April Demo Day Cards

Since I started immersing myself in my Project Life-inspired endeavors, my current scenario has been that of focusing more on picture-taking and better documentation, rather than turning toward my computer and sharing my card creations.  I guess I could marry the two and document my Project Life layouts on the internet, but my process is so sporadic when it comes to deciding on how layouts are going to be that I'm not sure how well I'd be able to translate all that into a blog post.  At times that is also very true about my card-making process: a dizzying road to the final product.  

In any case, "real" life has been a little crazy, so internet life has taken a bit of a back-seat, which is what I said I would NOT do for this new year (back in January!).  My consolation?  Well, it's only April, heh.  If I was still trying to grasp on to my traditional New Year's Resolutions in October, well, then I'd say to give it a rest. :)  But for now, let's blog away as much as possible!

I wanted to share two Demo Day cards I'll be doing over at Photo Scraps on the 20th.  I vowed not to work 2 cards in one event because at times it has been confusing to keep instructions simple with the customers, but considering April will be the third time I show 2 cards, I suppose there's no looking back!

Here are my two cards:

I'm really happy with how both of the cards came out.  All the patterned papers are from Graphic45.  I have to say that both the French Country and the Secret Garden collections have been very inspirational, but the French Country really stole my heart.  Those warm tones are always a favorite - and apparently I never get tired of them because I have so many untouched patterned papers in greens, golds, and oranges...but you can never have too many, right?  There's always one more you can add to the stash. ;)

For stamps sets, I used 'Seeds of Summer' by JustRite, as well as 'Daisy Bouquets' by Inky Antics.  The mini doily is the Italian Flourish by Cheery Lynn (a new favorite!) and the labels are all by Spellbinders.

Hope you like the cards - enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! 

A bit o' Green @ Simon Says

This will be my first Simon Says Stamp challenge ever!  Cue word: a bit o' green.  

Here's what I came up with:

First off, I love this particular patterned paper from Graphic 45's Secret Garden collection (Pretty Primrose), but I felt as though I didn't really love the entire collection (not as much as the French Country line, which is, in my humble opinion, superb...just sayin'!), so I only have this pattern from the entire collection (not like me at all).  I used some old Basic Grey orange for the frame die cut (by Papertrey Ink), then used some Primas and Kaiserkraft pearls to tie everything together.  I altered some of the green vines (both by Memory Box) by snipping them apart so that it would lay nicely within the frame. The tag is part of the Tremendous Tags die set (PTI),  and the sentiment is from the Mini Blooms stamp set (also by PTI).

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy, and have a nice weekend!

CASology cue word: Bunny!

Well, haha, I guess I'll be posting this at CASology for this week's challenge: cue word "bunny."  I realize the word "bunny" in the month of March will typically bring to mind nice warmer weather, flowers bursting with their spring colors, and little rabbits running about looking for hidden chocolate eggs.  Alas, I have no bunny stamps in my stash....except for this guy, who is hardly here bearing Easter gifts:

I thought I owned a bunny stamp from Northwoods, but it turned out to be another bird stamp, and I do have quite the variety of bird themes, from stamps to dies to patterned papers (and butterflies....I have a ton of those too!!).  But bunnies?  None!

I guess presently this is what comes to mind when I think of bunnies: the cute fanged bunny who just chomped off the tip of his carrot on a cool October night, heh.  If nothing else, he's definitely a bunny!

Hope you like the card (for what it's worth!)...enjoy, and have a nice weekend!

Supplies used: Hoppy Halloween stamp set by Lawn Fawn, various Copics, Meadow Lark patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, mat stack #3 die by Papertrey Ink, Tsukineko Memento dye ink in Tuxedo Black.

Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday Challenge

We are now on Make-It-Monday #106 at Papertrey Ink, and it's exciting because it's Melissa's tutorial - woot!  I really like Melissa's cards: they are somewhat unexpected, yet it all blends together beautifully every.single.time she makes a card, or anything she makes, actually.  If I could create half as great as she does, I'd be pretty stinkin' happy.  Like, really sky-high stinkin' happy, heh. =)

Here's my take on the challenge:

My card base is PTI's white cardstock, and the patterned paper is by Glitz.  For the die cuts, I used one of the Half and Half dies (with matching stamped image and sentiment), along with some flowers and stems from the Daydreamer collection (wonderful set, by the way!).  Inks are all by Tsukineko (Memento).

