Mad Sky Designs

Sending Lots of Love

2012-02-01T08:29:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the terrible pictures recently. It's been cloudy and rainy here and I have yet to learn how to use my awesome T3i.

I've been seeing so many of those window cards, I just had to get the die. I quickly whipped this one up last night. Behind the window I adhered blue cardstock and some vellum. In real life it has a nice opaque quality.

I wanted to keep it clean and simple but I can't decide if it turned out too busy or a bit boring. I am still struggling with my *style* but I know with some practice I'll get there. I just need to stay off Pinterest long enough to actually spend more time in my craft room. ;-)

Stamps: PTI Sending You

Ink: Fresh Ink

Paper: PTI

Misc: PTI Fence Die and banner die, Amuse Butterfly Die,

Poppystamps Window die, PTI Woodgrain Impression Plate

Hello Friend

2012-01-31T06:00:00.003-06:00

I've been seeing all of the aqua and red color combos all over Pinterest so I thought I'd put it to use myself.

Stamps: PTI
Ink: PTI, Colorbox
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist
Misc: White Embossing Powder, pop dots

One Layer Wednesday 76 & Less is More 52

2012-01-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a looooong time since I sat down and made a card for a challenge. So I chose ones that I thought were fairly simple. Well, that is until I had about 4 cards wasted because it just wasn't looking exactly like what I had in my head. Does that ever happen to you?

I combined Less is More Week 52 Sketch and Simplicity's OLW.

Susan's challenge was to use white, gray and a pop of color.
Less is More has a sketch to use. (I have more ideas swirling in my head for this one, so if I get time I hope to make another card before the deadline.)

Stamps: Hero Arts, PTI

Ink: Amuse Slate and Sugar

Paper: PTI

Misc: stamp a ma jig

Organizing my Dies, Embossing folders, Impression Plates and more!

2012-01-21T18:27:00.001-06:00

Recently, I was reading about die storage on the PTI forum with much interest. I have tried a few different ways to store my dies but nothing ever really worked to my liking. Until I saw this you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rc6ce14lYa4#!

I was instantly in love. As a matter of fact I ran out to Staples an hour later to buy everything. For a procrastinator, that is very rare. ;)

{you can click on the pictures for a larger image}

I bought a binder by Martha Stewart and some protectors and pockets. Martha has her own line but I bought a cheaper brand just because that's me. Cheap. But she does have some really cute tabbed dividers that I had in my hand. But I really don't need them so I left them there.

I fell in love with the binder right away!! It is a perfect match to PTI's Aqua Mist and it has a really nice texture to it. No way was I going home without it!

So the first thing I did was add the page protectors and the pockets. The pockets are a PERFECT fit for the Impression Plates. And as a bonus, they can also hold my Spellbinders Impressionabilities and Cuttlebug Folders. You can fit more than one, but I don't have many so each one gets it's own home.

The last thing I added was the pocket in the back. It is expandable and has a velcro opening. I put my Spellbinder Embossing mats and PTI Impression Plate mats inside there. I have been struggling to find a home for those so I am very happy!!

Here you can see how I laid out the dies. I just cut some white cardstock in half, adhered magnets with my ATG gun and viola. I tried organizing my dies according to subject; outside elements, tags, envelopes, holidays.

You can easily put 2 pieces of cardstock and the dies in one page protector. The bottom picture shows how bulky it is with everything in there. The front cover actually sits perfectly even, it's just laying that way because it's new I guess.

So cheap me only spent $16.00 for this cute little compact die storage. Now I'm trying to figure out what else I can use the MS binder for. I'd love to see a few of these all lined up in a row on my shelf! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

My Top 5 Favorites for 2011

2011-12-31T14:43:00.000-06:00

Everyone else is doing their top 10 favorites, but since I have been such a blog slacker I can't gather 10, because well, that would be just about everything I made last year. :-/ I just can't seem to find the time since getting a full time job. It's my first FT job in over a decade so the balance of life has been very challenging!

So here are my 5 fav's:

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my short list. :)

Cupcake Birthday Banner

2011-09-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. I haven't blogged in months. That's because I haven't crafted in months!! This summer was very busy. Every day I would wistfully look into my craft room wishing I could sit down and make something. Then I'd hear, "Mooooommmm!" and that was the end of that. ;-)

My daughter's bff was having her 10th birthday party and I wanted to make a little something special for her. She is such a sweet girl and my daughter absolutely loves her. She had a cupcake making party complete with fondant and some pretty amazing cupcake designs.

So I thought a basic banner just wouldn't do. I cut out 10 cupcakes with my Silhouette machine using PTI's cardstock. I matted each picture and then adhered them onto the cupcake. I then used the circle nesties to frame the stamped numbers. I took a few pictures so you can see it better.

(You can click on the pictures to see them larger.)

Did you spot that splint on my daughter's thumb? Yes, that was a fun trip to the Urgent Care. I got a call from the school nurse that she had hurt herself in PE. Turns out she was diving for a ball. She must have a high tolerance for pain because the nurse didn't call me for an hour and a half after it happened. The dr said it was broken but the hand specialist didn't find a fracture. She said with children it sometimes doesn't show up for 2 weeks. Who knew?! We have a follow up visit next week. It still hurts her but she's gone to her soccer practice and games. Tough little cookie I got. :)

Anyway, hope you liked my project that I made. I had so much fun making it!!

Mega sized Mason Jar

2011-07-14T08:04:00.001-05:00

I am totally and completely obsessed with PTI's Friendship Jar and Larger than Life sets. I cannot put them down! I made a bookmark recently...okay, maybe four or five....with the Mason jar and flowers yet again. I can't wait to get the newest Summer Jar fillers so I can obsessively use the Hydrangeas next. ;)

A couple weeks ago I was shopping at Walmart. I was looking for a container to replace our broken dog food holder. Lo and behold, I see a giant sized Mason jar on the top shelf!! I almost peed my pants with excitement!!!! I grabbed that sucker not knowing what I'd use it for but HAD to have it.

My husband brought me home a bouquet of flowers for my birthday the other week and I knew exactly what to do with them!! I was so happy!! The flowers lasted quite a long time, a couple of weeks in fact. I got the warm fuzzies each time I passed the flowers in my Mega sized Mason jar.

I put a regular sized Mason jar next to it for size reference. (You can click on the picture to make it larger.) I can't wait to fill it up with other great things. I'm not sure what will go into it next but I'm sure it will look great!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Notepad Frenzy!

2011-07-09T07:36:00.001-05:00

On the PTI forum there was a request for some notepads for a wonderful charity. I got to work...last minute of course....and made about 30 of them. They fit perfectly in one of the PTI boxes that I received with a recent order.

She mentioned that Butterflies were an important symbol so I was more than happy to add as many as possible. It also helped feed my butterfly obsession. ;-)

I found it difficult to come up with different layouts and color combos. But I tried my best to make sure there was some sort of variety.

Here are a few of my favorites. That Mehndi Medallion set is so awesome!! And at 5 bucks you can't go wrong!! Of course I had to add my mason jar/larger than life creation.

I've been in a creative slump for a very, very long time now and this helped get me out of it. I just hope the recipients enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

LIfe is a Journey

2011-06-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow my parents are celebrating their 49th Wedding Anniversary!! Being the procrastinator that I am I waited until the very last minute to whip up their card. However, I must say that it came together very quickly! I love how the Limitless Layers paired with the Mat Stack 4 set looks.

