Mat Stack 4 Happy Birthday

Today I was inspired by a card made by Lisa Johnson back in February using Mat Stack 4.   I have been making cards for every family member for the past year with the exception of my brother.  He's a police Captain, very serious all the time and just not someone who I thought would appreciate a handmade card.  I actually bought his card last year, but this year I was determined to make him a card regardless of whether he will even notice.  I am the oldest of three and my brother is the youngest, something he never lets me forget.  He is always reminding me of my actual age and a few weeks ago I was kidding with him and told him I was going to write his age all over his card.  Don't think he expected me to really do it, but I did.

Here is the card I made based on Lisa's card with a few changes of my own:

Lots of PTI goodness on this card.  This is the first time I used the Mat Stack 4 set.  I think this set is the absolute perfect stamp set for masculine cards.  I also used Tag It #1and a sentiment circle I have had for a long time (don't know from where).  I cut the number 54 on my cricut using the Century font.  As if that number 54 wasn't big enough, I had to decorate the inside of his card too.  What do you think?  Is the number 54 big enough?

That ought to shut him up until at least his next birthday! 



Make It Monday

Today I made a card for Make It Monday using an ink blending technique taught to us by Betsy Veldman.  For this card I used kraft cardstock and first blended fresh snow ink in the center of the card.  Then I went in with some pure poppy and blended it all around the edges of the card.  Something I didn't think of as I was working on this, red and white = pink!  Not the color I was going for, but I did learn a good lesson.  I won't be using such a dark and a light shade together anytime soon.  The rose is actually something I am really proud of.  First time I have colored such a big image with copics that I was willing to show to anyone in public.  My good friend Renee Lynch actually sent me a three step picture tutorial on how to color this rose and without her help, I'm pretty sure I would never have finished it.  She even lent me the Year of the Flower-Rose set to practice on.  I really admire those people who can color these huge images and have the result be a natural color and smooth finish.  It is not that easy!  Thanks for taking a look at my "pink" blended card.

Sending You Hello-CPS #108

Today I played along with CPS Challenge #108 .  I have been so inspired by the most recent PTI Blog Hop where I saw so many beautiful crocheted flowers.  Although I don't know how to crochet, (not enough patience), I did remember I bought a few crochet flowers over a year ago and never used them.  I love this weeks sketch.  I knew immediately that I wanted to use some of the things I just received from the PTI March release.  The new die for Turning a New Leaf became my focal point with the mat image from Sending You and an adorable background stamp set, Twinkle.  I used Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy and Ocean Tides for my color choices.  Twinkle is really easy to line up, was able to do it on the first try (usually takes me a bit of practice).  I also used the Border Edger #1 to make a cute top layer.  I can tell I will be making this card in several different color schemes in the future.  Thanks for taking a look.

PapertreyInk March Blog Hop

Today is the March Bloghop for Papertreyink.  Our challenge this month is to use embroidery floss.  This was a tough one for me, rarely use floss for anything.  I much prefer bakers twine or rustic jute twine, but after thinking about it a bit, I decided to learn to tie french knots.  Not very original, I know, but new to me. 

I based my card on CPS Sketch #107:                 

 For more details on CPS #107, here is a link:

http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/2011/03/sketch-107.html

Here is my card:                                                      

I remembered that the Asian Fusian stamp set had a cute little flower image that would be perfect for french knot centers.  To make that vase and flowers fit inside a square nestability, I had to use a very large square.  It forced me to make a card that was 5 x 7.  After making A2 cards for so long, this card looks HUGE.  I can not believe how much bigger it is.  I used one of the plastic fondant impression plates I bought at Michaels in the cake decorating aisle for the white layer.  It makes a great impression.  I mean, really crisp.  Not bad for around $4 for two plates.  The patterned papers are by Martha Stewart and the scallop is EK Success.  I stamped one of the long background images from Asian Fusian and added some zig zag stitching on both sides.  To make the french knots, I admit I had to watch a YouTube video to learn how and poked the holes with a paper piercer first so the cardstock would not bend.  Here is a close-up of those knots:

                                                                           

 A little bakers twine is wrapped around the vase that is popped up with dimensional foam.  There wasn't much room for my sentiment despite the large size of the card, so I stamped Mom on it and plan to use it for a Mother's Day card.  My mom will love the big size.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my gigantic card.

