Just Us Girls #273 Photo Week

This is my first time participating in the JUGS card making challenge.  I just happened to stumble upon it as I was looking at entries from another card making challenge.

The soft, pretty gray and pink palette inspired me to create this wintery card.  I have been obsessed with the PTI songbird stamps and dies lately and decided to use them here along with the rectangle shaker die and the peace word die.  I added some snowflake embossing and white glitter paper for a bit of sparkle. I hope you like it.  Thanks for taking a moment to stop by.

My Supplies:  

                       PTI Songbirds dies, Peace die, Rectangle shaker die

                       Paper Studio Snowflake embossing folder

                       PTI cardstock in white and sweet blush

                       Paper Studio cardstock in pink and gray

                       Doodlebug Design white glitter cardstock

PTI Make It Monday #195: 2014 A la Carte

There were so many options for this week's Make It Monday Challenge; I had a difficult time choosing just one!  I decided to go with challenge #151:  Drop Shadow Die-cuts.  

Here is the link to the original video from the papertrey ink site.
http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2014/02/make-it-monday-151-shadowed-die-cuts.html

After browsing through my dies, I selected the telephone die from Heart-2-Heart #4 and the hello word die.  I cut six of each die in the following colors:  melon burst, berry sorbet, lemon tart, harvest gold, aqua mist, and hawaiian shores.  I stamped the telephone using versamark because I did not want bold ink colors to dominate the card.  I really wanted the focus to be on the shadowing of the dies.  After stamping, I positioned each of the die cuts with the darker color behind the lighter color and adhered them using scortape and a glue pen.  I'm really pleased with the look of the shawdow die-cuts.

PTI Make It Monday #187 - Partial Die Cuts

For this week's challenge, I decided to follow Melissa's lead and make a Christmas themed tag.  I own only a small number of PTI holiday dies, so my choices were limited.  After playing around with several different ideas, I settled on a heart shaped shaker tag using my heart die from the Shakers & Sprinkles kit and one of the scenery dies from this year's Tinsel & Tags kit.  I hope you like it.  Thanks for stopping by to check it out.

My Supplies:  Paper Studio printed snowflake paper
                       Paper Studio white cardstock
                       PTI heart die from Shakers & Sprinkles kit
                       PTI white crystal sprinkles from Shakers & Sprinkles kit mixed with white glitter
                       PTI house scene die from Tinsel & Tags kit
                       Red and white baker's twine
                       Red button

                     

Merry Monday#133 - Rustic Christmas

Here is my rustic little Christmas card for this week's challenge.  It reminds me of snowy forests, wood stacked next to the fireplace, and singing Christmas carols.

My Supplies:  PTI kraft cardstock

                       PTI dies - Christmas tree, Banner die from Tinsel & Tags kit, Oval Shaker die from

                       Sprinkles & Shakers kit

                       My Mind's Eye patterned paper

                       Mementos Dew Drop ink in rich cocoa

                       Paper Studio embossing folder

Merry Monday - Snowflakes, Dry Embossing, Neutral Colors

I made a second card for Merry Monday this week because I realized that although my first card was monocromatic, it didn't really meet the requirement for neutral colors.  Plus, I just love making more cards!  So, here is my second Merry Monday card in neutral grays and white.  The card base is a pale gray with a slightly darker gray rectangle attached.  Then I dry embossed snowflakes on a different gray paper and add white hills of snow.  I die cut the trees, house, snowman and deer, stamping the snowman, deer, and house.  I used foam behind the house to make it stand out more.  I added a banner with my sentiment stamped in gray and finally attached punched snowflakes with rinestones.

CASology Challenge - Ghost

This is a simple little ghost card that I put together rather quickly for this week's challenge.  I dry embossed the background with a  vertical stripe and punched a circle 2/3 of the way up the card.  I then punched a larger orange circle and stamped it with silver stars for the "window."  Next, I die cut my little ghost and added rinestone gems for his eyes and mouth.  I cut a small fancy rectangle and stamped my sentiment in orange.  Lastly, I added orange and white baker's twine for the finishing touch.