Inside I put a gift card holder and some gift cards to the Outback Steakhouse. I stamped some roses for a subtle background.

I love PTI's Seed packet die but don't own it yet. So I tried to make my own gift card holder. I just used my Martha Stewart Scoreboard, a corner rounder and some scissors. Wrapped some twine around it and tied on a Tiny Tag with 2 cute little Love Birds.

Thanks for stopping by again today. I have a few other projects to share. Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Stamps: PTI Vintage Labels, Mat Stack 4, Love Birds, YOF: Gladiolus SU Fifth Avenue Floral, Cat's Life Press (look inside sentiment)

Ink: Colorbox White, Jenni Bowlin Chewing Gum, Memento London Fog, PTI Pure Poppy, Versamark Black

Paper: PTI Sweet Blush,Vintage Cream, Bazzill Pink, Bazzill Grey

Misc: Divine Twine, Nestabilities, PTI's Limitless Labels, Tiny Tags, Mat Stack 4 Die, Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon, Embossing Powder

Happiness in a Jar

2011-06-29T08:27:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine was having a tough day. So what better way to brighten up her day then to send chocolate? And me being me, can't just send it in it's orginal bag. How boring! So I bought a canister, filled it with Hershey Kisses and then used my Silhouette to cut out the vinyl lettering. Whipped this gift up in 5 minutes!

Hopefully it will take her a bit longer than 5 minutes to eat it. But when she does finish it, she'll get a cute little reminder at the bottom. Because one should never be without chocolate. ;-)

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop May 2011

2011-05-25T18:46:00.000-05:00

This month's Hop was to use flowers. I absolutely love flowers!! All kinds and all colors. I had a difficult time choosing which stamps to use. So I figured, why bother using any stamps at all.

I can't show you a before picture, because I didn't take one. But I used an old plastic headband, hot glued some wide velvet ribbon in a raspberry fizz color. I added a felt flower which I die cut with a PTI die. And then stitched on a Raspberry Fizz button.

Here is a bit of a close up. Can you figure out which PTI die I used to cut out the felt? I'd love to hear your guesses!

My sweet girl loves her new headband. It was relatively easy to make so I'm sure I'll be making her some more in the near future. :)

Happy Birthday Merry!

2011-05-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrate the birthday of a wonderful person. She is sweet, funny, warm and thoughtful. I wanted to make a special card for a special person.

I started off by die cutting an entire sheet of PTI Select white cardstock. Then I started stamping the Larger Than Life images in pretty, soft pastels.

I placed the bouquet in a mason jar that I die cut and stamped. Then over that, I put a vellum die cut image. I used Zip Dry glue to adhere them all together. I've found that it works best with vellum. Wrapped the jar with some twine and hung a tiny tag.

I wanted the jar to look like it was on a wooden table so I inked up the woodgrain impression plate and used Kraft cardstock. My vellum butterfly was punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I put a lot of love into this card for Merry. I hope she can feel it through the magic of the internet.

Happy Birthday Merry! xo

Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar, Larger Than Life, Tiny Tags
Ink: Colorbox White, Adirondack Lettuce, Versamagic Pretty Petunia, Thatched Straw, a La Mode Pink
Paper: PTI White Select, Kraft, Vintage Cream, Vellum
Misc: PTI Woodgrain Impression plate, Tiny Tags Die, Twine, MS punch, clear sparkle embossing powder

My Girls

2011-05-20T14:31:00.002-05:00

Me again! Twice in one day, can you believe it?! My friend Cathy made me promise to share a picture of my girls when I got my new Camera. Oh how I LOVE my new camera!! It was worth every penny and all of the sacrificing of selling most of my stamp sets.

After much research I ended up getting a Canon Rebel T3i. I still have lots to learn about it, so right now all pictures are on the Auto mode.

The other day my daughters convinced me to make Chocolate Chip Cookies. I try to limit our sugar intake, so this was a special treat for them. Can you tell by the looks on their faces?

Notice my "vintage" mixer? My Mom got that for me at a thrift store. It must be from the 70's but it works great!! I would love to get a Kitchen Aid one day but for now this works perfectly. And I love vintage so I'm hoping it lasts another 40 years. :)

I want to paint my kitchen walls. I'm thinking PTI's Chartruese would look nice in a kitchen. But I can't decide. What do you think??

Congrats Spinner Card

2011-05-20T09:29:00.001-05:00

My father had asked me to make another graduation card for my other niece who is graduating High School. I had envisioned the graduation caps that get thrown up in the air. I thought a Spinner card was perfect. But as I was making it, I realized that it wasn't going to look exactly as I wanted. I started out with a long rectangular size card that would fit into a legal size envelope. I wanted the cap to look like it's flying high inthe air. But it turned into yesterday's balloon card when I tried out the spinner and it didn't reach the top of the card without turning it completely sideways and upside down.

I was happy to learn that the spinner works well as a square card. While I was making this card, I was thinking about my wonderful niece. I can't believe she is graduating High School! It feels like just yesterday I was changing her diaper. The clouds are cut out of coaster and I applied stickles all over them.

I wanted the card to feel like the cap was flying in the air so I made a little neighborhood town on the bottom. As I was making it, I wanted to incorporate a butterfly in the design. A butterfly has a lot of significance to me. Not only does it represent a new beginning, it's a sign to me, that my late SIL (my niece's mother) is still around. Although the butterfly's scale is off a bit, it was the smallest one I have right now. I used quite a few different stamp sets to make this neighborhood.

Inside I used another SU 3x3 envelope so that my parents can put some cash in there. The sentiment is from an old The Greeting Farm set and I thought it was very appropriate for this card. As I was stamping this particular image, something magical happened. But I will save that story for tomorrow because it's a long one.

Thank you for stopping by again! I sometimes think about quitting this hobby because it is so time consuming and expensive but reading your comments keeps me going. :)

Stamps: SU Good Neighbor, PTI Communique Sentiments, Simple Little Things, Boards and Beams, Flutterby Friend, Through the Trees, a memory box stamp and a misc sentiment stamp from The Greeting Farm, Studio G

Ink: Memento London Fog, Rosebud, Dandelion, Bamboo Leaves, Colorbox White, Versafine Black, PTI Dark Chocolate, Versamagic Turquiose Gem, Midnight Blue, Colorbox green

Paper: PTI Select white, Spring Rain, SU black

Misc: PTI Cloud die, coaster, Stickles, Glitter pen, Ranger clear embossing powder, SU 3x3 envelope, nestabilities die, pennies, pop dots

Congrats Balloon Card

2011-05-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

I was asked by my father to make a graduation card for my niece who is graduating 8th grade. Unfortunately I rarely see her and don't know much about her. So I thought some sparkly balloons were in order.

I stamped each image in Versamark and then used either Martha Stewart glitter embossing powder, or SU's irridescent ice. I cut out each balloon and tied matching twine to each one. I tried to make the sentiment look like it was wearing the graduation cap. It looked much better in my mind!

Inside I used a 3x3 envelope so that my parents can insert some cash. I was stumped as to what to dio inside since I don't own many Graduation stamps so I just continued the balloon theme and left room for my parents to write something.

I wrapped some gorgeous gray twine around the envelope and added a tiny tag.

