Make it Monday #199 - Confetti Garlands

Good morning friends.  This week at Papertrey Inks Make it Monday challenge, Betsy shows us a fun way to add a confetti garland to our cards. 

I've been seeing a lot of the Bokeh backgrounds done lately and wanted to try it out, so that was my starting point for this card.  I used the Tag Sale #5 die for my tags, the Sparkle & Shine Sequin Die for my confetti, and the sentiment is from Big Birthday Wishes.  Except for the "1" that is...that is from a dollar store set I bought years ago and has come in so handy when making number cards! :0)  My inks and cardstock are Raspberry Fizz, Bermuda Bay, and Whisper White pigment ink for the Bokeh background. 

You can see Betsy's fun and bright card, her video, and all the other great entries all right here .

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!  I get to go out for lunch and shopping with my beautiful granddaughter, her mommy, and one of my other daughters today, plus the sun is shinning, so it IS going to be a wonderful day for me!! :0)

Merry Monday #143 - Carollers/Music

Hello friends.  My good friend Sue spoiled me at Christmas with a bunch of new stamps from Unity Stamp Co., and of course they were all snowmen, because she knows how much I LOVE them!  One of the stamps is a group of snowmen caroling, so when I saw what the challenge this week at Merry Mondays was, I was so excited I could hardly contain myself!  And these stamps lend themselves beautifully to shaker cards, so that's exactly what I did!  Take a look:

I used my Copics to color the cute little scene, and then used Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle Dies to make the shaker part of the card.  And isn't the sentiment just perfect for these little guys?!!  The little holly is from PTI's "Holly Jolly" die set, and I added a few red pearls for the berries. I also added a little strand of red & white bakers twine to the tag. 

You can check out all the information to play along and see all the great inspiration over at the Merry Monday site right here .

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

Papertrey Ink January 2015 Blog Hop Challenge - Hearts

Hello friends.  The monthly blog hop over at Papertrey Ink is all about hearts, and not only making the outside of your card beautiful, but the inside too!  No problem...I definitely had fun with this one! :0)  Since I decided to make this card for my hubby, I went with a red, white, & black theme.  Take a look:

Made a sleeve instead of an envelope to put my card in as I won't need to mail it!

And by making a sleeve instead of an envelope, it makes it easier to just slide the card out without destroying the envelope.  My hubby saves EVERYTHING I make, so this way he won't have to save a ripped envelope! :0)

I used a few different sets to make my card:  Limitless Layers: Hearts, Limitless Layers: Heart Stitches, Heart Squared, Wreath for All Seasons, Big Hugs, & Wet Paint Dies.  (My DSP is scraps left over from my oldest daughters wedding and I'm not totally sure of the manufacturer, but I think it's The Paper Studio) 

The sentiment on the inside of the card is from the Doodlie - Do stamp set, and I think it is just perfect for a Valentine card!

You can find all the info to play along and check out all the great inspiration over on Nichole's blog right here .

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful time blog hopping! :0)

Make it Monday #198 - Three Panel Cards

Hello friends.  Playing along with Ashley and the Make it Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink, where Ashley shows us her beautiful invitation for her daughters first birthday.  I've got SO many ideas swimming through my head right now for when my granddaughter turns one, but since she's only 4 months old right now (and I don't want to rush any of this precious first year!), I came up with a card that I'll use for either my mom's birthday or Mother's Day.  I used mainly stamps, dies, and papers from the Beautiful Brushstrokes set...here's what I came up with:

 
I used the Filigree Border Die on the front (and inside), and also embossed a little bit of the edges with silver embossing powder.  The tag on the front is from the Cuppa Love dies, and the sentiment on the tag is from Fillable Frames #9 (all PTI).  I also used one of the dots from Polka Dot Basics on the front and also the gift card holder (PTI die).  Kind of hard to tell in the photo, but I embossed the flower outlines on the gift card holder with white embossing powder to make them "pop" a bit more.  The tag on the gift card holder is from the "Tiny Tags" die and stamp set.  I left the die cut in the middle panel un-stamped, as I'm not sure if it's going to be a birthday or Mother's Day card yet.  I also added some silver sequins to the front and inside to dress it up just a bit more.  This really was a fun card to make and I just kept adding things as I went along...I think my mom will really like it!

Make sure you check out Ashley's adorable invitation card and all the other entries right here .