Make It Monday #7

                          For Make It Monday #7 , our challenge was to use copics on colored paper.  I actually learned a lot from this Make It Monday video, more so than the others as coloring with copics is probably the most difficult thing for me to do when stamping.  I can never seem to get the shading right.  Starting off with some color, made the shading a little easier for me.  I used Sweet Blush cardstock for the tag base and stamped the Friendship Jar daisy image.  I colored it with Copics RV 10, 21 & 23 for the pink and YG 91 & 93 for the green and Y32 & 35 for the yellow daisy center.  Here's a close-up of the shading:

 I got to used my new Pacific Vinyard impression plate on the Spring Moss cardstock base. It makes such a nice subtle background texture.   Background Basic Woodgrain is stamped onto Simply Chartruesse with the sentiment from Simply Sentiments.  I stamped a small border in Ripe Avocado with a fiskars punch and added some zig zag stitching for a little more texture.   The doily is in Berry Sorbet which I thought brought out the bright pink tone in the flowers. A Ripe Avocado bow is tied through the Tag Sale #3 focal point.  This was both fun and a really good learning experience for me.  Thanks for taking a look.

Papertrey Posse March Challenge and Make It Monday # 6



Today I made a card for the Papertrey Posse March Challenge and also for Make It Monday #6.  For the Papertrey Posse challenge, we were asked by out hostess, Becky to make a card with some type of frame or window in it.  Here are the details of that challenge, just in case you want to play along or just see some really nice cards made by the Posse.  http://papertreyposse.blogspot.com/2011/03/papertrey-posse-march-challenge.html

For Make it Monday #6, we were to make a card using the technique of partial embossing.  I did a little bit of both on this card.  First, I inked up my Moroccan Motif impression plate with fresh snow ink.  I ran it through my cuttlebug onto Plum Pudding cardstock.  It makes not only a nice impression, but also applies some ink to the cardstock as well.  This impression plate is especially nice to use with this technique.  Next I scored some lines onto the cardstock and added a small Royal Velvet layer to one edge.  I also used the Canvas impression plate to add some texture to the sweet blush cardstock base.  After all of the layers were adhered, I used the Fillable Frame #9 die to cut a window through the front of the card.  Using Grape Jelly Memento ink (a really nice match for Royal Velvet) I stamped the Fillable Frame #9 stamp through the window onto the inside of the card. 

It is a very striking combination.  I stamped a sentiment from Love Lives Here using Memento Lulu Lavender ink.  That ink dried a bit too light for my taste, and wish that I had used the Grape Jelly darker color instead.   Oh well, next time.  The last touch were some mini roses glued underneath the sentiment.  This was a very fun card to make and an added bonus that it could be used for two challenges.  Thanks for taking a look.

Papertrey Paper Dolls Blog Hop

Today I played along with Papetrrey Paper Dolls Blog Hop and it was such a fun challenge.  Here is a link if you want to play along:  http://papertreypaperdolls.blogspot.com/2011/03/papertrey-ink-paper-dolls-blog-hop-and.html

The challenge was to create a card using something representing each of the letters in our favorite stamp company, PTI.

Here is my card:

Isn't this just so bright and cheery?  I have made a great friend in one of the Paper Dolls, Renee Lynch.  She was nice enough to lend me her practically brand new set of Button Boutique, Bitty Background Blocks and also the dies to go with it.  I know for sure now that I will buy this set since it was so easy and fun to make this card. 

Onto the details of this card as it pertains to the challenge.  Here is a close-up of all the challenge details on my card. 

For the P:  I made patterned paper buttons using Bitty Dot Basic paper and the cute pinked square patterned paper is the In Bloom pattern stamp from the Bitty Basics Blocks.  One of the buttons was made using fun foam and the one with the bitty dot paper has a fun foam base adhered together with my xyron machine.

For the T:  I used purple/white twine from The Twinery.

For the I:  I used the Linen & Canvas impression plate.  I tried something new that I saw somewhere on a video.  Not only did I spray the cardstock with water, but I rolled it though my cuttlebug really, really slowly.  It took for..ever..er!  It did seem to make a really crisp impression though, so the extra time did pay off.