I made another card for my other niece. But that will have to wait until tomorrow because I have to make dinner now. Blah. I'd rather be stamping. :)

Stamps: Studio G (cap), PTI Signature Greetings and Tiny Tags

Ink: Versamark, Versafine Turquiose Gem and Black, Memento Rosebud

Paper: PTI Select White, Sweet Blush, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Plum Pudding, Chartreuse,

Misc: Twine for various sources, SU 3x3 envelope, PTI Tiny Tags die cuts, MS EP, SU Irridescent Ice, pop dots

Make It Monday #12 Line Frame

2011-04-29T17:37:00.000-05:00

I've only attempted this technique a few times. I am just too impatient I guess. But I figured out a way to do it real quick and easy. I used my T-Square ruler. Just started drawing a line 1/4" in from the first side, then stop 1/4" from then end of the other side. So for this card it started at 1/4" on the left and ended at 5-1/4" on the right. Then turned the card, drew the line up to the 4" mark. Repeat that process until you are done. I also did it that way for my second card, only I started drawing 1/2" from the side and repeated the process.

Stamps: PTI Signature Greeting, There She Goes Poppies

Ink: Memento Black, Copics, Precision Pen

Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Select White

Misc: Stickles

For this card I thought I would change things up a bit. Instead of using a black marker, I used a copic marker that was the same color as my Memento ink that I used. I wasn't too sure how it would turn out, but I think it looks okay. I definitely need to fine tune my framing skills.

Thanks for looking and I hope to be back soon with something completely different. {Hint: I am working with fabirc, felt and dies!}

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion, Signature Greetings
Ink: Versamagic Pretty Petunia, Memento Bamboo Leaves, Copic Marker
Paper: PTI Select White
Misc: Stickles

Missing My Brother

2011-04-13T06:24:00.000-05:00

I miss my brother. I haven't been able to see him in a very long time. So I made him this card to let him know.

First, I inked up PTI's Woodgrain Impression plate with some white craft ink. I ran it through my Big Shot with some Kraft Paper. Then I cut out a circle using my Nestabilities. On the Vintage Cream cardstock, I stamped the tree image and then the bird. I received some gorgeous Divine Twine from my friend Cathy and used it to tie on the Tiny Tag. I don't own the Tiny Tags set or dies, but was able to borrow them from a wonderful friend, Noora.

I stamped the other bird on top of the heart and the sentiment miss you. See how those cute birdies are separated? That's how I feel without seeing my beloved brother in such a long time. Hopefully I'll be able to visit him this summer. I miss his smiling face.

That's it for now. I have other projects in the works but I'm not sure when I'll be posting them. I really, REALLY want to get my craft room re-painted. Right now it is beige and red with a black and white border. It used to be a boy's room before we moved in. Not a very inspiring environment. Well, 3 years later and I still haven't redecorated it. Ideally I would like to get it done before the summer arrives. Crossing my fingers!

Stamps: PTI Through the Trees, Love Birds
Ink: Versacolor, Colorbox, PTI Pure Poppy
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Kraft
Misc: PTI Woodgrain Impression Plate, Divine Twine, pop dots, PTI Tiny Tags die

An Off Color card not for the Easily Offended

2011-04-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

A wonderful and super generous friend of mine, Kelli Jo, sent me several of her unloved There She Goes stamp sets. One of the sets is "Loads of Fun". It has images of laundry, laundry baskets, a washer and dryer and some of the funniest sentiments. I know I'm going to have fun with this set!!

So I wanted to make her a thank you card. But it had to be a very unique, humorus and a bit crazy of a card to fit her personality. ;-) The idea came to me almost instantly.

Now be warned, it is not for the pearl clutchers. Although I don't think any of them follow my blog. ;-) I just don't want anyone to be offended by this. It is just done in good "clean" fun.

In order for the sentiment to work, I had to ink up half of one sentiment for the beginning of the sentence and half of another for the end of the sentence. I'm hoping she will get a good laugh out of it. And I hope you did too! If not, you can let go of your pearls now. lol!

Stamps: There She Goes "Loads of Fun" and The Greeting Farm Cheeky Girl
Ink: Memento black, Versacolor Turquiose Gem, Copic markers
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Vellum
Misc: tiny wooden clothespins, pop dots

One Layer Wednesday...on Tuesday

2011-04-05T14:02:00.005-05:00

(ETA: Thank you Jennifer Styles to alerting me that my picture wasn't showing up! Should be fixed now.)

Nothing like getting this completed at the last minute. I attempted to do the Double Embossing technique. Thanks to several different tutorials, and a couple of hours to waste, I was able to make this CAS card. (Only today instead of "S" standing for "Simple", for me it was "Struggling".) But overall I'm glad I tried this technique. I'll definitely do it again. As long as I can find my sticky notes directions underneath all of the rubble on my table.

Hope you are all having a fantastic week and I'll see you soon!!

Stamps: There She Goes "Buttercup"
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate, Memento Bamboo Leaves, Copic Markers
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream
Misc: PTI Impression Plate, Mat Stack Die

WPlus9 Color Cue Challenge #13

2011-03-22T06:10:00.000-05:00

This is my first time participating in Wplus9's color challenge. These aren't my normal go to colors so it was a challenge. But I had fun and I know I'll be using this combo again!

I'm trying to get some Mother's Day cards made for Operation Write Home. The deadline is March 31st so I'll be cranking out quite a few of these in the next week and a half. I wanted to keep the design simple so I could replicate them quickly, but with a bit of elegance.

I also made a couple more to see how other colors would look.

I'll be in my craft room cranking out more Mother's Day cards for OWH. Hope to be back soon!

Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, Verve Because of You
Ink: Black Memento, Copic Markers
Paper: PTI White and Spring Moss, Bazzill Gray (1st card)
Misc: Swiss Dots CB folder, PTI Satin Ribbon

Dogwood Sympathy

2011-03-14T07:14:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately I needed another sympathy card last week. I wanted to keep it simple and serene but not boring. I stamped a couple of extra flowers, hand cut them out and folded the petals over a bit for some more of a 3-D effect.

I stamped a sentiment inside and added a butterfly from A Muse's Flutterby Flock stamp.

It's Spring Break week here and I hope to stay in my pj's longer than I should, leave the housework until it's unbearable and stamp the days away. See you soon!

Stamps: Hero Arts Dogwood, With Sympathy
Ink: Memento London Fog, Colorbox Fresh Green, Copics
Paper: PTI Spring Rain, Select White
Misc: Pop Dots

Look Ma, No Tape!

2011-03-13T10:26:00.002-05:00

The great thing about having a clean crafting area is that it helps me focus better. I was browsing the incredible Susan Raihla's Blog the other day and saw a couple of challenges that I was definitely up for.

The first one is for Mark's Finest Paper. Susan's challenge was to use Gray, Lime and make the card One Layer. I wasn't sure I even owned anything lime! Luckily I had a copic marker and some ink close enough.

Stamps: Hero Arts Dogwood, PTI Gladiolus
Ink: Memento London Fog, Colorbox Fresh Green
Paper: Gina K

The other challenge is for her One Layer Wednesday. I found this picture as my inspiration. Rainbow Twine

Please don't look to closely at these cards. It's the first time I tried scoring on one layer and it ain't pretty. It was also the first time I used a template which I cut out using a craft knife. It wasn't pretty either. It's also dark and dreary today plus my camera is on it's last legs. But the good news is that these cards will be added to my box that I'll be shipping over to Operation Write Home.