And because I just can't seem to get enough of this little girl, I'll leave you with the latest photo of my granddaughter Addy:

 
Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :0)

Merry Monday #142 - Houses

Hello friends.  The challenge this week over at Merry Monday is to use a house(s) on your Christmas card.  I pulled out an oldie but a goody from the Thomas Kinkade Series (TK - 508P) by Cornish Heritage Farms that I haven't used in a few years but totally love!  I finished it a few days ago, but was waiting for some natural sunlight to photograph it...it never came!  So anyway, I apologize in advance for the picture, but if I would have waited any longer for the sun, it would have been Spring! 

The flash on my camera is not kind when I use mirrored cardstock, but hopefully you can look beyond all the glare!  I used a cream colored card base, then added a layer of the gold mirror cardstock, and then an embossed layer with Blackberry Bliss cardstock and a holly embossing folder by The Paper Studio.  I stamped the snowy winter scene with Blackberry Bliss ink on cream colored cardstock and then layered again with the Blackberry Bliss cardstock and the gold mirrored cardstock.  A very simple card, but very elegant IRL!

You can get all the info you need to play along, and some great inspiration from the Design Team and other players all right here .

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

Tag You're It Challenge #13

Hello friends.  Haven't played with the Tag You're It Challenge in a couple months, but I do love tags and figured it was time to make something other than a Christmas tag!  (Not that there's anything wrong with Christmas tags, as I love those too!!)  So anyway, here's my simple little tag (that wasn't so simple!!!):

Really, it was a simple little tag to make, after I got done with all my little goof-ups!  (not liking the color of the first one, stamping the sentiment crooked on the 2nd and 3rd ones...I mean how does that happen with CLEAR stamps?!!!, not liking the length of the leaves with the width of the tag when I used the one that goes with the flower from SU!'s "Flower Patch", finally liking the leaf from PTI's "Friendly Flowers" stamp set but not inking it up enough and getting only half a stamped leaf.....well obviously not a simple tag for me!)  But anyways, I like how it finally turned out!  Just wish the ribbon bow would have photographed a bit more Melon Mambo colored instead of red...oh well, IRL it really is the same color as the flower!  I'm not a big washi tape user either, but I have to admit that I like how it looks at the bottom of the tag! :0)  I added a few rainstones (PTI) to finish.

You can get all the information to play along and see all the gorgeous tags right here .

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

Merry Monday #141 - Christmas Critters

Good morning friends.  Playing along with the Merry Monday challenge today, and the inspiration this week is to use a "critter" on our card.  Last summer I picked up a Sweet 'n Sassy stamp set featuring snowmen, and while I know they aren't this weeks topic, one of the snowmen in this set is reaching down to receive a carrot from an adorable little bunny, and it was just too sweet not to share!  Take a look:

Now is that a scene that steals your heart, or what?!!  I used my Copics (YG03, B000, YR68, E33, & C1) to color, and then used a Lil Inkers Stitched Circle die to cut it out.  My background uses a couple DSP's from SU!'s Season of Style paper pad and a strip of Gumball Green cardstock.  The bakers twine is "Flax" from The Twinery.  A quick and easy card and now I have a couple for my stash for next Christmas...yeah!!!!! :0)

 
You can get all the info to play along and see all the great entries on the Merry Monday site right here .

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

Make it Monday #197 - Homemade Foam Stickers

Hello friends.  Playing along with Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge, where this week Laurie shows us how to make homemade foam stickers.  I don't have any of the alphabet dies from PTI, and I've been in the mood to make valentines, so I used the "Wonderful Words: Love" die to make my foam sticker out of.  Here's what I came up with:

I started with some newsprint DSP and then stamped a couple of the flowers from the "Friendly Flowers" stamp set in Pure Poppy and black for the leaves.  I masked the flowers and leaves and then stamped the chevrons (Background Basics: Super Chevrons) also in Pure Poppy at the bottom and top of the DSP.  After cutting out the "love" from my sticky backed foam and a scrap of black cardstock, I peeled off the back of the foam and adhered the "love" to the center of my DSP.  I then snipped off the heart from the black die cut and just adhered the "L" and "ve" to the sticky foam and then added red glitter to the heart shaped "o".  To finish I added some black & white bakers twine and a couple heart die cuts from the "Tiny Tags" die and stamp set, along with a bit of diamond bling. 

I also made a treat holder to match the card:

I even had a few strawberry and chocolate Dove hearts to add to the treat bag...yummmm! 

Check out Laurie's great video and card, and all the other entries right here on Nichole's blog.

