Meadow Greens Birthday

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today with a bright and colorful birthday card I made with PTI's "Meadow Greens" stamp set. 

I used DSP from PTI's Harvest Gold Pattern Pack for the background, and Pool Party and Harvest Gold inks to stamp the flower and leaves.  Added glitter, a few sequins, and some bakers twine to finish off this bright and cheery birthday card!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful weekend!  We've recovered from puppy sitting Beamer and now it's on to a full packed weekend of graduation open houses!  I'll be back next week with a few more graduation shaker cards for ya, and of course a Christmas card or two too! :0) 

Make it Monday #166 - Debossed Backgrounds

Hello friends.  Because I needed another graduation card, and because I STILL had the "Life is Beautiful" stamp set out, I decided to combine the two along with the challenge this week at Papertrey Ink's "Make it Monday".  Dawn McVey has a great video on how to do a technique called debossing, and I love it!  Quick and easy, and adds a really nice touch to the backgrounds of your cards.  Here's what I came up with:

I started by stamping the smaller butterfly from "Life is Beautiful" with Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist, & Winter Wisteria inks (all PTI), and then did the debossing (click to enlarge the pictures to see better).  I used the same graduation stamp again from Paper Inspiration that I used on a couple cards I showed you last week, and also stamped and debossed a butterfly over the sentiment.  I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but I also debossed a few butterflies there too.  (yes, this technique is a tad bit addictive!)  I layered and pop dotted my sentiment to the background and added a graduation cap (PTI die) and some bakers twine to finish.  My friend asked for a "girly" graduation card, so I think this will fit the bill nicely!! :0)

Make sure you check out all the other great entries and Dawn's video over on Nichole Heady's blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Thursday.  (We're babysitting Beamer today, so 3 dogs is making our house just a bit wild!  My youngest (19) asked if this is what it was like when she and her 2 sisters were little, and gave a big groan when I said "yup"!  :0)

Merry Monday #110 - Christmas Food

Good morning friends.  Playing along with the Merry Monday challenge, and this week they are asking us to use "food" for our Christmas card.  While searching through my stash for something to use, I found a stamp I had never used before that I'm thinking fits just perfectly for "Christmas Food".  Food for the soul that is.  Take a look:

If you click to enlarge the picture, you should be able to read the poem that makes up the candy cane.  Here's the poem for those that can't make it out:

Look at a CANDY CANE, what do you see?
Stripes that are RED like the BLOOD, shed for me!
WHITE for my Savior, who's sinless and pure!
"J" is for JESUS, my Lord that's for sure!
Turn it around and a staff you will see.
Jesus, my SHEPERD, is coming for me!

After stamping the candy cane (My Sentiments Exactly) in Real Red ink (SU!), I used a portion of a Quickutz embossing folder and embossed the manger scene over the center of the candy cane.  Added a few red and iridescent sequins and red & white bakers twine to finish off this CAS card. 



You can check out all the rest of the entries and play along over at the Merry Monday site.  WARNING:  If you like cupcakes, some of the entries and cards from the design team are going to make you hungry!! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Celebrate!

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a long and fabulous weekend!  It was a beautiful weekend here in my neck of the woods, and we got lots of yard work done and flowers planted.  Yeah...color again!! :0)  LOTS of color going on in my stamping room too, as I replenish my birthday card stash.  Am totally in love with the new PTI stamp set "Life is Beautiful", so you will be seeing lots of butterflies on my blog! Take a look:

For the top die cut butterfly, I used the baby wipe technique (thanks Stephanie!!).  Just use 2 or 3 different colors of re-inkers and make an ink pad by inking up the folded baby wipe.  I used Melon Mambo, Real Red, and Pool Party.  The Pool Party when it mixed in with the other 2 colors turned to a shade very close to Wisteria Wonder, so it was not what I was expecting to see, but I love how it turned out!  I also stamped the bottom layer with Melon Mambo ink to create a shadow effect...it shows up better if you enlarge the photo.  I used a woodgrain embossing folder and Wisteria Wonder cs for part of the background, and the Filigree Border Die (PTI) for the right side of the background.  I also used a scrap of Raspberry Fizz Bitty Dot DSP and the Fabulous Frames Die Collection (both PTI) for underneath my butterfly, and some diamond bling for the center of the butterfly.  The sentiment is from PTI's "Birthday Classics: March" stamp set and another die from the Fabulous Frames Collection.  A few iridescent sequins finished up the card. :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday!  Think I'm going to go play with my butterfly set again.......     