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Hearts, Love Birds
Ink: Memento: Angel Pink, Lady Bug, Tangelo, Canteloupe, Colorbox Fresh Green, Versamagic Night Sky and Pretty Petunia
Paper: PTI Select White
Misc: Martha Stewart Score Board

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Hearts, Love Birds
Ink: Memento Lady Bug, Tangelo, Canteloupe, Colorbox Fresh Green, Versamagic Pretty Petunia
Paper: PTI Select White
Misc: Martha Stewart Score Board

Flutterby Thank You

2011-03-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

While I was on Splitcoast Stampers asking questions about the A Muse change, I inquired about a certain stamp that I had been yearning for. I've been wanting it for a while but never hit that buy it button. I always thought, "Oh I could do it later." Well later turned into, "Guess what? It's not available anymore!". WHY am I such a procrastinator?!

Krystie Lee pm'd me and offered to send me hers. I was flabbergasted!!! And so very touched. She wouldn't take any money for it so I felt the least I could do was send her a thank you card. I just hope she likes it.

Stamps: A Muse Flutterby Flock, PTI Friendship Jar, Floral Fusion
Ink: Versamagic Purple Petunia
Paper: SU Lovely Lilac, PTI Select White
Misc: pop dots

I Almost Took the Plunge!

2011-03-11T08:16:00.000-06:00

Last week A muse Stamps announced that they are now going to be a home party based business. I've always loved the A Muse style, cute and simple. I took a look at their online catalog and fell in love with all of their products. I was thisclose to signing up with them. But after careful thought (aka: using my OCD over analyzing skills) I decided it just wasn't the best timing. I'm hoping that in the near future I will be able to sign up with them.

Spring Break is approaching next week and I don't even have an eye twitch. Yet. ;-)

Stamps: A Muse sentiment and swimmer images, PTI Friendship Jar
Ink: Black Memento, copics
Paper: PTI Select White
Misc: PTI Friendship Jar Die

More Glads!

2011-03-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

Oh I am in LOVE with this set. I've wanted it since it first came out, but there was always something higher up on the wish list. So glad I finally got it. (haha, pun not intended!)

I stamped with Memento ink and colored the leaves and the center of the flowers with my copics. I added some stickles to the center. Cut out the flowers, die cut the jar and ahered them. Easy peasy. I love when only a few images can make a big bang.

Have a wonderful week!!
Stamps: PTI Communique Sentiments, Friendship Jar, YOF: Gladiolus
Ink: Black Memento, Versamagic Sky blue, Copics
Paper: PTI White Select
Misc: Stickles

Gladiolus Sympathy

2011-03-05T11:38:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. I've been busy at home but also decided to rearrange my crafting room. I have 2 desks that are made from Ikea kitchen cabinets that are VERY heavy. I didn't want to wait for dh so I moved them myself. One inch at a time. It took me over 30 minutes to move one of them. LOL! I was determined. Anyway you can imagine the disarray when you tear apart all of your craft supplies to re-organize. The good news is that I was able to make a card today. The bad news is that it is a Sympathy card for a good friend.

I wasn't too sure about the cream ribbon with the white base, but I recently read in a design magazine that you can match the two together. So I'm going with it. Plus, I don't have any white ribbon. ;-)

Inside I kept it basic but added a touch of the white dove. What do you think?

I'm going to hand deliver this today. So I chose to add the stamp to the envelope in a matching blue. This is my first time using PTI's YOF: Gladiolus and I just love it.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And give your family members an extra big hug today.

Stamps: PTI Year of Flowers: Gladiolus, Communique Sentiments, Hero Arts With Sympathy
Ink: Colorbox Frost White and Sky Blue, Versamagic Blue
Paper: PTI White Select and Spring Rain
Misc: PTI Vintage Cream Twill Ribbon, PTI Envelope, PTI Dove Die, white EP

Guess Who Loves You

2011-02-13T16:35:00.003-06:00

First, I want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my previous post. I don't like to be negative but it was really bothering me. You all made me feel better so thank you!

I absolutely LOVE that PTI now has a Monday Challenge. But I struggled with this particular concept all week long. I threw away a lot of cardstock with this challenge! I just couldn't get my sentiments to look like what I had in my head. I finally was able to come up with something that I liked.

I used the Mat Stack Die to cut through the Spring Moss and Old Olive paper.

So when you open the card you can see the negative space from the die.

Inside you can see the sentiment that I stamped on Vintage Cream, also die cut with the Mat Stack die.

I'll be giving this card to my hubby for Valentine's day tomorrow. Good thing he doesn't read my blog! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: PTI Love Birds, Signature Greetings, Tiny Treats Valentine

Ink: Adirondack Lettuce

Paper: SU Old Olive, PTI Vintage Cream, Spring Moss and Avocado Bitty Dots

Misc: PTI Rustic Twine, Vintage Cream Twill Ribbon, Mat Stack Die, Nestabilities tag die

Papertrey Ink Forum Valentine Swap

2011-02-12T08:12:00.000-06:00

Over on the Papertrey Ink Forum, some of us members joined a Valentine's Day Swap. I was very excited to be able to participate this time! We were to send a small gift to our swap partner. I chose to use the Be Mine treat box that I posted about HERE.

Inside I filled it to the brim with Hershey's chocolate nuggets. Each nugget was wrapped with a sticker label that was stamped using all of the stamps from Background Basics: Hearts. I also included a bag with an assortment of PTI Buttons, a glassine bag with 4 hand painted, altered clothespins and a card.

I had SO much fun creating the card! I used the Friendship Jar and the cute trio of hearts from Love Birds. I just love how they look like they are floating out of the jar.

Since my swap partner chose not to thank me or answer any of my inquiries about the safe delivery of the gifts, it has soured me on a desire to enter any more swaps. Next time I think I will choose someone who will appreciate the time, effort and money I put into a special package. Someone like one of you nice folks who leave me sweet comments here on my blog. SOOOOO....if anyone out there would like to receive a RAK, send me a quick email with your mailing address to madskydesigns@gmail.com. I would LOVE to reverse the effects of the bad taste in my mouth that the swap left. And I could spread a little sunshine in the meantime. :)

I hope you are almost ready for Valentine's Day! I have a few projects to finish up and then I hope to share them on Monday. Have a great weekend!

(Supplies for card:)
Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar, Love Birds
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, Smokey Shadow, SU White craft ink, Ranger Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass
Paper: PTI Select White, Kraft
Misc: SU White embossing powder, PTI Jar Die

Favorite Papertrey Color Scheme Contest

2011-02-09T10:43:00.000-06:00

Today as I attempt to join in the PTI Anniversary festivities, this is what I see outside my craft room window! They are forecasting 6" for us. AGAIN. Last week we had an ice storm then 6" of snow on top of that. It sure is fun since it's rare for us, but after a while I need to get out of the house. But today I don't mind staying in my pj's nice and warm and playing with my stamps. All day if I must. ;-)

For the PTI color scheme contest I chose these colors as my favorite:

Raspberry Fizz
Pure Poppy
Hawaiian Shores
Dark Chocolate
Kraft

I would love to make some more cards but I don't have all of the PTI colors. Boohoo. I might be able to muster up something else today.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion, Love Birds
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy, Memento Rose Bud, Versamagic
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Kraft
Misc: PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon, pearls, stickles, pop dots

Papertrey Free Download Contest #4

2011-02-06T17:06:00.001-06:00

Stamps: none!
Ink: Versamagic for edging
Paper: PTI White Select, Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist Bitty Dot DSP
Misc: PTI Mat Stack 4 Die, PTI Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon, circle nestie

Papertrey Free Download Contest #3

2011-02-06T17:03:00.001-06:00

Stamps: none!

