Make-It-Monday #101

I'll be joining Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday #101, which technically is not late, but I sure did wait until the very last few hours before posting.  As usual, it's been a very busy weekend, and I hardly had any time to mess around with a recent haul I made over at the PTI website.  The set I decided to use for the challenge is not a new set (it is called Sending You), but I've been wanting it for months.  We don't have family living nearby, so oftentimes I'm sending something to someone via snail mail......and what other stamp set offers such perfect sentiments?! :)

Since I hadn't done anything with the set, I thought I'd try to spotlight it by joining an MIM challenge.  Here is what I came up with:

The challenge was all about layered embossing, and since this set has a few 2-step stamping images (my favorite), I thought a layered embossed effect would look nice on a 2-step stamped image!

All images, including the sentiment, come from the Sending You stamp set; the card base and rustic white panel are both from Papertrey Ink; all pigment inks (embossed with clear Stampendous embossing powder) are Fresh Ink from Impress; paper flowers are from Prima and the button is from October Afternoon.

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and have a great week!

Papertrey Ink's January 2013 Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be joining Papertrey Ink's blog hop this month!  And nervous, too, because it is my very first time joining a blog hop!  In the past I've always drooled over everyone's creations, not to mention their crafty ways of using PTI's awesome products, but I've always been too busy (or too shy!) to ever post anything.  I've decided, as part of my new year's resolution, that I would be a little more active in Blog Land, especially when it comes to challenges and participating in events that bring the crafting community together.  It truly is a golden opportunity to learn more and be a better crafter!

So here is my take on this month's Blog Hop challenge: black backgrounds......

For the card base, I used PTI's Sweet Blush - great nostalgic pink that isn't *overly* pink.  I used Scrolled Blossoms by Stampendous for the image on the black panel (stamped with PTI's Perfect Match Hybrid Ink in Vintage Cream - very nice alternative to a plain white ink) and die-cut Memory Box's Grand Heart using BoBunny's Love Letters 6x6 pad paper collection.  I then folded (as best I could) and glued down a grosgrain ribbon behind the heart....that kind of reminded me of those lacey little chocolate-filled heart-shaped boxes from the 80s.  Anyone else remember those?  I was chuckling the entire time I was gluing, heh.  

To top everything off, I die-cut some Sweet Blush paper using a Photo Finish strip die, then stamped my oh-so-pretty sentiment from the Everyday Photo Finishers set.  I completely missed out on the Holiday Photo Finishers this past Christmas season, so I never really bothered to get the dies, even though I thought they were so cute.  So of course, once the Everyday Photo Finishers set came out, I was so glad I had a legitimate reason to get the matching dies, heh.  It'll be so nice to be able to use the Everyday Photo Finishers set throughout the year - it's such a nice little mixage of sentiments, from thank you, to happy birthday, to get well soon, to wedding wishes....ugh, I just love this set!!  And the matching dies are a must-have, as are pretty much all the dies at Papertrey!

Anyway, happy hopping!  Thanks for stopping by... enjoy!

Valentine's Day Cards

I've been trying to get some ideas gathered for Valentine's Day treat bags for the boys' classrooms, and in the interim....can't you just feel the pink and love in the air???  As a matter of fact, today is Pink Day in my youngest son's classroom, and all the kids are asked to wear pink in honor of their special day.  This is a dream come true for most, if not all, of his female classmates, but not so much for the boys, heh.  And as luck would have it, my youngest (Caden) is currently home with a nasty stomach bug.  Apparently, he has not minded missing Pink Day because, and I quote,"I'm a boy and boys stay very far away from pink shirts and pink pants and pink things in their hair."  Coming from a 5 year-old, it's a bit comical, so I won't argue with him at this point. :)

And speaking of pink, I've already written a few days ago how I've become newly acquainted with pink and all the cuteness that goes with it, so I came up with this little card:

This paper collection I used, oh have MERCY!, is by Glitz and it is the current apple of my eye.  Of course it's loaded with pinks, but there is also this light taupe-y color that is just barely mixed in that gives the collection a bright, yet nostalgic, look.  I love it, and paired with Papertry Ink paraphernalia, I love it even more (how do you like those little bitty hearts floating about behind the big heart?  CUTE!).  The stamp set is Papertrey Ink's With All My Heart, coordinated with their layering hearts dies.  PTI's heart border was cut from another all-time favorite: Authentique's Lively paper collection.  There are several browns and greens in that collection, which is a wonderful combination in anything: cards, clothing, nature, food, you name it!!

Hope you like the card....enjoy!  And have a nice day! 

CASology Challenge this week!

