Happy Mothers Day

Just a quick post to share the Mother's Day card I made for my mother-in-law. The papers are all from Bella Blvd's Hello Beautiful line. I love the patterns, and thought that the leafy/botanical print would look beautiful paired with the bird and birdhouse from PTI's newest set in the Tag-It's series and the die and stamp from Little Bitty Bird. I also included Mat Stack 4, Tiny Tags, and the Turning a New Leaf die (which is quickly becoming a favorite go-to accent!).

The Mat Stack panel is popped up on dimensional adhesive.

Thanks for looking, and I hope all my blog-world friends had a very happy Mother's Day! :)

Make it Monday: Impression Plate Tricks

The MIM challenge this week on Nichole's blog is so cool! I finished this card earlier this week, but just finally got around to photographing it so I could post today. :) The gist of the technique is to combine dies and an impression plate to emboss your card while leaving the shape of the die impressed into the embossing.

Since the Sunshine IP is one of my favorites, I thought it would go great with the cloud dies and balloons from Up, Up & Away (and I was itchy to do some Copic coloring, anyway... oh how I love to color those sweet little balloons!).

After applying the technique to my Harvest Gold panel, I stamped the clouds over the impressed area in Fresh Snow, and inked around the edges with a yellowy-orange chalk ink. I added the sentiment (also from Up, Up & Away) on a "label" that I cut using the new skateboard die from Skater Dude, with lines from the banner in Banner Builder.

The balloons and sentiment panel are all popped up on foam adhesive for added dimension.

Thanks for looking!

one more Make it Monday - hand drawn line frame

I have one more card to share for this week's Make it Monday challenge from Nichole Heady's blog, which was to incorporate a hand-drawn line frame. I thought the frame worked nicely on this sympathy card that I made for a sweet friend of mine who recently lost her mother. The colors in the photo came out a little bit wonky, but I used Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile and Fine Linen for the base.

I used Turning a New Leaf for a soft background, "thinking of you" from Fillable Frames Additions, and the new With Sympathy from Think Big #3. The double-layered butterfly is cute with the die for Love Lives Here, and stamped with Text Style 2. The smaller sentiment is on a Charming Oval die-cut from Verve. 

Thanks for looking!

Make it Monday: Hand Drawn Line Frame, Nichole Heady style!

I loved the tutorial that Nichole Heady made for us for this week's Make it Monday! I think of the hand-drawn line frame as sort of a "trademark" of hers, and have always been so impressed at how perfect her frames look - completely even, with the corners perfectly lined up. Now that she has shared her technique, I felt ready to try it myself, and I'm so happy with the result!

I needed to make a card for Tyler's First Holy Communion coming up this Sunday. I wanted it to reflect the very special nature of the day and what an important part of his journey of faith this is, but I also wanted it to be fun and cute for a sweet 7 year old boy! So I used the Think Big #2 sentiment "it's your day", along with some of the fun images from Grunge Me, and that sweet little "proud of you" Tiny Tag for the card front:

I added my frame to the Ocean Tides square panel with a white gel pen, letting some of the images go "through" the frame, and others stay "nested" inside the frame, thanks to a Post-It Note mask. :) I thought that the little long-legged bird from Grunge Me was a cute addition to the sentiment panel, which is popped up with foam adhesive for extra dimension.

I wanted to include this bible verse (a Plain Jane stamp from Verve) on the inside, so I carried through the line frame and that cute birdie to the inside panel was well, using Ocean Tides ink and a closely-matching green Sharpie for the frame. 

I'm so proud of my little guy, and can hardly wait for his big day on Sunday! Thanks for looking!

First Holy Communion invitations

I've been kind of AWOL from the blog lately, what with the Spring semester nearing the end, Easter just around the corner, and Tyler's First Holy Communion just around the next corner! I haven't had a chance to sit down and play at my craft table in a couple of weeks. So I thought I'd post these invitations that I made for Tyler's First Communion celebration.

There is a common design scheme but I made them all a little bit different, by doing two in each main color (Blueberry Sky, Orange Zest, Lemon Tart and Terracotta Tile), and mixing up the verses (each is a Plain Jane from Verve), the PTI Impression Plate (I used Sunshine, Polka Dot Basics, Tin Types and Woodgrain), and the dies that I used to cut the panel for the verses (Fillable Frames #1 and Mat Stack 4). Added some ribbon and a branch of leaves stamped and die cut with the Turning a New Leaf collection to finish them off.  I think they came out very nice, and came together pretty quickly!

Thanks for looking, and have a wonderful and blessed Easter!

another Make it Monday - masking butterflies

I completed another card for this week's Make it Monday challenge on Nichole Heady's blog. I just love how this turned out!

I used the Signature Series: Butterfly die, and created 3 masks from Post-it notes, saving the butterfly cut-out part as well. First I used the negative space mask and lined them up vertically on my Vintage Cream panel. I sponged and blended two colors per butterfly, using Orange Zest, Hibiscus Burst and Summer Sunrise. Then I stamped over each butterfly with different background stamps: Twinkle Twinkle, Polka Dot Basics 2, and Text Style 2.