Ink: none!
Paper: PTI Select White, Bitty Dots DSP, SU Coral
Misc: PTI Anniversary Image Download, PTI Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon, EK Success punch, rhinestones, nesties circle, CM Corner Rounder

PTI Anniversary Project #2

2011-02-06T17:01:00.000-06:00

Stamps: PTI BB: Text

Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist Bitty Dot DSP
Misc: heart doily sent from a lovely friend, Divine Twine, circle nestie, copics, MS heart punch

Papertrey Free Download Contest #1

2011-02-06T17:00:00.001-06:00

So this is just perfect timing! I just sold a ton of my beloved PTI stamps to help fund a new, very overdue DSLR camera. So I'm grateful that I can use these gorgeous images. Also, today marks day SEVEN of being stranded at home. Between ice storms, illnesses and snowstorms this has been one VERY long week. I need to create something desperately to get my sanity back! And it's Superbowl Sunday so the hubby is occupied. Pefect!

I couldn't imagine designing my own stamp set. I would DIE a happy woman! Good luck to everyone!!! :)

Stamps: Signature Series Butterfly

Ink: Colorbox White Pigment

Paper: PTI White Select, Hawaiian Shores

Misc: PTI Anniversary Image Download, Perfect Presentation Lacey Circle, MS butterfly punch, misc white satin ribbon

Favorite PTI card for 2010

2011-02-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

Just posting this card real quick so I can be entered in the PTI contest. Not that I'd ever win...but you HAVE to try. I mean it's PAPERTREY INK!!!!

Hope everyone is staying warm. :)

Stamps: PTI Home Made, On My Couch additions, Floral Fusion
Ink: Versamark, SU Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa,Versamark Sepia, Martha Stewart Chalk Inks
Paper: PTI Spring Moss & Vintage Cream
Misc: PTI Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, clear embossing powder, brad, pop dots

A Banner and A Winner!

2011-01-17T14:55:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I was able to get some crafting done thanks to the Football Playoffs. :) I created this Valentine's themed banner for our mantle. It looks so empty now that the holidays are over. I needed to put something up there!

I used Perfect Presentation's Pennant Banner cut file.

And their latest release, Lacey Circles.

I absolutely LOVE these lacey circles!! And I love the fact that I can re-size them to whatever size I need.

Don't look too closely at the hearts on the bottom of the V pennant. I had my 5 yr old chit chatting the entire time I was crafting. So I got a little distracted. ;)

Okay, now on to the winner of the template from Perfect Presentation. She gets to choose from a PDF, SVG or GSD file. So many great things to choose from! So without further ado....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

22

Timestamp: 2011-01-17 20:12:39 UTC

Dana said...

Oh Susan, it was well worth the wait! I LOVE, love, LOVE this cute box. The design on the clear CS is just so pretty.

I'm sorry you've been ill. On the mend?

Congratulations Dana!! Please e-mail Leigh Ann at annie21211@yahoo.com and let her know which template you would like from her Perfect Presentation site. Can't wait to see what you create!!

I'll be back soon with some more projects to share. My Mojo is back and I'm on a hot roll! :)

Stamps: PTI Love Birds and BB Hearts, The Paper Studio Alphabet
Ink: SU Creamy Caramel, Versamark, Memento Rosebud
Paper: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream, Bo Bunny, Basic Grey

Misc: Perfect Presentation Lacey Circles, Perfect Presentation Pennant Banner, Silhouette SD Machine, Martha Stewart Glitter Embossing Powder, Rhinestones, Cuttlebug Heart Die, PTI Butterfly Die, Nestabilities, PTI Buttons, Martha Stewart Heart Punch, Divine Twine

Be Mine - Perfect Presentation Group Post

2011-01-14T06:00:00.088-06:00

So...did you think I fell off the face of the earth? Almost feels like it! I've missed blogging but with so many things going on at home, mixed in the holidays and being sick for the entire month of December....I had no time to create anything.

But today I have a special treat for you! With Valentine's day just around the corner, we all need ideas on how to wrap up some sweets for your sweetie. :)

Introducing "Be Mine" by Perfect Presentation.

Isn't this template just the cutest?! And it came together so easily. I used my Silhouette SD cutting machine. The template comes with the box and mats for the each side and the heart on top. It's available in GSD, SVG and PDF.

I chose to use a clear cardstock that has a beautiful design on it that matched perfectly with PTI's Hibiscus Burst Cardstock.

A cute little bow and tag on top finishes it off.

So what do you think of this newest template? One random commenter will win their choice of template from the store!!

You have until Sunday at midnight. I'll post the winner on Monday, January 10th.

Check out what the rest of the Perfect Presentation DT made and for more chances to win a FREE template of your choice!

Thanks for stopping by! And I promise to be back with some eye candy soon.

Stamps: PTI Love Birds (sentiment)

Ink: Martha Stewart

Paper: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Vintage Cream, Clear cardstock with pattern called "Grandma's Wallpaper"

Misc: PTI Hibiscus Burst Satin Ribbon, Divine Twine, Nesties tag, Cuttlebug Heart dies, Zip Dry Glue

Perfect Presentation Holiday Gift Ideas!

2010-11-29T14:23:00.002-06:00

I have some exciting news!! Over the weekend I was asked to join the Design Team for Perfect Presentation! They have wonderful templates for a phenomenal value. They come in SVG, GSD and PDF. Today I used my Silhouette SD to cut out this adorable Winter Sleigh.

(You can click on all of the images to see the pictures larger.)

It came together so quickly and easily. I am in love with the shape of this sleigh!! I wanted to keep it simple so I just added a flourish that I cut out with my Silhouette. I spruced it up with some stickles and gave the skates some shine with some big chunky mica flakes.

I put some Hershey Kisses into a clear bag and tied it off with some ribbon and twine. Then I added a few mini jingle bells to the tag. All ready to be given to a friend, neighbor or teacher. It was so much fun making this sleigh that I can't wait to put together some more.

Check out what the rest of the Perfect Presentation DT made!

Template: Perfect Presentation Winter Sleigh

Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Christmas (for sentiment)

Ink: Versamark Pixie Dust

Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream

Misc: Silhouette SD machine, Silhouette holly flourish, Spellbinders Tag Trio, Divine Twine, mini jingle bells, Hershey Kisses, Stickles, Martha Stewart Mica flakes, misc satin ribbon, pink gems

So Grateful

2010-11-28T09:34:00.001-06:00

This Thanksgiving I decided to send a card to some of my friends. Just to let them know that I am grateful for them.

As I was making them I noticed that I was surrounded by a lot of cards. Many more than I thought I would be making.

I realized that I have a lot of dear friends that surround me. And how fortunate I am.

Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar, Delightful Dahlia, Flutterby Friend, Signature Greetings, SU Easy Elegance
Ink: Memento, Versamark
Paper: Vellum, PTI White
Misc: Bubble Gum Pink Twine, Cuttlebug Tag die, Liquid Pearls

PTI Blog Hop Tags 2010

2010-11-25T18:09:00.002-06:00

I'm so excited about this month's blog hop! I am in the process of making an Advent Tag Banner. Here are the first round that I've completed so far. If you are interested, you can check back in the next week to see the rest of the tags. :)

Here is one of the tags up close:

The back of the tag with the countdown number:

Here is what they will look like on the Banner:

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the Hop!! :)

Stamps: PTI 2009 and 2010 Holiday Tags, Friendship Jar, Holiday Button Bits, On Ice, Tiny Treats Christmas

Ink: Versafine, Memento,

Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, White, Spring Rain, SU Ruby Red

Misc: Silhouette SD for the numbers, Divine Twine, Stickles, PTI Buttons, PTI Dies, Tags, Candy Cane Clothespins from The Shabby Chic Cottage

October 2010 PTI Blog Hop

2010-10-25T09:03:00.000-05:00

With not much crafting time these days, I chose to do a Clean And Simple card. I wanted to be able to send this card to all of my friends, regardless of faith. And it had to be easy to mass produce. I'm also going to make some with the sentiment "Warm winter wishes".