Hope you like the card - enjoy!  And thanks for stopping by!

  

Back On Track!

What a brick wall I bumped into 3 weeks ago!  It turned out I had a bad case of the flu, complete with sore throat, body aches, and major congestion.  This might sound awkward to some (though perhaps not to the die-hard crafters and bloggers, heh!), but I was so glad I got sick after Papertrey Ink's anniversary party early last month!  I say that because many of their daily challenges had 24-hour deadlines, and I was crafting like crazy for almost 2 weeks.  I'm sure I would have failed to join in the festivities had I been down for the count.  In any case, I'm just now getting over my cough, which has been dragging on for all eternity, and I've been slowly getting back into my craft room and doing little projects here and there.  Speaking of "projects," I was seriously getting behind in my Project Life album, and since I'm doing two 12x12 photo sleeves per week, I was really afraid I'd get a bad case of "I'm-going-to-abandon-this-because-I've-no-photos-to-speak-of-in-addition-to-not-knowing-what-to-journal-about."  The last week I was sick, I think I had a whopping 3 photos to use for the 2 layouts (and they were all from the same event), but I felt determined to not give up.  I've only been doing Project Life for about a month, so I could have used any excuse to stop - I think my kids, of all people, would have been pretty disappointed.  They've been enjoying the layouts, as have I, so for now we're in great shape.  I will have to post some pictures soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a card I recently made for an upcoming Demo Day at Photoscraps.  The Demo Day card I prepped for last month was never offered because, again, I was sick as a dog and had to stay home.  I will be offering February's card for this month, but in addition to that, I'm also going to be offering this card:

Just in time for Easter, too!  For the patterned paper, I used Authentique's Grace collection (love those colors!).  The basket die, mini leaves, stamped eggs and sentiment all by Impression Obsession; the Tiffany border is by Cheery Lynn, and the antique label is by Spellbinders.  I also used the wood grain stamp from Hero Arts to add more texture to the basket.  All inks are by Tsukineko.

I'm also planning to join Papertrey Ink's Make-It-Monday this week, only because Melissa Phillips is the designer in charge this week, and her cards are always so great (no surprise there!).

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

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I  was hoping I'd be out and about today, but as luck would have it, I am home and nursing a bad cough and the flu.  I look pretty awful and while I'm sure my husband loves me the just the same, I am certainly not feeling "valentine-y" today!  Actually, all I want to do is crawl under the covers, but it turns out my youngest is home with me too today - double ear infection.  Thankfully he doesn't have any fever, so he's acting normal, except for his nasty cough.  We're just a symphony of coughing around here today, heh.

I wanted to share this card I made for the Design Team Favorites Challenge at Papertrey Ink.  I got so overwhelmed doing the other challenges that I almost forgot about this one!  Here is the card by the very talented Betsy Veldman that inspired me:

And here is my take on her card:

I used PTI's Stamper's Select white cardstock for my card base, the Beautiful Blooms die #3 for the flowers, and various stamps from the Hello Sunshine, Funky Florals and Daydreamer sets.

Hope you like the card!  Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink Watercolor Challenge

I have another card to share and post over at Papertrey Ink's Anniversary Challenge: Watercolors.  I don't usually use this method in my cards, but I always like to see what others do with the watercolor effect.  

Here is my take:

As I look at this card, I find so many imperfections, but I guess having a watercolor effect on your project isn't meant to be so very linear and precise.  My card really does look like something my 5-year old would have created, haha!, but it was fun to do!

For the watercolor effect, I used various Distress Inks diluted in water (Broken China, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and a mix of Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn), the sentiment, flowers and bee are from the Tag Its #3 stamp set - quite versatile for such a small 5-dollar stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by.....enjoy the festivities over at PTI!