Celebrate Today - Sketch and Challenge

Another gorgeous day here. We'll enjoy it since the forecast says rain for tomorrow and unfortunately we have to take a quick trip too.

For my card today, I followed Beate's weekend sketch as well as using Erica's color challenge from earlier this week. Erica's challenge colors were lavender and grey which are so pretty together. I used Lavender Moon from PTI and Wool Grey from CTMH. The girl stamp is another CTMH stamp that is retired that I borrowed from my lovely Mama and the background stamps are called Floral Delights from CTMH. I was originally going to use this card for my Mom's birthday card which is tomorrow, but I think I'm going to do the exact same card (cuz I like this sketch), but I'm going to change up the colors so they are in pinks. I have some strawberry cupcakes that I'm going to make to take down and of course I want the cupcakes to,, match the card - duh (lol). I made a test batch and they are really good - all from scratch with strawberry butter cream icing.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.



Cardstock: GP White, Grey Wool (CTMH), Lavender Moon (PTI), Ink: Grey Wool (CTMH), Lavender Moon, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise (PTI), Stamps: Mixed Messages (PTI), Floral Delights, Uptown Girls (retired) (CTMH), Other: PTI Ribbon, Copics

Thank you

What can I say except that life is life in the Pacific Northwest. It seems like there is a lot that is going to happen, just nothing right now. We're in that "school is almost over" and its "almost summertime" mode. We've got a couple of trips set for late this summer and even into fall so we'll be staying somewhat quiet here at home.

I do have a tidbit of news to share that I'm excited about. I just signed up for the Copic Certification class that is going to be offered in Seattle. I'm terribly excited about it.

Here is my card for today and if you continue to read, I have the history behind it.

Well, I got a fabulous RAK from a fellow PTI member named Rachele. Check out her blog -->HERE<-- when you get a chance. Isn't she cute? I don't know how I missed her with my PTI/Blogger radar, but she's got a blip going now. Plus, she is a twin mom so you know what that means :) And if you didn't know already, that has meaning because I myself have a lovely pair. Anyway, she sent me a wonderful rack in a 2 liter bottle. I had never seen that before - I mentioned that to somebody and they were like oh yeah, we use to do that all the time, well not me. So it was extra unique for me. In the bottle, there were these great felt flowers from Provo Craft. I've been enamored with felt and crocheted flowers of late so I was excited to see them. The colors worked really well with the CTMH paper that I have and I decided that I would make my thank you card for Rachele with them.

Cardstock: GP White, Breeze (CTMH), PP: Caprice (CTMH), Ink: Chocolate (CTMH), Stamps: Say it in Style (CTMH), Other: Oval Nesties, SU! Label Punch, Provo Craft felt flowers
Thanks for visiting!!!

Hello! Friend

What can I say, sometimes I feel like there is just too much PTI on this blog, but everything about it is just so pretty. The berry sorbet is just really great to work with.

This is a card that I am sending as a RAK to a PTI member. And what is more fun then pairing up PTI shtuff and a bella? I just don't know (haha). Anyway, I colored my bella with my copics and slapped her on some cardstock!! I hope she travels well :)

Its short today, but thank for stopping by.



Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Stamper's Select White, Summer Sunrise, Pink Patterns (PTI), Ink: Palette Noir, Summer Sunrise, Moss Green, Berry Sorbet (PTI), Stamps: Flowahbella (Stamping Bella),Garden of Life (PTI), Say it in Style (CTMH), Other: Ribbon (PTI), Copics

Papertrey ink Blog Hop - Scoring

So this month, the challenge was to use score lines as accents on our projects. I have to say this is also a perfect time to plug my scor-pal. I absolutely love this tool.

For my main card, I actually ended up combining last month's challenge with this month's. I love the fact that Nichole with the last 2 releases has provided a sample of the printed paper -->Click Here<--for printing at home. I did order the last newest release called Bitty Baby Blessings, but I still printed off the sample and that is what I ended up using on my card.

At first, I thought I would use some sort of yarn to use as my ties, but since I didn't have any of the right colors, I decided to cut down the matching PTI Ribbon. I love the way that the ribbon frayed. I used very tiny holes so I taped the edges of my ribbon and then cut them to a sharp edge and then threaded them through.