I'm keeping this brief so you can continue on with the Hop. Have fun!!

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Through the Trees
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, SU Whisper White Craft Ink
Paper: PTI Select White, Spring Rain
Misc: Pop dots, glue pen, MS Glitter, white embossing powder

Thank you Nichole Heady!

2010-08-30T17:53:00.000-05:00

This card is dedicated to Nichole Heady; the innovative and creative force behind Papertrey Ink, my very favorite stamp company. PTI has changed my way of paper crafting forever. I was a scrapbooker and fairly new to the stamping world when I discovered PTI. Nichole has made card making so easy and enjoyable! I get giddy when the sneak peeks arrive and I get ridiculously excited whenever I place an order. Nothing {well besides my family} makes me so happy!!

Thank you Nichole for all of your hard work and effort that you put into PTI. It definitely does not go unnoticed and I am extremely grateful for you!!

Stamps: PTI Year of Flowers: Roses, Signature Greetings
Ink: Memento Dandelion, Memento Rosebud, Copic Markers
Paper: PTI Select White, Hibiscus Burst
Misc: PTI Hibiscus Burst Satin Ribbon, pop dots

Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop 2010

2010-08-01T09:00:00.176-05:00

Welcome to the Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop! Verve turns three today and we’re celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! If you've already been hopping along, you arrived here from the very talented Verve Diva Shannan's blog. If not, head on over to Julee's Blog (owner of Verve), for all the info on how to win prizes (after all, what's a party without presents?), and to start hopping from the beginning. If there's a hiccup along the hop, you can always head to the Master Hop List to get the full list of links.

My Grandmother has been my idol and inspiration all of my life. She and I have always been very close. Grandma is 96 years old and is still as quick witted as ever. She is a very "hip" Grandma and has always been with the times. But sadly, Grandma's heart is now failing. She loves receiving my cards so I wanted to make her a special card before she passed.

There is no way I could ever be exactly like her, but I hope that I have retained some of her wonderful qualities. I wanted to convey a little something to her along those lines, that's why I chose this very special sentiment.

At the very last minute I decided to add this to the inside. I wanted to keep it fairly simple so that I can write her a note. Hope you enjoyed my card. It might take me all day long, but I'll be visiting and commenting on every blog on the Hop for sure! Have fun hopping!

Stamps: Verve's Because of You, Grateful Elegance

Ink: Versamagic Turquoise Gem, Versamark

Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream

Misc: Clear Embossing Powder, Cream Embossing Powder, Flat back pearls, Pop Dot, SU Top Note Die, PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon

Thanks for hopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to the Sweet and Fabulous Terri E’s blog for a little more Verve-y goodness.

Little Bundle

2010-07-30T15:55:00.001-05:00

A very good friend of mine asked me to make her a baby card for her friend. I am really not good at coming up with something without any direction. But thanks to a sleepless night I was able to sketch this card out in my head. I tried to keep it simple but let the elements pop out.

I decided to try out a window technique that I've seen before but never did myself. For this card I had to work from the inside out. I cut out the Top Note shape and stamped the sentiment on it. Then I adhered it to the inside of the card. Next I took a scrap piece of cardstock the exact size of the card. Found the center with my T Ruler and traced around the nestabilities circle in the center. I cut it out to make sure it would line up properly. I wanted to make sure you could read most of the sentiment from the outside. Once I was sure it would, I then lined up the Nestabilities circle in the center of the front of the card and cut.

I used an old PTI stamp box for the clear acetate window. After I cut the openings in the front, I cut out a piece of the plastic box and laid it between the cardstock layers. Used my ATG gun to adhere it all down. Then I added the cute little baby and Prima Roses.

Inside you can see the cute little butterflies I added next to the sentiment. I hope the new Momma enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it! Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea by Pink Cat Studio
Ink: MS Chalk Ink in Pink Geranium, Memento Black
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU Certainly Celery, Rosy Cheeks by Imaginisce
Misc: SU Top Note Die, MS Butterfly Punch, Clear PTI Stamp box for clear cardstock, Prima Roses, PTI Silk Ribbon, PTI Sweet Blush Button, SU Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon, Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Pop Dots

Clothesline Easel Card

2010-07-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

My cousin and his wife just recently had twins. A boy and a girl. They had them through a surrogate so I wanted to make an extra special card. I got this great Unity stamp as a RAK from my friend Chrissy a while back. I thought it would be perfect!

I colored the clothes with copic markers and popped them up. Then I glued down some twine for the clothesline. I made it look like an outdoor scene using some cloud paper and the fence punch. I cut the grass myself with scissors even though I could have easily used the Silhouette. I was on a roll and didn't want to stop by using the computer! I found the PERFECT sentiment to go on the front of the card. I was so excited once I pulled it together.

I had decided to make this an easel card just to give it more pop. I don't have many baby sets so I struggled to find a sentiment for Twins. Luckily I was able to use this sentiment from Signature Greetings and add an "S" to the word bundle. For the "S" I just inked up a letter from another sentiment in the set. The Memento Dew drops work perfectly for these tight areas!

I added a couple of strips of patterned paper at the bottom to finish off the card. I am working on a picture frame to send with the card. I'll post it when I'm done. :) Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Stamps: Unity, PTI Everyday Button Bits & Signature Greetings
Ink: Memento Black, Colorbox Night Sky, Distress Ink, Copics
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Hibiscus Burst, Summer Sunrise, October Afternoon Patterned Paper
Misc: EKSuccess Punch, MS Fence Punch, PTI Hawaiian Shores Buttons, Twine, pop dots, Stickles, sewing machine

Pink & Gray Love

2010-07-09T06:00:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd try another CAS card. I'm not sure where I found this layout. I had it scribbled on a post it note and it sat on my desk for a very long time. I'm guessing it's from the CAS Blog, probably the Fall to Layout Sketch #85. This is another swap card I made for the SCS PTI swap that I'm in. I made 8 of these. They came together quickly but tying bows still gives me such a fit!!Apparently I am bow tying impaired.

Stamps: PTI Delightful Dahlia & Signature Greetings
Ink: PTI Smokey Shadow, Memento
Paper: PTI White, Bazzill Grey
Misc: EK Success Scallop Punch, Pink satin ribbon, MS Butterfly Punch

Soaring By

2010-07-08T06:38:00.002-05:00

I'm stunned! I won an honorable mention on The Playdate Cafe's blog for my Argyle card. Wow! I'm the one who feels honored. So how appropriate that today's card is in the clouds. Exactly how I'm feeling. :)

I'm in a PTI swap over on SCS hosted by my good friend Amy. We were to make a square card. I chose to try making one of those "scene-like" type of cards that have been popping up all over the place. They are by far my favorite, followed closely by the Clean and Simple designs. Weird combo, huh? Yep, that's me.