My Supplies:
Paper Studio - black and orange cardstock, rinetones
PTI Happy, Spooky Halloween - ghost die, star stamps, sentiment
Sizzix - fancy rectangle die
Mementos Dew Drops - orange ink
Baker's twine

Merry Monday and Make It Monday

This week I was able to create one card to satisfy the criteria for both the Merry Monday Challenge and the Make It Monday Challenge.  For Merry Monday, dry embossed snowflakes were in order.  This was easily accomplished with my snowflake embossing folder and Texture Boutique.  For Make It Monday, partial die stamping was required.  I die cut two trees and stamped them with snowflakes, leaving lots of white space.  I combined the embossed snowflake background with the die cut trees to create this card.

Supply list:  Papertrey Ink cardstock in aqua mist and diagonal stripe (from Tinsel & Tags kit)
                    PTI Tree Trimming Trio stamps and die
                    PTI Tinsel & Tags stamps and large banner die
                    PTI Ink in aqua mist and ocean tides
                    Paper Studio snowflake embossing folder

Merry Monday #129: Neon Colors

My husband and I were out of town last wee, so unfortunately, I was unable to upload and post my card prior to the deadline.  However, I decided that it would still be fun to make a card anyway.  Now, neon is not what I typically think of when my thoughts turn toward Christmas.  I am more of a traditionalist who chooses red, green, and gold.  This challenge forced me to step outside my comfort zone and think beyond those usual Christmas colors.  I began looking through some of my brighter patterned papers and decided to use one from the PTI Sprinkles and Shakers kit.  The paper inspired the hot pink and teal stamped trees and the orange "Merry & Bright" banner.  It also led me to create a shaker card.  I decided to cut a card a bit longer than my usual A-2 cards.  I added hot pink, teal, and orange sequins and sparkles.  I used the oval shaker dies and choose orange for the stitched oval and white for the scalloped oval.  I had a little trouble with some of my sequins sticking to the top of my shaker, but that stuff is so sticky, that there was no turning back.  I can be somewhat of a perfectionist, but I certainly wasn't going to ditch the card and start over because a few sequins were out of place.  I kind of like the bright colors and think the shaker gives it a festive look.

Cute Covers for Post-it Notes

I have been wanting to make some cute little covers for Post-it notes for quite a while now and I've finally found the time and inspiration to make a few.  These are so simple to make and can be created to suit anyone's taste.  I loved how they turned out.

My Supplies:  Paper Studio Cardstock from Hobby Lobby
                       Patterned paper from PTI, My Mind's Eye, and others
                       PTI stamps from Filled with Joy and Shakers & Sprinkles
                       PTI Butterfly Dreams die
                       Mementos Dew Drops ink

CASology Week 115: Chocolate

I spent this past weekend card crafting with my sister-in-law and she introduced me to the CAS method of creating clean and simple cards.  She also told me about the CASology site and card challenges, so I decided to check it out.

This week's challenge - CHOCOLATE!!!  It comes to us in so many wonderful forms:  cake, pie, brownies, ice cream, pudding, hot cocoa, and more!  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  However, this week's chocolate challenge is about creating a recipe for a card, not a yummy dessert. This is what I came up with.  It's a pink and chocolate brown card with a cute little cupcake in the center.

First, I cut a large piece of hot pink cardstock for my background.  Next, I cut a smaller rectangle from brown cardstock and dry embossed it with hearts.  It needed to be softened a bit, so I used my corner-rounder to trim the corners.  Then, I cut a white circle and stamped it with the circular background stamp using pink ink.  And after that, I stamped the miniature cupcake and sentiment using brown ink.  I colored the stamped image using alcohol markers.  Finally, I adhered the brown cardstock to the pink using double-stick foam pads and did the same with the circle in order to create a little more dimension.  So, there you have it - chocolate cupcakes and hearts.

My supplies:  brown, pink, and white cardstock by Paper Studio
                       Papertrey ink stamps from Tiny Treats Valentine set
                       Mementos Dew Drop ink in rose bud and rich cocoa

Merry Monday Challenge #128: Polka dots and/or Stripes

This week's Merry Monday Challenge was to use polka dots or stripes.  As soon as I read that, I immediately began rummaging through all of my Christmas paper pads.  When I discovered this cute combination of polka dot and stripe print, I knew it would be perfect for my card.  I decided to begin with a card base cut from kraft cardstock.  I then cut a slightly smaller rectangle from my patterned paper for the background.  I thought that this blue snowflake print from the same paper pack would coordinate nicely, so I cut a small tag from it.  I cut a small strip from the dotted stripe paper and taped it to the bottom of the tag.  Next, I stamped the word "joy" and added two snowflake stickers.  To help the tag stand out more, I cut a larger tag from kraft and tied the two tags together with a satin ribbon.  I taped the tag to the front of my card and "Ta-da!," my card was finished.

