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)!

me + Copics = happy

Ahhh... I've been enjoying a real creative frenzy these past couple of days! I just recently acquired some Copic markers and have been doing lots of experimenting and playing around with them. Me likey!! In fact, I already have a few more colors "on their way" to me! Hehe!

These first 2 cards are similar, both using PTI's new Up, Up and Away set.  It's so fun to color those pretty balloons, I feel like a kid with a coloring book again.  :)  I used masking to get some added dimension on these.  First I stamped a cloud, near where the sun would be.  Then I hand-cut a mask for it from a post-it note (I didn't get the cloud dies), covered it, and stamped the sun.  Then I masked a few rays of the sun, and stamped the rest of my clouds.  The clouds are stamped with fresh snow ink, but on the 2nd card, I dabbed some blue chalk ink on the edge of the stamp.  I also outlined them by hand with a white gel pen. The gems are from Creative Charms.

This card uses Wise Owl.  I love that little owl, he is too darn cute!  The rest of the card I'm just sort of meh about, but I'm sharing it anyway, just to share my little owl friend.  :)

On this one, I used one of the hot air balloon stamps from Up, Up and away to stamp a border, kind of like scallops.  Then colored them in and hand-cut.  It seemed like an interesting idea, I think it turned out OK.  I also did a bit of coloring on the image from Round and Round.  The gems are from Creative Charms.

Last one for now, more Up, Up & Away.  I colored the rainbow with Copics, used more colors and more blending than the rainbow on the baby card I posted a couple of days ago.  I like them both, just different effects.  I masked again, to place the large cloud "behind" the rainbow.  Also masked a curved edge at the bottom, and then used a stamp from the new Background Basics set to get the grass effect.  I stamped first in Ocean Tides, and then stamped again with a lighter green chalk ink, offsetting the pattern.

Recognize the tree trunks?  The are the sun rays from Up, Up & Away!  And the tree tops are from Beautiful Blooms II - I die cut the shapes from green paper, then stamped them in green but intentionally used the next larger stamp size than the die cut, to get "full coverage". The gems, again, are from Creative Charms... can you tell how much I love them?  :)

Thanks for looking!

Creative Charms May Deal of the Month - almost done!

Don't miss out!  If you saw the Deal of the Month at Creative Charms, you know what a great deal it is!  You get all of this, a $25.50 value, for only 8.99:

I'm also told that technical problems with the shipping charges that were occurring earlier in the month have been corrected.  :)

Think Pink: Creative Charms CHA sneak peek

I'm so excited to be able to give you a glimpse of this great collection of Creative Charms products! This pink kit is going to be a special deal available next October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

When I found out I would get to work with this kit, I immediately knew that I would create something with it as a gift to my friend Chris Hertel, who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer over the past year. Many of you know her work from her blog, as well as from Creative Charms because she is also a contributor there! She has such an amazing, positive attitude, so when I saw this quote, I knew it was perfect for my project:

I used pink gradient gems to dress up my die-cut letters. I love that the gradient gem packs include an assortment of sizes and colors - I used three of the clear gems to accent the scalloped border at the bottom. The kit also includes the pink gem brads that I used as the centers of my floral elements.

I love how the leaves turned out. I used Papertrey Ink's Turning a New Leaf set, and stamped in PTI's Fresh Snow ink on green cardstock, then hand-cut them out. I intentionally adhered them at just a couple of places to hold them in place, but leave them "loose". The layered floral elements are cut on my Pazzles, and I use a PTI background stamp on the "middle" layer.

Naturally, I also made a card to go with the gift:

That beautiful pink flower is part of the kit, as is the cute little pink butterfly brad. The background stamp is from PTI's Round & Round anniversary set, again stamped with Fresh Snow ink. The sentiment is from Through the Trees.

And of course, there are the gradient gems again! They really make it so easy to dress up a sweet little card.

I hope you enjoy and are inspired! And remember, as Chris would say... feel your boobies! ;)

playing with some new Papertrey Ink goodies!

So, I might have mentioned how very patiently I was awaiting an order from Papertrey Ink last week. It arrived yesterday! I've been having such fun with it. I got the new release set Up, Up & Away, which I'll admit did not immediately jump out as me as a "must have". But the more I looked at it, the more I thought it would be a fun set to have - and I'm so glad I got it! This first card might be my favorite card that I've ever made, at the moment. Some friends of ours just had their 4th (yes, 4th!) baby, and I thought the rainbow, sun and clouds made a cute theme for a baby card:



I used chalk ink for the clouds, just inking the edges of the stamp. I haven't invested in the cloud die yet, because really... I thought, "how hard is it to hand-cut some clouds?" It wasn't too bad. I might eventually get the die, or maybe I'll just cook up a "clouds" cutting file for my Pazzles! The rainbow is colored with Copic markers, another new thing for me. The cloud with the sentiment (from Round & Round) is popped off the card base for added dimension, and those 3 little rhinestones are from Creative Charms.

I also made this "set" with the new Take Three: Summer and Beautiful Blooms 2, and PTI Pure Poppy and Hawaiian Shores Ink. The cardstock is not PTI, just what I had in my stash. I think I might make one more with a red base to "balance out" the set. :)

Thanks for looking! Comments always welcome! :)

to love & be loved

This page is based on my Allyscraps sketch from earlier this month.  I love all the new Fancy Pants lines, especially My Family.  I read the title/quote on a fortune cookie that I got in a restaurant at least a year ago. I saved the fortune and had it tucked away in a drawer on an organizer that sits on my scrap table, knowing that I wanted to use it on a page. When I saw this photo that my husband took on Mother's Day, I knew it was perfect!

Check out how I created the circle element:

I cut a circle out of a piece of scrap paper and used the paper as a mask, then stamped with blue chalk ink using the background stamp from the Round & Round anniversary set from Papertrey Ink.  Finally, I outlined the circle with a white gel pen. I love this subtle, custom-background effect!  I also used another PTI background stamp for a little added interest along the bottom edge of the blue paper, also.  The ticket stamp is from an Autumn Leaves set.

Thanks for letting me share!  :)