My goal was to essentially make scored frames around my squares of paper. My last set of score lines show up the best and I was a little disappointed that the first set didn't show up as well, but in person both sets show up just fine. Here is a close-up.

I didn't order the new baby stamps just the Favor it Baby so I used one of those sentiments as a focal point for my card. I also pop dotted that square to give it some extra emphasis.

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Here is one more card that I made using the scoring technique. Let me tell you that this card was not what I had in mind. I started out wanting to use the "mommy to bee" sentiment along with the Honey Bees stamps, but I just couldn't get it the way I wanted to, so I went back to scoring on traditional white. The Stamper's Select is incredible for scoring. It looks so crisp and has a nice hand to it. In the end, I ended up with the bee, just not baby themed. It is a bit difficult to see the score lines on the right hand side, but they are there - 3 of them :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Everything is Papertrey ink unless otherwise noted.

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Lemon Tart, Lavender Moon, Moss Green, Kraft, Itty Bitty Blessings, Ink: Palette Noir, Stamps: Honey Bees, Favor it Baby, Other: Ribbon, Copic Spica Black Glitter Pen, Scor-Pal, SU! Scallop Punch, EK Success 2" Scallop Punch

Another Graduation Card - Hope Your Day is Stinkin' Big!

Isn't this stinky skunk so stinkin' cute. Well, I continued on with my Grad theme. The skunk and the matching sentiment is from Clear Dollar Stamps and called Cute Critters. It works great paired with my Grad sentiments from My Sentiments Exactly.

I also used some White Fun Flock that I got from CTMH on the skunk (near impossible to see in the picture). I need to get some other colors too. I colored my skunk in with my copics and as a side note, the reason my sentiment is attached the way it is, is because I totally messed up when stamping on my card. Cover ups are great!

Thanks for stopping by and remember that the Blog Hop is later tonight for all you Papertrey Fans!




Cardstock: GP White, Sweet Blush (PTI), PP: Collage Press, Ink: Palette Noir, Stamps: Cute Critters (CD Stamps), Graduate (MSE), Other: Copics, Michaels Ribbon, Nestabilities, Corner Punch for larger scallops

Article for Craft Critique

My tool review is up on Craft Critique today. Go check it and make sure you take a few minutes and visit the site. Lots of cool and interesting articles.

What can I say except that I had so much fun creating these cards. The premise was that I wanted to make cards using the Making Memories Slot Punch Tool Set. I honestly use this tool set often. I also have the little punch that SU! sells and I like the ease of a hand punch, but its generally smaller than the size ribbon that I tend to use.

I thought this first card turned out great. I had also just received the new colors (Lavender Moon and Kraft) from Papertrey ink and was dying to use them. The Kraft is to die for. I was super uber close to ordering some Kraft paper from SU! because I had seen some very cute stuff made with theirs and was very excited that Papertrey was going to carry it. Of course I wanted to focus on the slot punch so I used that to make my slots to weave in my ribbon (Papertrey lavender moon). I really like how it turned out - not too foofy, but lots if ribbon presence :) So the Kraft paper is the card base, then a layer of Lemon Tart, then I used my long rectangle nestabilities to cut out the scallop (lavender moon) and the layer (Stampers Select White) on top. I used Papertrey ink to match my cardstock and used one of my newest favorite Close to my Heart stamp sets (Cottage Floral) for my random stamping. I then pop dotted the little white flowers, colored the centers with a Copic marker, then added some clear stickles to the centers. Then I added my sentiment from another of my newest favorite Close to my Heart stamp sets (May Stamp of the Month - Say it in Style). I embossed this in white embossing powder.

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Lavender Moon, Lemon Tart, Kraft (PTI), Ink: Lavender Moon, Moss Green, Lemon Tart, Versamark, Stamps: Cottage Floral, Say it in Style, (CTMH), Other: Ribbon, Stickles, Copics, White Daisy ep (CTMH), Flowers from Michaels, Long Rectangle Nesties, MM Slot Punch, Heat Gun
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Here's my next card. Again, using the new release colors from Papertrey. My goal was to make an extra special card for my friend who's birthday is coming up in June. I wanted to put a coffee gift card on one side and a pretty insert on the other side. I decided that I didn't want to put any sentiments on the front, but rather just make it pretty.