Supplies:  Kraft cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
                 Lost & Found Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye
                 PTI stamp from Filled with Joy
                 PTI ink pad in ripe avocado
                 Snowflake stickers by Paper Studio
                 Burgundy satin ribbon

Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #127

My sister-in-law just recently introduced me to the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge, so this is the first week that I am participating.  I really liked the Christmas Bingo as it allowed for so many different card options.  The most difficult part of this challenge was deciding which combination of three squares to select for my card.  I sometimes have a habit of over-complicating things which leads frustration, creative block, and a waste of materials (wonder if I'm the only one???).  After experimenting a bit, I decided to go with a (CAS) clean and simple card.  The three square I choose were patterned paper, twine, and punch.  I used white cardstock for the base and covered the front of my card with a green and white snowflake patterned paper.  Next, I cut a rectangular strip from red and white snowflake pattern and adhered it to vertically on the left side of the card front.  Then, I punched a white circle and stamped it with a red snowflake and green sentiment from PTI's Tag its collection. I used a mini hole punch to turn my circle into a tag and finished it off by tieing a simple bow with red & white and green & white twine.

Materials:  white cardstock
                  Paper Studio Christmas Basics patterned paper
                  Papertrey Ink Tag-its stamps
                  Mementos Dew Drop ink in ladybug and cottage ivy
                  Baker's twine in red & white and green & white

This challenge was so much fun, that I decided to create a second card.  Although none of my choices matched up with three Bingo squares, I still enjoyed putting together this sweet card that reminds me of Christmas cookies and warm cider.  This was also a very simple card.  I cut some patterned paper for the card front and die cut a scalloped frame from white cardstock.  I selected the tall mug die and stamped it in tan.  Lastly, I cut a fancy die from white cardstock and stamped my sentiment.

Materials:  white cardstock
                  Paper Studio Christmas Basics patterned paper
                  Mementos Dew Drop ink in Desert Sand
                  Papertrey Ink Warm Happiness stamp and die
                  Papertrey Ink sentiment from Holiday Lights
                  Papertrey Ink die from the Sprinkles and Shakers Make-it Market Kit
                  Sizzix die

Make it Monday #180: Paper Weaving

For this week's PTI Make it Monday Challenge, I tackled paper weaving to create an interesting and unique card background.  Following the steps outlined in Ashley's video, I cut serveral thin strips of patterned paper.  I laid the strips diagonally across my card, adhering the edges with scor tape.  I then began weaving additional strips over and under on the opposite diagonal.  When finished, I trimmed the edges and taped them down to the card front.  With such an intricate background, I wanted a simple sentiment and stamp for the center.  I cut a large scallop front black cardstock and a smaller scallop from white cardstock.  I stamped the kitten and matching sentiment from the Tiny Treats Valentine set on the white scallop.  Finally, I taped the black scallop to the center of the card front and taped the white scallop in the center of the black scallop.  The paper weaving was a bit time consuming, but it was a fun challenge and I'm really pleased with how the background looks.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Make it Monday #178: Back to School Easel Card

Creating a back to school easel card for this week's PTI Make It Monday challenge was such fun.  School began on Tuesday, so this theme was right in line with getting my children and myself back into our school year routine.  This card was super easy to make and I love the techniques used for making the cute little chalkboard.  First I measured and cut my cardstock to create a top fold card.  Then, I used a die to cut the bottom to make two "legs" for the easel.  I embossed the cardstock to create a woodgrain look.  Next, I cut a small rectanglefrom dark gray cardstock to serve as the chalkboard.  I stamped the edges with white ink and dabbed a little all over with my finger.  I stamped some large and small apples across the top of the board and letters at the bottom.  Then, I cut a red scalloped circle and a white plain circle.  I stamped the apple tag with paper lines (from PTI's 2009 Autumn Tags) with lime green ink and the sentiment, "Back to School" (from PTI's Tag-Its #6) with Tuxedo black ink. Finally, I glued a miniature clothes pin to the chalkboard and clipped the tag using the clothes pin.  The chalk inking is a bit smugged, but I think that adds to the chalkboard feel.  Overall, I am happy with the result.