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

Make it Monday #196 - Colorful Card Corners

Hello friends.  This weeks Make it Monday challenge is by Danielle and she shows us how to concentrate on decorating and making the focal point of our cards the corner.  I kept my card very simple but colorful to send my sister in law who is recuperating from surgery.  Take a look:

I love this simple little set from PTI called "Pretty Petals"!  This is definitely going to be one of my first go to stamp sets for when I need a quick but sweet card for someone!  I stamped the flower in Hawaiian Shores and Lemon Tart inks, and then masked the flower to add the French script background in Smokey Slate.  I added my cut out leaves to add a little dimension to the card.  The sentiment is from the "Think Big Favorites: #22".  I added a few iridescent sequins and a small piece of gray and white bakers twine to finish off this simple card.

If everything in your world is cold and white right now (like mine...brrrrrrrrrrr!!), make sure you check out Danielle's (and all the other entries) colorful card(s) over on Nichole's blog right here .

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

Merry Monday #140 - Snowflakes

Hello friends.  Well, it's time to start again....yup, the Merry Monday challenge is back to inspire us to get our Christmas cards done in time for next Christmas!  May sound silly in the first week of January, but I had all the Christmas cards I needed done in late October this past year!  Did I have all the insides done???  Welllllllll, not exactly.  And I even made a New Years resolution last year to finish all the insides as I made each card...just couldn't seem to stick to it!  I'm going to try harder this year! :0)

This week, the challenge is to use a snowflake on our card, and I certainly have no shortage of snowflakes in my stamp room!  I'm using snowflake dies on my card today that I bought a few months back, and then forgot I had them till cleaning up after Christmas.  Because I hadn't used them yet, I think they qualify as NBUS and will work to play along with Darnell's #3 challenge too!  Here's what I came up with:

These dies came as a set of 5 (I only used 3 of them) and are very small, but I love how delicate looking they all are!  (Impression Obsession)  I started by cutting 2 circles; one in white cardstock, and the other in POW Silver Glitter Paper (Lil Inker Stitched Circle dies).  I sponged the white cardstock circle with Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, and Worn Lipstick), and then die cut the 3 snowflakes.  I attached the 2 circles together with the glitter paper on the bottom.  Next I added 5 layers of the snowflakes all cut out of just plain white cardstock.  It's hard to see in my photos, but in the cut out areas of the white snowflakes you can see the silver glitter paper.  I love the look of the depth that gluing 5 layers of the snowflakes together gives them!  I attached the circle to a 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 white card base that I stamped a partial sentiment from PTI's "In the Meadow" stamp set, and then used SU!'s Northern Flurry embossing folder to give a little design to the background.  I also added a few diamond dots and some silver cording to finish off the card.

If you need a little inspiration to get started making Christmas cards again, check out all the beauties from the design team and players over on the Merry Monday site.

Doesn't that cupcake look SO pretty and yummy?!!!  GREAT inspiration and photo choice!!

And don't forget to play along with Darnell's latest challenge too if you have any NBUS!  And if you don't....come see me as I've got LOTS and LOTS of NBUS!!! 

You can check out all the "Quirements" and other entries over on Darnell's blog right here .

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

Make it Monday #195 - A La Carte

Hello friends.  Every Monday Papertrey Ink has a new challenge, so 50 challenges were presented last year and I played in all of them but one!  And now this week, PTI is letting us go back and play one of the challenges that we either missed or just want to do over.  It was a great trip down memory lane, looking at each of the challenges, and remembering all the great things I learned and cards I made for this past year!  As I said earlier, I did miss one challenge, and that was just a couple weeks ago because I just plain didn't have time with trying to get everything done for Christmas!  So I'm playing along with challenge #192 - Tab Closure Tri Fold Card that Betsy Veldman showed in her video here .  I needed a birthday card (my supply is almost non-existent...just sayin!!), so that was my starting point for my tri - folded card.  Take a look:

I used the "Basic Bookmark Die #3" to make my tab and then used one of the sentiments from the "Book Club" stamp set (both PTI).  I used "Autumn Adornments" and Pure Poppy and Hawaiian Shores ink to stamp around the sentiment, and then used Pure Poppy Bitty Dot DSP for the bottom fold and inside.

 
I also cut a slit on the bottom third of the card so that I could add the gift card I'm giving my girlfriend.  The sentiment in the middle is from "Delightful Dahlia Additions".  I also had a small strip of the DSP paper left, so added it to the envelope to coordinate both:

Make sure you check out all the great entries at this weeks challenge over at Papertrey Ink ... you can find all the inspiration right here . 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and hope you are all enjoying the start of a brand new year!! :0)