Some friends and I got together for a Stamping Bella order and the ONE Bella that I really wanted I forgot to order - can you say DUH!!! Well, luckily a lovely lady named Paula (Scrapbratmother) pm'd me from Splitcoast and was interested in a stamp swap. I stamped some images of the one Hanna stamp that I have and she was able to send me some images of LatteBella. It worked out perfectly and now I know that I NEED that bella!

So back to the card :) Its a standard A2 size except that I made it longer on the bottom so I could fold it up for the two pockets. Again, the purpose was to also showcase how I used the MM punch and I used it all over this card. I really love how the card and my Bella turned out inside and out!

I used my Copics to color my Bella and the flowers and just a little bit of stickles in the center of those flowers. The inside tag I used a new stamp set that again I love called Smell the Coffee from Impression Obsession. I got that set from Carrie who has a great little online store called My Little Stamp Shack. I used versamark to stamp as well as for the edges of the insert and then used black embossing powder. The little tab is SU! label punch and the "enjoy" is Close to my Heart. The Happy Birthday is from the same set that the "enjoy" is from, but the outline stamp is Papertrey. I followed my polka dot theme with both the ribbon and the cardstock (Swiss Dots embossing folder). And of course the slits to hold my gift card is from the MM tool set.

























Cardstock: GP White, Lavender Moon, Kraft (PTI), Ink: Palette Noir, Lavender Moon (PTI), Versamark, Stamps: Lattebella (Stamping Bella), Smell of Coffee (Impression Obsession), Boxes, Bags, Tags (PTI), Say it in Style (CTMH), Other: Ribbon (PTI), Twine, Eylets, Black embossing powder, MM Slot Punch Tool Set, SU! Label Punch, Scallop Punches, Circle Punch, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug

And here is my final one. This one is obviously a different style and fits in with the other graduation cards that I've been making for my friend. This card was an example of a really easy way to use the MM slot punch set. The hippo is a Melanie Muenchinger stamp set (Just so Hippy) from Gina K Designs. I used animals from this set and her "Just so Hoppy" set for the grad cards that I've been making. The Grad cap and "GRADUATE" are a stamp set from My Sentiments Exactly that I got a while back and it worked perfectly for this. I used pop dots to attach the cap. I used a Prisma Colored Pencil with Oderless Mineral Spirits (OMS) to color in my hippo.

Cardstock: GP White, Moonstruck, Ocean, Black (CTMH), Ink: Palette Noir, Stamps: Just so Hippy (Gina K), Graduate (MSE), Other: Ribbon (Michaels), Copics, Prisma Colored Pencil, OMS, Blending Stump, MM Slot Punch set

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Sketch, Challenge, Sketch

If you have today off, I hope you are enjoying it. Its nice for us because hubby gets to stay home today which is always vice for us. Today is wet and rainy and is such a contrast to yesterday which was absolutely beautiful!

So, the title says it all! I have a couple of sketch cards and a challenge card to share with you. This first one is Beate's weekend sketch. I made it smaller than my normal cards. I think its 4 x 41/4. The paper is My Mind's Eye (almost used up all of it) and the stamp is called Alfresco from Close to my Heart. I added a bit of liquid glass to the center, but not really all that pleased with it. This is a pretty cut and dried card.

