blog list in my sidebar - check them out!)

June is Jessica's month and she has posted a couple of great challenges for us already! We are going to do one "major" challenge each month and at least two smaller "optional" challenges. Our first petite challenge is to use this color trio:

These are all PTI colors (naturally!), but I only have the ink and cardstock for Terracotta Tile, so for the other two, I found the closest matches that I could from my stash. Here is my card:

I had to scan it because when I tried a photo, the colors were REALLY off. The brown strip at the bottom and slightly visible at the side isn't part of the card; it's a piece of brown cardstock I placed behind the card when I scanned it, so the white edges wouldn't be "lost". Just ignore it. ;)

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI YOF - Lily of the Valley, A Little Argyle
Ink: PTI Terracotta Tile, Fresh Snow; Memento Black
Cardstock: PTI Terracotta Tile; misc Bazzill

We would love for you to play along and link up your creation on the Posse blog!  Also, be sure to check out the first major challenge and Jessica's great sketch - I've already done two cards with it, and can't wait to share them on the 15th!

the best times are the everyday moments

I love, love, love the new Man of the House line from Bella Blvd! The earthy, masculine colors were perfect for these pics of Mark and the boys when we went on a hike at a local park last fall.

This is my last page as a May Guest Designer for Allyscraps. Be sure to check out the Allyscraps Blog to see the sketch this page is based on and find out the details for the June Sketch Contest! And, I'm happy to report that I'll be creating sketches regularly for the Allyscraps Blog!

Journaling:
What a perfect fall day for a hike at White Oak Park. The hiking trail through this wooded section of the park is incredibly beautiful, and it was just the four of us – we didn’t see another person the whole afternoon. It was so peaceful and pleasant. Daddy has always loved nature hikes, and now experiencing it with his sons is like a dream come true for him. One of our greatest joys as parents is sharing with the two of you the things that have always brought us happiness and joy. Exploring the natural beauty of God’s splendor together is just one of the ways we hope to instill in you an appreciation for the outdoors and a respect for the glory of God’s remarkable creation.

Creative Charms June Deal of the Month

It's June 1, and that means that there is a brand new Deal of the Month available at Creative Charms!

Just check out everything you get:

• Sweet Tooth Felt Stickers & Epoxy Brads (12 pcs)
• Sweet Tooth Epoxy Stickers (18 pcs)
• Assorted Strawberries (4 pcs)
• Spring Bouquet Felt Garden Medley (6 pcs)
• RED Gradient Gem Sticker (76 pcs)
• RED Gem Brads assorted sizes (12 pcs)
• RED Gem Garden (12 pcs)
• Birthday & Balloons Brads assorted (6 pcs)
• RED Jumbo Polka Dot Brads (4 pcs)
• RED Fancy Polka Dot Ribbon - 1 yard

All of this has a retail value of $23, but the Deal of the Month price is only $6.99 (over 70% Off)!