May 2014 Blog Hop Challenge - #3

OK, one more!  I still had all my Aqua Mist and Melon Berry stuff out while looking through all the beautiful entries, and couldn't help but notice how many cards used the new "Life is Beautiful" butterfly set.  I hadn't used my set yet, but I sure had fun with it this afternoon!  So anyway, here is take #3 for this challenge:

I used my Melon Berry ink pad on a piece of acetate, and then used my Aqua Painter and the ink on a piece of scrap white cs.  Once it was dry I used a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge (SU!) and the Melon Berry ink to get the speckles, and then used the butterfly die (PTI) to cut out the shape.  I cut another butterfly out of Aqua Mist cs and then inlaid the cut out pieces of the Melon Berry one.  I also added Crystal Effects to the open spots on the Melon Berry butterfly.  I added a strip of Aqua Mist Bitty Dot DSP to the bottom of my card and then added the sentiment from "Life is Beautiful" just above that.  CAS, but still a really nice card to send out for a birthday. :0)  I will definitely be playing a LOT more with this set! :0)

OK, this really is it for me today, but if you haven't checked out all the other entries yet, it is totally a must this month...beautiful, beautiful cards!  Check it all out on Nichole Heady's blog.  Thanks again for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! :0)

May 2014 Blog Hop Challenge - #2

Hello again.  This months color challenge at Papertrey Ink was just too good to only make one card, so here's another one:

Had to play with my new "Background Basics: Super Chevron" for this card, and I love how it turned out!  I used Aqua Mist and Smokey Slate inks, stamping multiple times to create the background.  I used the middle sized flower from "Mum's the Word" stamp set and Regal Rose ink for my popped up circle, and I stamped the flower multiple times to get the soft shading effect.  The sentiment is from "Keep it Simple: Birthday" and finished with a few silver sequins.  (all stamps are PTI) I love the soft, but graphic feel to this card! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by again and have a wonderful day! :0)

May 2014 Blog Hop Challenge

Good morning friends.  Playing along with Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop challenge today, and using the color combination of Aqua and Melon Berry.  Needed a couple more birthday cards for this coming week, and also had a few new "toys" to play with, so those were my starting point for this challenge.  Take a look:

My flowers look a little pink in this photo, but IRL they are more peachy pink.  I have actual Melon Berry ink, but it looked to dark orange to me, and ended up using SU!'s Regal Rose, which has a peachy tint to it...I liked the softer look of it for this card.  I used "Beautiful Blooms" for the leaves, and "Rosie Posie" for the flowers (PTI).  Also had to include my new "Filigree Border Die" to the side...love how delicate looking it is, and can't believe I waited so long to get it!  Also added a strip of Aqua Mist Bitty Dot DSP to the side.  My sentiment is from "Mum's the Word". 

   

 
Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you check out all the other entries over on Nichole's blog right here .

Merry Monday #109 - Use Flowers

Good morning friends.  Back with another Christmas card for the Merry Monday challenge and for my growing stash!  This week the challenge is to use a flower, and I think we are all thinking alike, as I'm seeing LOTS of Poinsettia's in everyone's cards.  But that's ok, as it's a beautiful flower!  Have you noticed how in the past few years there are SO many different colored varieties of Poinsettia's available?  And how some of them are not "natural" colored ones?  My mom had the prettiest one a few years ago that was cream colored with a teal color mixed in...so not natural but absolutely beautiful!!  I'm telling you this, because yesterday on my blog I told you I've been trying to get out of the mold of feeling like I have to use only natural colors for leaves and flowers on my cards, and experiment with other colors a bit more.  I loved how my Hawaiian Shores fern leaves from yesterday's card turned out so well, that I decided to try it again with a Poinsettia flower for this weeks challenge.  Take a look:

I stamped my flower first with Melon Mambo ink, and then masked it while I stamped the fern leaves in Hawaiian Shores ink (flower is GinaK - "Year of Flowers" and fern leaves are PTI - "Meadow Greens").  I used my Aqua Painter to get the watercolored look, and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will be better able to see this.  My sentiment is from PTI's "Think Big Favorites #21.  To finish I added a few iridescent sequins and a sheer ribbon.  Oh, and a little bit of Wink of Stella (silver) in the center of my Poinsettia.  Not your typical Christmas colors, but I really like how it turned out.  This is a card that would have been SO perfect to send my oldest daughter when her and her husband were stationed in Hawaii for Christmas!  (maybe I still will, to remind them of a warmer and less snowy Christmas!! :0)

There's still time to play along with this week's challenge, and you can get all the details and inspiration right here .