A Fond Farewell to Summer

It is a bittersweet time as summer comes to a close and kids go back to school.  I look forward to the crisp, cool fall days and am excited to get back into a routine, but a part of me is sad to see the lazy days of summer end.  I wanted to make another summer card before autumn began.  I chose to use this cute bowl of lemons from the PTI Bowl of Sunshine stamp set and dies.  I used some yellow chevron and blue patterned paper for the background. I die cut the collander and lemons and stamped them using Dew Drops Mementos ink in Dandelion, London Fog, and Bamboo Leaf.  I stamped the sentiment on a small rectangle of white cardstock with Dew Drops Mementos ink in Danube Blue.  I used a tiny hole punch to punch a hole in either side of the rectangle and added a yellow brad at each end.  I am happy with the result.  It makes me think of a tall glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day.

Experimenting with Gelatos

While browsing in Michael's yesterday, I noticed the Gelatos coloring set my Faber Castell and thought it might be fun to try it.  Many of you are already familiar with this medium and have used it to create beautiful cards, canvases, and more.  I decided to cut a card front from plain white cardstock and experiment with the Galatos sticks.  I purchased a four pack of these in the Tropical colors.  First, I made random color designs, covering the entire piece of cardstock.  Next, I used the included brush to light brush over my coloring with water.  I noticed that you need to be careful not to blend the colors too much.  When I was happy with my creation, I let it dry for an hour or so.  I decided that some butterflies would look good with the watercolor look of the Gelato painted card front.  I die cut two butterflies from a sheet of bright pink cardstock.  Then, I  trimmed down that sheet and used it to cover the watercolor sheet.  I used black ink to stamp the sentiment on the card and to stamp over the butterflies to help them stand out.  Using the Gelatos was fun and I like the look that they created for my card.

Supplies used:  Papertreyink cardstock in white and raspberry fizz, Papertreyink Butterfly Dreams stamps and die, Gelatos 4 pack in Tropical, Dew Drops Mementos ink in Tuxedo Black

Mojo Monday #358

This week I participated in the Mojo Monday card layout challenge.  I decided to make a sweet birthday card.  I used medium blue cardstock for the card base and light blue for the layered rectangles.  I used a cute flower background and stamped the card with a bright pink ink.  Next, I die cut a scalloped strip in raspberry fizz as well as a rectangle for the bottom of the card.  I also created a scalloped circle using a scallop punch.  I made a light blue circle with a smaller circle punch and stamped the words "Happy Birthday" in bright pink.  Then, I die cut some little flowers in white cardstock and stamped them with the same pink ink.  Finally, I stamped the flower stems with green bamboo ink and adhered the die cut flowers with thick squares to make them stand out.  Cardstock and stamps are papertreyink and the ink I used is Dew Drops by Mementos.

Make It Monday #175 - My Daughter's Card

My 10 year old daughter enjoys making cards as much as I do.  (It must run in the family!)  So, I couldn't tell her "no" when she asked for my help creating a card for this week's PTI challenge.  She chose to use the Summer Sweetness stamp set and dies.  We cut the card with the dies and she stamped the popsicles directly on the front of the card.  She decided to add a light pink lining to the inside of the card.  Next, she stamped a sentiment in pink on the front of the card.  It says, "Beat the heat with something sweet!"  We tied it all together with some pink and white baker's twine.

 

Make It Monday #175: Creative Card Borders Using Non-Border Dies

Hi there!  I have had so much fun with PTI's challenge this week that I decided to create two cards. 

For the first card I used the PTI Butterfly Dreams stamp set and dies.  First, I stamped the dies with the monarch butterfly using silver ink.  Next, I colored the white space on the butterfly with a pale pink marker.  Then, I used the small solid butterflies to stamp a background on the card front. I added a small pink square with a sentiment stamped in silver.  I finished it off with some silver sparkle trim and pink diagonal stripe paper inside of the card.

The PTI Warm Happiness stamp set and dies was used for the second card.  First, I cut the dies and stamped the cups with brown and tan ink.  Next, I cut a piece of patterned paper to put on the front of the card.  Finally, I stamped the sentiment on the card with brown ink.