I had a ton of fun creating this card. It was sooooo nice to have some alone time in my craft room after a week of entertaining the In-Laws. So much so that I made 6 of these cards plus another one for me to keep for myself. :) Crafting is so therapeutic for me. I really need to make more time to craft. Hope you get some crafting time in soon!

Stamps: PTI Everyday button Bits, Text Background
Ink: Memento Black & Rose Bud, Colorbox Sky Blue
Paper: SU Bashful Blue, PTI Green Leaf & Hibiscus Burst
Misc: PTI Lemon Tart, New Leaf, Hawaiian Shores & Hibiscus Burst Buttons, pop dots, felt, felt glue, sewing, copics

Cherry Blossom Tree & Elegant Chick

2010-07-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

I had a vision of making a Cherry Blossom Tree. But I didn't have the right stamps and ink. Or so I thought! (I'm in the process of getting rid of all of my PTI inks and supplementing with other manufacturers so my ink selection is limited right now.) I used the tree from SU's Branch Out set and the flowers are from PTI's Floral Fusion. I inked a group of 3 blossoms and stamped off on some scrap paper so I could get just the right color of pink. I added some darker flowers to add some depth. Then I used a Copic Marker for the center of the flowers. That's one of the great things about the Memento ink, you can use Copic markers right on top of them!! I tried making the tree look like it was losing some blossoms in the wind. Not sure if I accomplished it, but I tried. I made 6 of them for a swap held by my good friend Jen. It's a clean and simple design but it was A LOT of stamping. Sure was fun though and that's what matters! :)

Stamps: SU Branch Out, PTI Floral Fusion
Ink: Memento Rose Red, Palette Burnt Umber
Paper: Gina K Luxury White Cardstock, PTI Hibiscus Burst
Misc: PTI Hibiscus Burst Button, misc ribbon, twine, pop dots, copic marker

The next card is for the same swap. My wonderful and generous friend Banu sent me her extra PTI Anniversary set, Round and Round. (Does anyone else sing that eighties song in your head when you read the name of this set? heehee! Who sings that anyway?) This was the first time I was able to use it. It's such a nice set. I especially love the big flourish with the circle in the center. So many things you can do with it!!

I didn't use ANY pink on this card!! I know Chris will be proud of me. It was tough, let me tell you. I think for me, pink is what Kraft is for most people. It's my neutral. :) But it's nice creating out of my box. Once in a while.

Stamps: PTI Round and Round, Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dots 2
Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Versamagic Olive
Paper: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Select White, SU Old Olive
Misc: PTI Lemon Tart buttons, flat back pearls, nestabilities, pop dots, EK Success Scallop Punch

Busy Bug

2010-07-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

I made this card for my best friend. I hope to visit her next month. I haven't seen her in years and years. We've both been very busy living in different states and raising our kids. I promised her that I'd drive all the way up to see her if I had to. Even if it means 14 hours in a car with 2 kids with no DVD player. Oh the horror! But she is definitely worth it.

I thought this card was too busy with the patterned paper and then I paper pieced the car. I played around and even used a copic colored car instead but it just didn't look right. So I'm not thrilled with this but I'm hoping my friend will be.

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink: Memento black
Paper: October Afternoon, PTI Hawaiian Shores & Summer Sunrise, Raspberry Fizz Dots Patterned Paper
Misc: PTI Raspberry Fizz Satin Ribbon, PTI Lemon Tart button, PTI Cream Twine, pop dots, acetate for windshield

The Play Date Challenge {with no kids involved!!}

2010-07-04T22:09:00.002-05:00

This is my first time trying the Play Date Cafe Challenge. Actually I just happened to stumble upon the blog today. I loved the combo so I just had to play!

I loosely based my sketch on the Fall to Layout Sketch #96. Well, it started out CAS with just the argyle. Then I made a mistake so I thought I should cover it up with some ribbon. But the ribbon was too high up so I added the butterfly to try to balance it out. Then it still didn't look right so I added some more ribbon to give it a gift box effect. It's funny how the end result can sometimes be something that you did not have in mind at all. Gotta love those mistakes. ;)

Usually ofter playdates I am exhausted and need some alone time. Preferably in my craft room. But this play date was kid free and just what I needed after a long weekend. Happy Monday!

Stamps: PTI A Little Argyle, Butterfly Dreams, Signature Greetings
Ink: Memento Angel Pink, Lady Bug
Paper: Gina K Luxury White Cardstock, PTI Pure Poppy
Misc: PTI Butterfly Die, stickles, white satin ribbon, pop dots

Here to give you a Lift

2010-07-04T13:29:00.001-05:00

Hello my poor little deserted blog. I've missed you!! I had some free time the other day so I created this card just for fun. I also had some time to create another 15 cards. However, 12 of them are swap cards that need to mailed out. Stop by tomorrow to see some more! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits, Text Background
Ink: Memento Rose Bud & Tangelo, Versamagic Turquoise Gem, PTI Hawaiian Shores, SU Garden Green, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peeled Paint
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, New Leaf
Misc: PTI Buttons, Vintage Cream Felt & Vintage Cream Twill, Shearing scissors, Felt Glue

Long time no SEE!!!

2010-06-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Long time no "see". It's been exactly one month. Pathetic!! Kids home from school, a puppy to train, in-laws due here any day and a computer crash has kept me busy. I've missed blogging and creating so much!! I hope to get back on track soon. Especially since I ordered some new PTI goodies. :)

This week I posted a Paper Piecing challenge over at the Papertrey Chicks blog. Check it out and join us if you feel inspired to do so. I thought I'd post the photo and deets over here just to give you some eye candy.

The first card I made using some October Afternoon Paper and PTI's Baby Button Bits. It's a very simple card, but I wanted to showcase the paper piecing aspect of it.

This next card is a cute 3x3 that literally took seconds to make. I'm going to make 5 more of these babies in varying colors and make them a complete set. When that will be? Who knows...lol!

This last project was something that I have been itching to do for a long time. SCRAPBOOK!!! I used to scrap every week and I need to get back into it. I've even considered getting rid of all of my stamps and stop card making just to force myself back into it. Crazy talk, I know. Don't worry, I still have plenty of stamps and many reasons to keep making cards.

Well that's it for now. Must feed kids, dog, self and shower. But hey, I got to play with my toys this morning. Yay!!

Project Details:

Baby Card:

Stamps: PTI Baby Button Bits, Honey Bee, Little Lady

Ink: Ranger Distress Ink, PTI Dark Chocolate

Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores, Lemon Tart Bitty Dot paper, October Afternoon

Misc: PTI button, misc satin ribbon, PTI twine, pop dot

3x3 Card:

Stamps: PTI Delightful Dahlia, Through the Trees

Ink: Black Memento

Paper: PTI Hibiscus burst, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist Bitty Dots

Scrapbook Page:

Stamps: PTI Butterfly Dreams, Delightful Dahlia, Fresh Alphabet, Polka Dot 2, Impression Obsession Journaling 1

Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Memento London Fog & Black, Versamagic Dew Drops

Paper: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Spring Moss, White Select, SU Certainly Celery, misc blue

Misc: PTI Buttons, MS white twill ribbon

Chick Challenge # 2 Re-Do

2010-05-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

So last night I was able to make a proper card for the Papertrey Chicks Challenge. {Everyone is welcome to join!! We post a new challenge every Monday.} The card above was what we were supposed to case. As I said before I just love Betsy. Casing her cards is intimidating!! I don't have that particular set she used, so I used Damask Designs. I'll be sending this to my Mom because after almost 2 months in the hospital my brother is finally coming home!!! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!!