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Thursday! :0) 

MIM#165 - Artsy Watercolor Backgrounds

Good morning friends.  Betsy from Papertrey Ink has a great video tutorial this week on making Artsy Watercolor Backgrounds, and of course I had to play along!  Betsy used the "Meadow Greens" stamp set for her card, and since I hadn't used that set in quite a while, I pulled mine out and used the fern leaf.  I've been trying to be braver about using colors that aren't natural (like leaves ALWAYS having to be green and flowers red!),  so I pulled out Hawaiian Shores and stamped away!

This was SO pretty just like it was, that I had to let it sit for a day before I added to it!  LOVE the softness this technique brings to the images! 

Since I've been on a shaker card roll, and hadn't used my "Text Block Birthday Die" yet, I thought that would be a great next step.

I liked it, but yet I didn't!  Something was missing!  Even though I was trying for a monochromatic card, it really needed a "pop" of color!

Yep, just needed a flower (Rosie Posie - PTI)!  Much better now! :0)

Lots of time yet to play along over at Nichole's site , so check it out and learn from Betsy how to be "artsy"!!  I liked this technique so much I even made a Christmas card with it that I'll show you tomorrow! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Graduation Card/Money Holder

Good morning friends.  Back with a few more graduation cards for you today.  My sister-in-law requested 3 graduation cards that she could put money in, so this is what I came up with using the same Paper Inspirations stamp that I used on yesterday's card:

I started with a 7" x 9 3/4" piece of cardstock (Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, & Bermuda Bay), and then scored at 3 1/4" and again at 6 1/2".  I wish I had taken a picture of the inside for you, so you could see how I made the pocket to put your money or check in!  Basically, on the 6 1/2" score, I cut halfway down from the top, and then cut again on an angle down, but not to the bottom.  I used score tape on the bottom edge and inner side edge to make the pocket (hope that makes sense!!).  I used SU!'s Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to stamp the background dots, and the graduation cap is a PTI die.  These were quick and easy, and yet still came out looking really nice!

That's all for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do!  Have a wonderful Tuesday! :0)

Graduation

Good morning friends.  Quick post today, but wanted to share a couple graduation cards I made last week using a fun new technique (for me!) that Splitcoast Stampers showed a couple weeks ago.  All you need are sponge daubers, refill ink, embossing folders, and water, and look at the cool backgrounds you can create:

I learned that using just 2 colors is plenty...if you try to add a 3rd color, it gets pretty muddy looking!  So just grab a couple sponge daubers and ink up 2 different colors and daub onto the top side of your embossing folder (the side that has the printing on it) randomly.  Once you have the embossing folder inked up, mist lightly with water and gently press your cardstock down onto it.  I'm bummed that you can't see it in my pictures, but before I misted with the water, I sprayed some gold iridescent Shimmer Mist onto my embossing folder, and that added a really pretty shine to the background.  The graduation stamp I borrowed from my girlfriend Sue, and I forgot to write down the manufacturer before I gave it back, but I think it was Paper Inspirations.  I also stamped over the sentiment with Smokey Slate ink and one of the images from Fabulous Florets (SU!).  My first card uses Pumpkin Pie and Certainly Celery inks and cardstock, and the 2nd card uses Wisteria Wonder and Pumpkin Pie inks and cardstock.  The graduation cap is die cut from PTI.

Definitely a fun technique, and one you will see more of from me! :0)  Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Monday!