Then I removed the masks, and covered the butterfly images with the butterfly that was cut from the post-its, and stamped leaves from Turning a New Leaf, and added a few little flowers from Beautiful Blooms 2 as accents.

After inking the edges, I adhered the focal point panel to a Dark Chocolate mat, added twine, a Simply Chartreuse button, and a Tiny Tag with the sentiment. After stamping part of my Hibiscus Burst card base with the Polka Dot 2 pattern in Vintage Cream ink, I popped the matted panel up on dimensional adhesive.

Thanks for looking! :)

Make It Monday x2 - new Posse Challenge!

I just posted the new April Challenge on the Papertrey Posse blog. The challenge is to revisit the Make it Monday videos (you can find them all here!) and pick at least two MIM techniques to incorporate into your card. This is a great opportunity to revisit a favorite, or maybe complete a MIM challenge that you didn't get to the first time around. And of course, feel free to make the current MIM one of your two techniques, so that you can also link it up to Nichole's blog! And, since you have until the end of April to post it here, there will be additional MIM's to use as well! :)

So for my card, I used today's MIM #10 - Masking with Die-Cuts along with #8 - Ink Blending Techniques. I soooo love that soft, blended look and really wanted to try the MIM that week, but time got away from me and I never got to try it. So for my card, I first sponged a PTI white cardstock panel with Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest and a bit of Pure Poppy ink. Then I masked with the negative space from the Fillable Frame #4 die, one of my favorite shapes in the series, and sponged over the Summer Sunrise with blue ink.

I stamped the sentiment from my new (to me) Signature Greetings set. The tree is from Merry Little Christmas, and the bird, birdhouse and little pure poppy flowers are from Tag-Its #2.

I love how soft and pretty this card came out, and I already have a couple of other ideas floating around for revisiting some old MIM techniques, so I'll probably play along again!

Thanks for another awesome Make it Monday video, PTI!

Papertrey Posse April Petite Challenge

Just a quick post to share the challenge that I just posted on the Papertrey Posse group blog! April is my month to host, and for our Petite Challenge this month, I decided to do (what else?) a sketch challenge! :) The Posse loves to have others play along, so check out our challenge blog and link us up to your creation!

So here is the sketch for April's Petite Challenge:

And here is my card as a sample:

I heat-emblossed the harvest gold base with Polka Dot Basics 2. I used the Birthday Tags set for the "it's your day" tag, and paper-pieced the hat so that I could use several layers in different colors. Also used Mat Stack 1, Limitless Layers dies, the scalloped border die, and PTI ribbon and buttons.

I will be back within a day or two to post the regular April Challenge, so check back!

Happy Birthday to my nephew! Viva la Verve March Week 2 (VLVMar2011)

Today I'm sharing my entry for the Viva la Verve March - Week 2 challenge. I made this card for my nephew's 4th birthday party tomorrow!

I used Verve's To the Moon for that sweet little giraffe. I love how he looks, peeking out of that cute little frame (made with Nesties - Labels 12 and Squares), but instead of stamping the frame image, this time I stamped some of the little star trio image from the set.

I also used Papertrey Ink Impression Plates (Tin Types on the card base and By the Numbers on the orange strip), the banner die, and the sentiment from Make a Wish. I used twine from The Twinery and tied it all up with a PTI button a-la Jackie Pedro style! Jackie does this a lot and I always love it! 

Thanks for looking! And here is the original sketch, so fun!

sweet butterfly card

Just a quickie post today. I made this card a while back and haven't posted it.

Used PTI's Love Lives Here butterfly die and the original butterfly die, I just love how they look layered. Also Text Style 2 and Polka Dot Basics 2 stamps. Mat Stack 1 Collection for the frame, Year of Flowers - Roses for the sentiment, Polka Dots Impression Plate, and large scalloped border die.

Thanks for looking!

Rejection loves company Blog Hop - Part 2!

This is my second and final post to share my cards that I submitted to the Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches call, but didn't make the cut! I posted the first two yesterday.

My first card today was based on sketch #25:

And here is my card, featuring PTI's Lily of the Valley, my absolute favorite Year of Flowers set!

I also used Background Basics: Text Style 2 just on the edge of the green panel. The entire front green/brown panel is popped up with foam adhesive. The sentiment is from Verve Kind Words, I just love the font combination. I colored the 3 Creative Charms gems with the same Copics that I used on the flowers.

And my last reject to share is probably my favorite, another one for Sketch 82:

I used PTI's Up Up and Away,  still one of my favorite sets... I keep coming back to it over and over.

I love coloring that little balloon! And I carefully stamped my cloud on the Harvest Gold card base, and then stamped just the bottom portion again on the blue strip so that they would line up.

The die-cut cloud is embossed with the Sunshine impression plate, and both it and the balloon are popped up on dimensional adhesive.

The sweet little row of pearls is from Creative Charms.

