Life is Beautiful

Good morning friends.  How about a Spring-like card on this COLD and snowy day?!!  Been trying to ramp of my supply of birthday cards, and this is one I made using PTI's "Life is Beautiful" stamp set.  Take a look:

I started with a piece of speckled cream colored card stock (from my local SS) and stamped the ferns from PTI's "Meadow Greens" in Old Olive ink, and misted the stamp before actually stamping it on the cardstock to give a bit of a water colored look.  I used the dies from "Life is Beautiful" and used a piece of newsprint DSP (SU!) for my bottom layer and a piece of black cs for the top layer of the butterfly.  I made a stamp pad using the baby wipe technique and Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, & Pumpkin Pie re-inkers and then stamped directly onto the newsprint layer.  I also used a bit of gold embossing powder on the edges of the top layer of the butterfly.  I finished with a sentiment from PTI's "Delightful Dahlia Additions, some speckled spatters from SU!'s "Gorgeous Grunge", and a few gold sequins.  Sounds like a lot more work than it actually was, and believe it or not, it was actually pretty flat for mailing! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and if you're in my neck of the woods, have fun digging out! :0)

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)