Sprinkled with Happiness

Good morning friends.  Got a chance to play with the new Make-it Market kit from Papertrey ink this week and made a birthday card for my niece who turned 17 yesterday.  For those of you who don't follow Papertrey Ink, this kit was an extremely sought after one that features all the elements you need to make bright and fun shaker cards filled with sprinkles (sequins, etc.).  And here's what I came up with for my first try:

It looks yummy enough to eat, doesn't it?!! :0)  It really does make me think of when our girls were little and they would always want Blue Moon ice cream with sprinkles when we went to our local ice cream shop!  And oh what a mess they were afterwards!  (but always happy!!)  So anyway, this is the clean version of Blue Moon with sprinkles! :0)  I used Bermuda Bay cardstock for my card base and for the scalloped and stitched rectangle dies.  The "Sprinkled" was die cut with Melon Mambo cardstock.  The striped background paper was included with the kit.  Making these cards is a lot of fun, but you do have to think and plan ahead what you want it to look like when it's finished...this is not a card type you can make as you go along like I usually do!  I definitely learned a lot by doing this one, and am excited to try even more now! :0)

That's all for today friends.  My goal is to get cracking on baby shower invitations this weekend, so not sure how much regular stamping I'll have time for.  Not to worry though, as I do have some graduation cards to show you next week...yep, that time of year is coming again!!  Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do! :0)  

Make it Monday #164 - Cluster Stamped Sentiments

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today with a graduation card I made using this weeks Make it Monday technique by Heather Nichols called "Clustered Stamping".  Take a look:

My "Congrats" is from PTI's "Mum's the Word", and I stamped it in VersaMark and clear embossing powder.   My two different sized circle dots are flower centers from "Beautiful Blooms" (PTI) and I used Lovely Lilac and Daffodil Delight inks.  After stamping, you lightly rub away the ink to make your sentiment "pop" with a papertowel or Kleenex...kind of like magic appearing! :0)  My graduation cap is also a PTI die, and then a few sequins and some iridescent ribbon finished up the card.  A simple and fun technique, and one I'd definitely like to try again! :0)

Lots of great examples of this technique can be found over on Nichole Heady's site.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Thursday! :0)  

Merry Monday #108 (Star) and Festive Friday #31

 

Good morning friends.  I am combining two challenges today and playing along with Merry Mondays, which is to use a star on your card, and also Festive Fridays, which is an inspiration photo in all red & white.   Red & white is one of my favorite color combos...LOVE the clean and simple look of it!  Take a look at what I came up with to combine these 2 challenges:

I made a shaker frame from SU!'s Season of Style DSP that reminds me of candy canes with the red & white stripes, and placed that on a piece of white cs that I embossed a ProvoCraft large dot embossing folder.  (before I sealed down the frame, I added red & clear star sequins and clear tinsel glitter...make sure you click on the photo to enlarge it and see all that yummy goodness!)  I used a couple PTI dies for the "merry" and the red glitter star ("Wonderful Words: Holiday Die Collection" and "Tiny Tags") and glued the "merry" to the clear acetate of the shaker frame.  The red glitter star hangs from the "merry" with a piece of silver cording.  Lots of little details, but still a CAS card! :0)

            

I'm not much of a sugar cookie fan, but those candy cane cookies sure do look yummy, don't they?!! :0)  There's still time to play along with both challenges (Merry Mondays) and (Festive Fridays), so check out all the great inspiration at both sites and get going on those Christmas cards! :0)

One last photo to leave you with today:

Our youngest never thinks too far ahead to things like birthdays and Mother's Day, and usually spends her paychecks as fast as she gets them!  She was obviously thinking ahead this time though, as this is what I woke up to on Mother's Day morning...aren't they beautiful?!!!  I think my eyes may have leaked a little bit!  Just when you think you know your kids, they go and surprise you yet again...thank you, thank you Calla!  They're beautiful and I love being your mom! :0)

That's all for today friends, but I'll be back tomorrow and Friday with some more inspiration for you!  Have a wonderful Wednesday! :0)

Make it Monday #163 - Envelope Wraps

Good morning friends.  Learned about something new this week from Danielle Flanders of Papertrey Ink called Envelope Wraps and yes, I'm hooked!  I had never seen these before and Danielle does a great video on all the different ways you can dress up an envelope with a "wrap".  Check out her video here .  I had already made my mom's Mother's Day card last week using Melissa Phillips "Paper Scrap Pie Charts" technique (yes, I know, I'm getting hooked on a lot of techniques lately...it is definitely an addiction and quite frankly, I just don't care!! :0), and decided to make a matching envelope for it.  Take a look:

Because my card is smaller (5 1/2 x 3 1/2), my envelope is smaller too and I didn't have any dies that would really work for the wrap like Danielle showed in her video.  No problem....I cut my own at 8 x 1 3/4 and scored at 2 1/2.  I used Rosie Posie for the border in Pool Party, Pretty in Pink, & Daffodil Delight inks and also the roses.  I added some Gumball Green for the center of my Pool Party leaves and fussy cut those and the flowers too.  My sentiment is from PTI's "Blooming Button Bits".  Such a quick and simple technique that really adds that extra touch for a hand delivered card...I know my mom will love it! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!  Since the weather has FINALLY warmed up here in my "neck of the woods", we're going to grill hamburgers and my mom is bringing her famous potato salad...yummmmm!!    