Well, thanks for sharing my rejection with me... LOL! It's such a bummer when those calls go out and none of them come to me, but I'm already working on the next round of calls. I will keep trying! And don't forget to check out Amber's Rejection Blog Hop for more amazing, rejected cards! :)

Rejection loves company Blog Hop!

Like a lot of papercrafters, I was so sad yesterday to NOT get anything picked up from the recent publication call from Papercrafts for their Go-To Sketches edition. But Amber had an awesome idea, and has set up a "rejection blog hop" for us to share our rejected entries! I can't wait to hop around because I know that some AMAZING work does NOT get picked up, for all kinds of reasons!

I submitted 4 cards, so I will share two today and two more tomorrow. First, I used Sketch 82:

My card features that cute little giraffe and frame from Verve's To the Moon set! I also used a Fillable Frame and sentiment from Papertrey Ink, and the new PTI doily edger die, along with the sunshine impression plate. The patterned paper is Bella Blvd. I'm also entering this card for Sandy's Challenge #3 over at Sandy's Space, so be sure to check out the fun challenge she has there! Thanks for the invite, Sandy!

I popped up the frame on dimensional adhesives, and used the Sunshine impression plate (definitely one of my favorites!) on the bottom portion of the card. TIP: to get a more visible impression, I applied Versamark ink to the impression plate before running it through, letterpress style.

The other card I'm going to share today was based on Sketch 14:

Here is my card:

Obviously, I turned the card horizontal, and instead of the pointy "banner" I used the rounded banner from PTI's Banner Builders. I put the cute little teeny sentiment right on the middle banner panel. The sentiment and balloon and cake images are all from Tiny Treats: Birthday.

I'll be back tomorrow with my other 2 cards (and I'm saving my favorites for last... hehe!). Thanks Amber for setting up this blog hop! And thanks Papercrafts for the sketches, I'm sure it will be an amazing issue!

Viva la Verve - March Week 1 (VLVMar2011)

I'm so proud of myself for getting all 4 of the Viva la Verve challenges done in February... I'm going to try to keep the momentum going in March! Last week's sketch by Amber (see sketch below) is just perfect, so easy to work with. I flipped it horizontally, and used it for this sympathy card that I needed for a friend through our church.

I used the Psalm 46 Plain Jane and cut the dove from felt using the dove die from Papertrey Ink's Peace Be Still collection. The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye.

I also finished the inside. The "thinking of you" and the flower image are from Verve's Kind Words, and I paired them with the "wish sympathy" from PTI's Round and Round.

Here is Amber's sketch! You can find all the challenge details here on the forum, and play along for a chance to win an AWESOME prize!! 

Thanks for looking!

Make it Monday again: Fun Foam

A quick post because I have to get back to grading algrebra exams... ugh! But I have another Make it Monday entry for this week!

I again used the foam two ways. First, the Limitless Layer "frame" is cut from foam. First I cut the Limitless Layer shape, and then cut out the center with the plain circle die from the same series. TIP: if you are going to make a die-cut like this with very thin edges, first adhere Scor-Tape to the back of the foam (or paper) before running through the die-cut machine. It was easy to just peel off the backing and adhere to my card! :) 

Second, I also stamped the Mat Stack 4 shape on my card, with a light orange chalk ink, using a foam "stamp" that I cut with the die. Then I stamped the image from Mat Stack 4 Collection in a darker orange right on top. Then I stamped the cake image from Birthday Tags in a light aqua, and the sentiment from Fillable Frames #1 in a darker aqua.

Inked up edges, used Impression Plates on the white (canvas) and the Aqua Mist card base (polka dot), added ribbon and a button with twine.

OK, back to grading... blech. Thanks for looking and as always, thanks PTI for the fun challenge! :)

Make it Monday: Fun Foam!

Heather Nichols has issued the new Make It Monday challenge for the week - incorporate fun foam into your stamping project! I loved the example she showed of stamping with the fun foam - a custom stamp from any die that you own. I have actually done this before - a very long time ago - so I'm glad that this challenge reminded me of the fun technique!

I started by die-cutting the Fillable Frame #4 from foam and stamping it. I added the frame from the new FF Additions set in darker shade of aqua, and a sentiment from the additions set in black. I love that I can get the look of the FF die cut and the frame stamp, all in a single-layer!

Next I used the die and stamps from the new Flower Fusion #1 set to cut the flowers in different colors, and then stamp them in tone-on-tone designs. Then I cut the smallest button from the Buttoned Up #1 collection and stamped with Bitty Background Blocks. After attaching the buttons to the flowers with coordinating twine, I attached the flowers to the card with dimensional foam adhesive.

The flower stems are also from the Flower Fusion set, and that strip of grass is the little grassy bit from Love Lives Here, stamped repeatedly against a Post-It mask to keep the bottom edge straight!

Finally, I added a "sun" cut from foam with a Limitless Layer die, stamped it with the circle image from Tag-its #1, and then masked off a circle in the center and added some dots from Polka Dot Basics 2. I think it came out cute!

Thanks for looking, and thanks Heather for a fun challenge! I already have another idea for it... hopefully I can find some time to make it happen! :)