I have to say I love, love, love the Button Boutique set.  There are so many varieties of cards that can be made and I am looking forward to coming up with lots of fun combinations. 

Papertrey Posse March Petite Challenge

This is the first month I have participated in the Papertrey Posse Petite Challenge.  Becky has challenged us to make a Spring card.  As it turns out, one of the cards that I submitted for the PaperCraft Sketch challenge was absolutely perfect for a Spring card.  It was based on the sketch above:

Here is the card I made: 

Nothing says Spring to me more than purple and yellow.  This card used Love Lives Here stamps and dies, Egg Hunt patterned paper, twine,  some lace and some little mini clothespins colored with copic markers.  This card is 3.5" x 7" and is quite sparkly in person.  Those little houses are such fun to stamp and cut out.  I have found they look every bit as good cut from patterned paper as they do stamped with ink.  This was the perfect day to post this card, the weather here in CA is absolutely beautiful.

Totally Hues Challenge #3

It's a beautiful day here in CA, nearly 80 degrees and with such beautiful sunny weather, I decided to play along with two challenges today.  The first is Heather's Totally Hues #3 where the colors are Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Hawaiian Shores and Aqua Mist.  For more info about her challenge, here is the link:http://heatherpulvirenti.blogspot.com/2011/03/totally-hues-challenge-3.html
Since I seem to be relying totally on sketchs for my inspiration these days, I used a sketch from CAS for the basic design of my card.  Here is info on the current sketch:

http://cleanandsimplestamping.blogspot.com/2011/03/130.html
I have been cutting doilies like crazy these days and this time, I stretched my birthday sentiment to fit around the curve in the doily center.  The sentiment is from Round and Round.  The patterned paper is stamped using Beautiful Blooms 2 and it is one of my favorites for making patterned paper in any color you want.  I impressed it with the woodgrain impression plate once I was done stamping.  That always adds a little extra something to the white cardstock.  I punched a few circles and glittered them up for the flower centers, some rhinestones and a button and twine finish off this cheery birthday card.  Thanks for taking a look at my sunny day creation.

Package Pyramid Reject

I gave what I considered the ugliest, craziest sketch a try for the recent PaperCraft submission process.  My strategy was to choose a sketch that was so unusual that not too many people would give it a shot, thereby increasing my chances.  My strategy didn't work, but I will share this crazy card with some of the other "rejects" on Amber's blog today.  Here is a link to some of the other projects that were fabulous, yet not chosen for this submission:  http://damasklove.blogspot.com/2011/03/rejection-is-sincerest-form-of.html

I  made this card from clear cardstock and Make a Wish die cuts.  **I did learn that when using clear cardstock, you can adhere it by spraying with spray adhesive and it does not show through to the other side.  The trick is to get it absolutely right the first time.  You can not lift or shift your image at all, not even a tiny bit.  For this card, I doubled the patterned paper so the image is the same on the inside, minus the pearls.  For the sentiment piece, I cut a pyramid shaped piece of Hawaiian Shores cardstock and stamped my sentiment on that.  This card is 4 x 4 and I probably will use it as a tag, rather than a a card.   I only made this card because of the unusual shape and potential to get it published by virtue of numbers.

I submitted two other cards that I WAS really proud of, they didn't get chosen either and I have learned that it is good thing that I didn't decide to be an actress or model.  I put so much of my heart and soul into those two cards and dealing with the rejection is way too hard for me. 

I would like to thank Amber for posting the other cards not chosen.  It has really helped me to see the other beautiful cards that didn't get picked up.  It has really put it all into perspective for me. 



Just Because-Studio Style

I smile just looking at that stack of cards.

I bought Studio Style six months ago envisioning myself making a stack full of cards to have on hand when I wanted to send a little something to PTI friends, just because.  Sad to say it took me six months, but I finally got around to it.

I also admit, I wanted an excuse to make some doilies.  Lots of them.  All colors.  The button jar from Studio Style is really fun to color, no shading required, just lots of cute little buttons in a sweet little jar.  Here's a close-up of the buttons and the glitter I added to sparkle them up.

So fun to color.  I used Mat Stack #3, Distressed Dots patterned paper, one of the Limitless Layers dies, buttons and twine and now have a stack of a dozen cards to send to the friends I know love PTI as much as I do.