Merry Monday #107

Good morning friends.  Still adding to my Christmas stash and playing along with the Merry Monday challenge.  This week they are asking us to follow a sketch, and I was thrilled to have this type of challenge back!  I feel like I am always using the same layout for my cards, so having a sketch to follow helps me to think outside my box a little!  This was also a great time to use a piece of DSP (FarmHouse Paper Co.) that I had just found a few weeks back and fell in love with.  (and just so you know it's not my photography skills (or lack of) that make the paper look a little blurry - that's just the way the paper is....very soft and subtle!!)  Take a look:

Definitely click on the top photo to enlarge, so you can see more detail of the top piece of DSP...it is SO pretty!!  The bottom angled piece of DSP is from KaiserKraft and I thought it made a nice and bold "pop" from the top soft and subtle piece.  This was also a perfect opportunity to use my new Lil Inkers Jingle Bell die to match the bells in the DSP.  My Stitched Rectangle is also a Lil Inkers die and I used a Darice ef for the holly background.  (sponged the hollies with Crumb Cake ink to make them stand out a bit more)  I embossed my sentiment (PTI - "Think Big Favorites #21) in gold on kraft cs and added the gold stars from the jingle bell and my 2 holly leaves are from PTI's "Holly Jolly" dies.  Red pearls for my berries and a piece of hemp cord to tie my gold jingle bell with finished my vintage looking card! :0)



There's still time to play along with this weeks sketch over at Merry Mondays...you can find all the information and great inspiration right here .

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Thursday.  We're off to bring our youngest and all her crap (ummm, I mean stuff!) home from college today....where did this past year go?!!!!

More Pie Chart Scrap Cards

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today, but wanted to share a couple more cards I made with leftover Pie Chart scraps.  Remember this photo I left you with yesterday?

Well, it just seemed too pretty to throw it away, but what to do with it?  How about this?

Just adding a contrasting embossed background (Honeycomb ef by SU!), the die cut flower (PTI's Beautiful Blooms II die and stamped with "Funky Flowers), and the sentiment also from the "Funky Flowers" stamp set makes for a bright and fun card!  (cut the circle with Lil Inkers Stitched Circle Dies)

Here's one more using one of the other scrap pieces I had left over:

 
Same card, just different colors.  I left my insides blank for now, as I could use these for birthdays, hello's, or even Thinking of You.  So don't throw away those scraps!!  I've come up with a nice collection of cards from just starting with one! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday! :0)

Paper Scrap Pie Chart Flower Cards

Good morning friends.  Had so much fun last week making the paper scrap pie charts that I had to do a few more!  I got my idea from Cammie of Sweet Violets Paperie to use the leaves from PTI's "Rosie Posie" and the die from "Beautiful Blooms II", and came up with a few more birthday cards and another "hello" card to put away for next year when my youngest goes back to college.  Have a few pictures today, so sit back and enjoy!

 
I placed all my scrap triangles on a square of cardstock, and then used the die to cut out the flower, which I then pop dotted on to my card base.  (I used SU!'s Decorative Dots embossing folder for the background of my card base)  I fussy cut the stem and leaves that I had stamped with Gumball Green ink, and then glued just the stem to the card base so the leaves would flap out a little.  The happy birthday sentiments are from PTI's "Keep it Simple: Birthday" stamp set, and the hello is from PTI's "Wet Paint" stamp set.  Bright, colorful, and fun cards! :0)

I'd like to leave you with one more picture of another "scrap" piece, to tease you a little with how I couldn't throw it away and what I came up with to use it....stay tuned!

 
That's all for today friends!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday....I know I will as it's going to be sunshine from start to finish and mid 60's!  Wooohoooo....nice weather is FINALLY here! :0)