Cardstock: Colonial White, Chocolate (CTMH), My Minds Eye, Ink: Twilight, Chocolate (CTMH), Stamps: Alfresco, Say it in Style (CTMH), Other: Ribbon (CTMH), Liquid Glass (CTMH)
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This second card is my challenge card for Stamp Something. The challenge for this week is "faux". I chose to do faux linen since I had never done it before. Not quite sure what I think - this was my second attempt. The first background didn't work out and I ended up sanding away my images and then I didn't like the way I sponged the ink on. I want to give it another go later justing using one specific stamp and color. For this card I used a couple of colors to stamp and I did it backwards. I sanded my glossy paper then stamped and sponged. Check out Beate's tutorial on Splitcoast -->HERE<--. I used my new Inkadinkado stamp set called Aviary Assortment. I used my Copics to color in my bird. My MIL is very fond of birds and I want to make a whole set of bird cards for her. Here's a close up.
Cardstock: Colonial White, Ponderosa Pine, Barn Red, Glossy Paper (CTMH), Ink: Palette Noir, Palette Burnt Umber, Brown Distressing Ink (CTMH), Stamps: Birds (Inkadinkado), Leaves, Hello Biride (Hero Arts), Other: Itty Bitty Brads (CTMH), Photo Corner Punch (SU!), Copics
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And my last sketch card is from Lauren Meader's blog. Its another graduation card - just a couple more to do :) For this card I used another Melanie Muenchinger set from Gina K. I wasn't really thinking about the kangaroo's ears and so when I went to put the grad cap on it hid those cute ears. I first cut slits in the grad cap, but the ears were placed to wide so I ended up just cutting the cap in half and attaching it. Looks a little funny, but I'm sure the recipient won't mind. I used my copics to color her in. Its no masterpiece but cute anyway :)

Cardstock: PTI Lemon Tart, Moss Green, CTMH Breeze, White Daisy, PP is from DCWV Stack (I think), Ink: Palette Noir, Stamps: Just so Hoppy, Just so Hippy from Gina K, MSE Graduation, Other: PTI Ribbon, SU! tag punch, copics,

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Celebrate Tropical Style

Here's a quickie post for today - a bit late, but here nonetheless. My friend Lisa was mentioned to me that she was going to go shopping for her MIL and I asked her if she needed a card since she was going to be stopping by anyway. Well, she asked if I had anything Hawaiian or tropical themed and I immediately thought of my Imaginisce penguin stamps. The perfect opportunity to ink it up. I love how it turned out!!Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart (Papertrey ink), Ink: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey ink), Topiary (CTMH), Stamps: Penguin Chick, FlipFlops (Imaginisce), Say it in Style, Cottage Floral (CTMH), Other: Papertrey ink ribbon, SU! Scallop Punch, EK Success 2" scallop punch, Copics, Copic Spica Glitter Pen, Darice Craft rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by!!!

To see clearly and Gina K Trio - graduation theme

I was hoping that the kids wouldn't need glasses so early on, but I guess they are all doomed since both Kevin and I have bad sight. Hunter's teacher mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that she thoguht he was having a hard time seeing the board. I thoguht it was just Hunter being Hunter since tehy do the school screening and he had just gone for his yearly check up back in December. Well, it turns out that he is having a hard time seeing. We printed off an eye chart and sure enough... So, I made an appointment with the eye doctor and yup - glasses were in his future.

Skip ahead to today and I just called the eye doctor's office and yes, they have Hunter's glasses in. He has been bugging me all week about them, which is a good sign. I hope the fitting goes well after school. He'll sort of be on his own with the tech since I have to take the twins with us too. Anyway, I'll post a picture on my family blog (check link to right if you are interested) later. Just like his mother I guess. He's in the 2nd grade and I got my first pair in 2nd grade too. To be honest, glasses suck, but not being able to see is even suckier :)

So, now to the crafty stuff. The other night, I was browsing and went over to splitcoast and realized that Gina K was having a release party - again!!! I hadn't realized it had already been a month. In fact, I was just getting ready to use the stamps that I got last month - SHOCKING how quickly the time passes by. Anyway, she always has her DT members host challenges and I have to say that I am SO pleased that I was able to finish all 3 of them.

To be honest, it was pretty easy since I used the same paper and in essence the same style of stamp for all three, and they all had the same theme. My friend who teaches 2nd grade is having her first wave of students graduate!!! I know you teachers out there understand that feeling when your first class of "babies" aren't babies anymore and are actually graduating from high school!! Of course I wanted to do graduation cards, but I didn't' want to do your standard hat and diploma and the stamps created by Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K and Gina K's Owl set are the ones that I thought of.

I am really quite pleased with the way they turned out too. And yes, they did have to have a grad cap on. The cap is from a My Sentiments Exactly set that I had. I just cut out and then pop dotted it on the heads. They aren't necessarily to scale but it works.