I've missed participating in CASology's challenges for weeks and for various reasons (children sucking the life out of you, anyone? LOL), but this week I got lucky because I already had a card made that fits quite nicely with this week's theme: winter! How appropriate! I made this card a couple of weeks ago because I had a new winter-themed stamp that I've been trying to use throughout the holidays, but didn't succeed in doing anything with it until recently.

In any case, I think it totally fits CASology to a T: clean and simple! I really enjoy clean and simple cards, and even though I don't often go the simple route, doing the challenges at CASology always brings in new inspiration and new knowledge!

Here is the card I'll be posting on their site:

Since I loved Papertrey Ink's Candy Cane Christmas stamp set so much this past holiday season, I thought I'd pair the very inviting cup o' joe (because I love coffee in the cold winter months!) with the cute Northwoods sentiment; I plan to use this layout for winter hellos to my friends and family, and that also gives me the opportunity to use PTI's stamp set a little longer! :D

Thanks for stopping by...hope you like the card!  Enjoy!

(Other items used: snowflakes from Papertrey Ink's Snowflake Medley stamp set and matching dies; the patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Aspen Frost collection)

January Musings and lots of Inspiration

I haven't posted in a long time.  I've been on an inspirational kick lately, so I wanted to share a few more cards with the community.  Pinterest has been a regular 'go-to' site that I've been dropping an obscene amount of lurking-time into, paired with the fact that my local scrapbook store has been getting some fresh, beautiful paper collections to die for....that spelled out serious card-making time!

I am in love with Basic Grey's "True Love" paper collection.  Apparently I like pink - who knew? - and it is even more fantastical when it's paired up with teals and aquas.  I also recently purchased Papertrey Ink's Limitless Layers Hearts dies, which is such a winner in my book.  Often times I think the many size options in my other dies sets will forever see no action in my die-cutting machine, but these PTI hearts dies?  It's guaranteed I will use each and every one of them repeatedly.  Since I'm definitely more of a card maker than a scrapbooker, sizes in the neighborhood of about 3 inches will always be more attractive to me, and this is why I can appreciate PTI's business approach of keeping such layers within the 3-inch mark.

For this first card I'd like to share, I used the above mentioned paper, along with the hearts dies:

The heart border is another PTI die (love!) and the canceled postmark to the bottom-right is another PTI stamp collection (called Postmarks): another great stamp set!  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention a very important thing: Papertrey Ink (aka PTI) came out with a GORGEOUS stamp set called 'With All My Heart.'  I was taken by surprise by this set because I won't normally gravitate toward a "valentine-y" type stamp set, and hearts are typically not my thing.  I guess I've expanded my horizons, or something, because now I'm all over that AND pink (which is not a "regular," either).  The images in this set are very versatile, but what's also brilliant is that there are many 2-step stamping opportunities with the images, and I LOVE this feature.  Honestly, I'm surprised more companies don't do this for potential buyers; I would imagine most stampers are like me where they'd rather stamp a flower THEN a leaf, than stamping an entire flower and leaf with just one color (unless it's a lined image, but that wasn't my point :)))

Authentique is another paper company I love, and they came out with a collection called "Renew" (and it's a mountain of gorgeous paper!).  Again, the teals are just oozing out of this collection, and I am absolutely in love with all their patterns.  I will say one thing: I noticed that their newer lines don't feel quite as thick and as textured as their previous releases, which makes me a little sad - all in all, I still love working with it, and the quality is still awesomely USA-made.  Here is a picture of what I came up with:

For the clouds, I used a Die-Namics Clouds trio die; the loopy die for my pseudo-sun is a Memory Box die (I believe it's called Whimsy Circle); then of course there is also the proverbial Spellbinders scalloped/regular circles thrown in for good measure.  My sentiment is from 'Bring on the Sun' by Technique Tuesday (another FANTASTIC USA-made company!).  I really like how this card turned out and luckily for me, I was given the chance to showcase it for the next Demo Day at Photo Scraps - 11am on Saturday the 19th.  If you are anywhere near Carroll County in Maryland, come by and say hello - I'll be there up to my eyeballs in Authentique (and loving it!).

Hope you like the card...enjoy, and have a nice day! 

Using Up The Scraps

I just wanted to post a card I recently made solely out of scraps.  Not a single new fresh sheet of fancy designer paper was harmed in the making of this card, heh. And honestly, it's been long overdue.....most of my scraps are hardly scraps at all, since most are only missing a corner, or there is less than a half that was used.

In any case, I recently got my hands on another die (surprise, surprise) and that inspired me to make the card below. The die is from Memory Box and it's called "Lavish Branch."  Other dies used: Tiffany Border by Cheery Lynne, Flower trio by Memory Box, and Half and Half by Papertrey Ink (love!). The sentiment is one of those mixed messages sets by Hero Arts but I forget the name......

Hope you like it...enjoy!  Happy New Year to all!