With this card, I didn't want the stamp with the nest (although I used the sentiment that goes with it), but I didn't want two owls either so, I masked off the second owl off, then just drew in any missing parts. I also used stickles (glitter glue) to attach my clear buttons. Its hard to see, but it adds just that little bit of sparkle. I colored everything in with my copics.
And for this guy, I used my prisma pencil with OMS (Oderless Mineral Spirits) to color him in. I cut the card base using my cricut and design studio program and then did the rest of the shapes using my coluzzle oval shape. Instead of using ribbon, I folded the cardstock like it was ribbon.And finally, the very cute hippo. I used my copics to color him in and my nestabilities to cut out the plain and scalloped circle, then used my hole punch to cut all the little circles. I love the sentiment on this one.So here are all the ingredients for all three cards:

Cardstock: My Minds Eye, CTMH, Ink: Pallete Noir, Stamps: Just so Hoppy, Just so Hippy, Owl Always Love You (Gina K), Graduation (My Sentiments Exactly), Other: Nestabilities, SU! Punch, PTI Ribbon, CTMH eyelets, clear buttons, and mini brads, Copics, Prisma Pencils, OMS, Coluzzle, Cricut, Sewing

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget those graduates!!

More Cookie Boxes

Today is a late post and I just got these finished. These boxes are inspired by a couple of things that have come up lately. First, my friend that gave me that fab cookie recipe is having a small business promotion for her cookie business tomorrow and I just happened to talk to her today and told her that I had made her cookies and this really cute box. We had made similar ones earlier for a baby shower that she was hosting. So, she is making a few themed cookies to showcase and I said that I would make some coordinating boxes for her.

Then, there is a thread over on the Papertrey message board about gift giving so I thought I would share these boxes because they can be easily decorated for all sorts of themes. Here are all 3 that I made today - Baby Shower theme (its going to house a baby buggy cookie), the box with the "boo to you" tag is going to house a ghost cookie, and the the box with the witch feet is going to house a black cat cookie.
Here is a close up of the sides of the boxes:
And a close up of the baby tag:
I used a whole assortment of cardstock, stamps, and ink for the three boxes. Its either Papertrey ink or Close to my Heart products. The witch feet are a section of a stampendous stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

You're an Original Card Color Challenge

Tonight is the last call for America Idol. I can't wait! I think it was a sure thing early on that the 2 Davids would be head to head on the last night. I really think I am fine with either one, although I think that David Cook has changed the most over the past months. I watch, but don't vote (tsk, tsk). Are you a voter???

Anyway, here is a card that did for Erica's (One Creative Life) color challenge. I used Close to my Heart colors and picked the best representation for Erica's colors. Check out her great examples -->HERE<-- I used a color resist technique for this card. I stamped with versamark and then embossed with clear powder. Then all I did was sponge over the entire card with my two colors. Easy, peasy, but with a lot of color and fun to do - of course! For the strip, I stamped with versamark again, but this time used white embossing powder.

Everything used is CTMH unless otherwise noted: Cardstock: Moonstruck, Ocean, White Daisy, Stamps: Rustic Flowers, Sensational Seals, Ink: Moonstruck, Ocean, Other: 2" Scallop punch, SU! Scallop punch, Circle punches

Thanks for stopping by; hope its dry where you are :)

Sketch, Challenge, Inspiration and Recipe - Edited to add recipe

Good morning! Wow, I didn't get to post at all this weekend, but we had a great weekend. First, it was absolutely beautiful weather the entire weekend and the kids spent most of it outside playing in the dirt of course :) Our yard is all mowed, edged and trimmed. Kevin did such a great job and it looks beautiful. I'm not much for landscaping or gardening, but it does look nice and tidy. I also got the house all cleaned up and it looks nice too. Its a great way to start the week.

I had a club meeting and a small get together with some crafting friends too and that is always fun. I had an idea that I wanted to put together as a small appreciation for my friends, but I ran out of time, but wanted to implement it anyway. Now, I'll at least have the measurements for the next time. I always make sugar cookies whenever I have people over and this time I had wanted to have a little something extra for everyone to take home, but alas...

This also seconds as my challenge project for the "thank you" challenge over at Stamp Something. I thought it was perfect. I essentially followed the concept of the nugget box, but changed the dimensions to fit my cookie.
I do have to add here that I LOVE my scor-pal. If you click on the nugget box link you will see all the dimensions for a variety of boxes that are specific to the scor-pal.

Ok, to finish up - I used my nestability die to cut the window for my box, stamped on the transparency and then stamped again with a glue pad, then added glitter to it. I added a little tag and ribbon and here it is. So next time, I'll get them finished on time :)

I do have to say that this months' Stamp of the Month from Close to my Heart is fabulous. There are so many sentiments on this set and they are a perfect size for a lot of projects. This is going to be one of my most used sets now.

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Berry Bliss (Papertrey ink), Stamps: Playful Flourishes, Say It In Style (Stamp of the Month), (CTMH), Boxes, Bags, Tags (Papertrey ink), Ink: Berry Sorbet (papertrey ink), Tsukeneko Glue Pad, Other: Glitter, Circle Nestability die, Ribbon (Papertrey ink), Circle Punch, SU! Scallop punch

***Edited*** Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is an incredible sugar recipe that I got from my friend Lisa. She makes the most awesome cookies and they are always decorated perfectly. I didn't have any clear chunky sugar crystals to add, but they look great on the cookies. I can't think of the brand name either so I'll add it when I find it. Here is a very close copy (and could be) of the cutter I used. I bought it at Michaels or Joanns and its about 3" wide. The icing sets up well, but is still soft to eat. The cookies are soft and make sure to not over bake.

You can make the whole batch and freeze what you don't use, or most times, I just cut the recipe in half.

Sugar Cookie Recipe with Icing Recipe: Oven 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt

I just put all dry ingredients together, mix butter and shortening, add sugar, blend, then add eggs and vanilla. Roll out to about 1/4 " thick - looks thick but this is what makes the cookie so soft.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Icing:

1 lb powdered sugar
2/3 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Let me know what you and your friends think about the cookies when you make them :)

Also, the box that I made was based on a 3 1/2" square base. You'll just have to play a little depending on the size of your cookie.

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Beate's Weekend Sketch:

And here is my card for Beate's weekend sketch. My inspiration for this card were all the fruit trees that are losing all their beautiful blooms right now. I took this picture on our walk to school at the end of last week. And of course, when I think of fruit trees, I always think of Papertrey ink's Out on a Limb. I used all PTI products for this card.
Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Stamper's Select White, Pink Patterns, Stamps: Say it in Style (CTMH), Out on a Limb, Ink: Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate (CTMH), Other: Ribbon, Uniball gel pen

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Hoppy Birthday

Good morning! Oohhh, this Billy set from Pink Cat Studio is SO cute. I first saw Lily on Lauren Meader's blog, but I opted for Billy and Tweet - love the birds too. I got my sets from My Little Stamp Shack. I thought he turned out very cute and he was a lot of fun to color. I saw the My Minds Eye paper at my local scrapbook store and immediately thought of Billy. I love the colors - I also think this paper would be perfect with Billy dressed up as a cowboy.

Cardstock: Cranberry (CTMH), Printed Paper: My Minds Eye, Stamps: Billy (Pink Cat Studio), Ink: Versacolor black, Other: SU! Scallop punch, 2" EK Success scallop punch, CTMH ribbon

And that's it for now. I would really like to get to some challenge cards, but I also have to cut stuff out for my club meeting tomorrow and a small get together on Sunday. Fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a great day.

Papertrey Card

Good morning! Here is a card that I submitted for the Guest Star Stamper at Papertrey ink. Go check out the details of this great stamp company. New stamps, ribbon, ink, paper are released on the 14th every month. Some very cool stuff this month (big enabler alert).

This card features the new releases from last month. For the flower I rock and rolled the image to get the darker ink around the edges and then matted the whole thing using my nestabilities.

Everything is PTI unless otherwise noted: Cardstock: Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, Berry Bliss, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, Stampers Select White, Ink: Berry Bliss, Moss Green, Aqua Mist, Stamps: Garden of Life, Other: PTI Ribbon, Nestabilities

Other than that, not much is going on here. I wish I had more exciting news for you.

Thanks for stopping by and have a FAB day.

No sentiment yet, but lots of bling

I really wanted to share this card with everyone. I LOVE it! Its a simple, easy, everyday sketch that works every time.

Over the weekend while visiting Mom, I would sneak upstairs here and there and play with some of her goodies. I didn't get this card finished at her house, but I got the stamp there and picked out this great paper. She actually got it from my sister when they were at a scrap day a couple of weeks ago. It is from a DCWV stack, but I don't know what its called. The stamp is a retired CTMH set and is SO cute. Anyway, when I got home I finished it up and and added some waterfall stickles to her hat and some clear stickles to the dog's collar. I colored the empty sections with my copics and overall love the contrast between the black and the powder blue. I stamped some extra images and can't wait to add them to black and any soft pastel colors. I might have to go out and buy some of that bling paper too!

Cardstock: Unknown White, DCWV Mat Stack, Black, Textured Dutch Blue(CTMH), Ink: Black Memories, Stamps: Uptown Girls (CTMH retired), Other: Ribbon, Nestabilities, Hole Punch

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Home

Here is a card that I did for the My Favorite Things challenge for their New Releases the other night. I ended up using a non MFT stamp set since I only have one and the challenge was to use some sort of animal. So, I decided to use a new stamp set from Pink Cat Studios that I purchased from Carrie over at My Little Stamp Shack. Go check her out, she has a great shipping deal as well as a monthly coupon plus a great blog!!

This stamp is called Tweet and has the cutest dressed up bird. I also used my cricut to make my birdhouse and then stamped on the birdhouse with Garden of Life from Papertrey ink. The front of the card is cut out and the head of of the bird is stamped, cut, and then pop dotted for dimension. Then when you open the card, I used a pop up technique to attach the entire Tweet. I colored her in with copics and then matted her using the long rectangular nestabilities. The paper is that fabulous orange and pink combo that I can't quite get enough of right now. I combined that with some PTI cardstock and you end up with a very bright and cheery welcome home.

Cardstock: Lemon Tart (PTI), Collage Press, Ink: Noir Palette, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise (PTI), Stamps: Tweet Plate 1 (Pink Cat Studios), Garden of Life (PTI), Other: Cricut, Nestabilities, Copics, Hero Arts Bling, Ribbon, Circle Punch

Thanks for checking it out! Have a great day!

Card and gift for my Mom and New Blog Challenge

Well here it is - I guess better late than never. We went down to my mother's and Kevin fixed her deck railing and put in a new deck door for her. This was our gift to her for Mom's day. But, I did want to make her a nice card and have a little gift for her. I went with a doggy theme because mom has gotten a new puppy. I feel like I'm her godmother since Mom picked the name that I suggested - Daisy. Daisy is a Kyi-Leo which is a mix of a Maltese and a Lhasa Apso. She's very cute and SO small right now.

So, it all started with a stampendous clear pail that Emily sent me for my birthday. I was using it to house all the neat goodies that she had sent me for my birthday and as I was looking at it, I thought it would make the cutest little dog treat container for Mom. I used black staz on for the paws and it was definitely tricky on the plastic - very slippery!! Then I used cardstock and sewed the panels together so it would fit around the pail. I stamped little paw prints on the white textured cardstock and placed that over the panels. The dog bone and tag I cut using my cricut and then tied all that great ribbon onto the handle. I stamped Daisy's name on the bone on top and then made my card to match. I really liked how it all turned out.

This little gift also seconds as my Stamp Something Challenge. Check it out for their first official challenge. This is my first altered pail of any kind and I am sure I will do more in the future. It was very fun to do.

Cardstock:Black, Desert Sand,White Textured (CTMH), PP: WeR Memory Keepers, Ink: Black Staz On, Black (CTMH), Burnt Umber (Palette), Stamps: Puppy Love (CTMH), Pond Life (PTI) Other: Cricut, Misc. Ribbon

And here is the picture of Daisy :) Isn't she a cutie???



















Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.