Stamps: PTI Damask Designs, Fancy Flourishes, Round & Round
Ink: PTI Smokey Shadow, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise, Sweet Blush
Paper: PTI Select White, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise
Misc: White Satin Ribbon, Rhinestones, Pop Dots, scallop scissors

PTI Chicks Challenge #2 Casing Betsy Veldman

2010-05-21T12:56:00.001-05:00

Last week's Papertrey Chicks Challenge was to case a card from the PTI Design Team Gallery. I thought I was to choose my own card to case but apparently I do not know how to follow directions!!! I was supposed to case the particular card chosen on the blog. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

I have been completely in love with this card since I set eyes on it. Betsy Veldman is my favorite DT Member!!! Below is the picture of her gorgeous card from the PTI Gallery:

I tried my best on my card but I had to leave some things off. My card just didn't look right with ribbon and a bow on it. It was way too busy. I also left off the second set of vellum flowers. I almost didn't want to put the vellum over the flower at all!! I am not very good with copics but when I was done, I was happy with the outcome. It was almost painful to cover it up!!

I'm going to give this card to a sweet lady that I met at a church function. You know when you meet someone and you immediately connect with them? Not only did I connect with her, I absolutely fell in love with her. She was full of such energy and vim and vigor. She was the sweetest lady to me and my girls. After talking to her for a while, she told me that she was 79. I was completely in awe! I would love to have her energy and attitude at that age! I am giving this to her because we left behind my daughter's sweater and she tracked me down to let me know. And the next week at church she brought a bag full of puppy toys for Buddy. So I wanted to thank her. I'll give it her on Sunday. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps: PTI Delightful Dahlia, Damask Designs (sentiment)
Ink: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Summer Sunrise & Spring Moss, Memento Black
Paper: Gina K Luxury White Cardstock
Copics: RV10, RV13, RV14, Y15, Y35, Y38, YG63, YG67
Misc: Vellum, Silhouette, Velvet Ric Rac, Rhinestone

Thank you Teacher

2010-05-19T10:35:00.003-05:00

I have been in such a rut lately. Too much going on at home I guess takes away all of the crafty Mojo. A good friend of mine asked me to make her a card for her son's teacher. I had no idea where to start or what she would like. I knew I wanted to use an apple from PTI's Everyday Button Bits. I started searching teacher quotes and found a great one. I then took it from there and created this card.

Edited to Add: Because I blog surf so much, I had forgotten that I found the tree idea from another much more creative blogger. You can see her gorgeous card here:

http://gorgonoulaspad.blogspot.com/2010/05/papertrey-princess-challenges-7.html

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!! I hope to have some more cards posted this week. I bought some great patterned paper at my LSS and can't wait to use it. I'll be by your blogs sometime this week to check out what you've been up to. I feel so behind in my blog surfing!! But Buddy appreciates my attention right now. ;)

Stamps: PTI Communique Curves Sentiments, Take Note, Through the Trees, Imaginisce Crayon
Ink: SU Close to Cocoa & Old Olive
Paper: PTI Pure Poppy & Summer Sunrise, SU Old Olive, GSD Studios "Practice Book" DSP from the Schooled Collection
Misc: Arial Rounded Font for the sentiment, PTI Pure Poppy Buttons, Pure Poppy Satin Ribbon, pop dots, SU Top Note Die, Copics

Whee!!!

2010-05-09T07:23:00.000-05:00

When I first saw this image I knew I had to get it! It's so sweet and reminds me of my girls. I paper pieced her dress with coordinating paper from the Basic Grey Paper Pad I used. And glued on twine where the rope is. She's swinging from this wisteria vine and just having a wonderful time! I hope you all have a wonderful day today whether you are celebrating Mother's Day or just enjoying a relaxing Sunday.

Stamps: My Favorite Things Pure Innocence
Ink: Memento Black, Adirondak Lettuce
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Basic Grey Wisteria
Misc: PTI Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Die, Twine, Pop Dots, Prima Flower, Rhinestone, Copics

PTI Chicks Color Challenge Take 2

2010-05-05T05:53:00.002-05:00

So while I was working on my card for this color combo challenge, I changed things quite a few times. Fortunately I ended up with 2 cards! AND this card also qualifies for the Three Cheers for Chairs Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. If you have some time, you should play along!

This card will be sent to my best friend. I have known her for 30 years now. I met her when I was a shy 12 year old and moved to a new town. She was an outgoing chatterbox who made me laugh harder than anyone on this planet. And she still does!! She likes to refer to us as "Lucy and Ethel". Two good friends who get into a lot of mischief. Yep, that's us! Only I'm not sure I like being Ethel. ;)

I had fun with my new Cosmo Cricket pad! I was so excited when I saw that the flower and striped paper had almost every color from the color challenge. Debbie Olsen does some amazing works of art with this company's paper. I have another Cosmo pad on it's way to me and can't wait to use it!! This layout was very basic but I wanted to show off the papers. I don't have much experience with mixing all types of patterns so I was hoping that because I bought a matching set of paper, it would match. What do you think?

Stamps: PTI On My Couch Additions
Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, SU Pumpkin Pie, Ranger Tea Stain
Paper: SU Pumpkin Pie, PTI Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, Spring Rain & Vintage Cream, Cosmo Cricket 6x6 Garden Variety Pad
Misc: PTI Pure Poppy Twill Ribbon, pop dots, sewing machine

Papertrey Chicks Color Challenge #1

2010-05-04T13:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was our very first challenge at the Papertrey Chicks Blog. And a challenge it was!! I am not used to using so many colors on one card.

It's was also Mojo Monday yesterday and I thought I would combine the challenges and see what I could come up with.

This card started out completely different from what you see here. But I was able to take another idea that I had and make another card. I'll post that one tomorrow. Both cards are for good friends of mine. So often I make these cards and then they just sit in a box for months and months. My insecurities hold me back from actually mailing them off. But I'm trying to get over it.

I flipped the sketch on it's side because it wasn't working the other way for what I had in mind. I was really surprised that I was able to incorporate all of the colors. I was able to tie this bow thanks to Betsy Veldman and Dawn McVey's videos the other day. I hope my recipient likes this card. Tomorrow I'll have the other one posted. And maybe, just maybe if this little puppy at my ankles allows me, I'll have yet another card that I have in the works posted. Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: PTI Butterfly Dreams, Delightful Dahlia, Floral Fusion, Turning a New Leaf

Ink: PTI Spring Moss, SU Pumpkin Pie, Adirondack Lettuce, Versamark

Paper: Bazzill (sub for Soft Stone), SU Pumpkin Pie, PTI Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream

Misc: PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon & Button, Rhinestones, pop dots

More butterfly dreams

2010-05-01T07:36:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Still in puppy training mode over here. So I thought I'd show you a card I made a few weeks ago for a Spring Swap over on the PTI forum.

I just love these two sets! I cannot get enough of Butterfly Dreams and Floral Fusion. So my apologies if you are sick of seeing them on here. ;) I also used two of my favorite colors, Hawaiian Shores & Summer Sunrise. I created the top portion of the card with one of the tiny stamps in Floral Fusion. I'm not very good at creating my own patterned paper look, but I'm okay with this one. I'm hoping to sneak away into my craft room this weekend. So hopefully I will have something to post here very soon. Have a great weekend! :)

Stamps: PTI Butterfly Dreams & Floral Fusion
Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate & Summer Sunrise, Versafine Black
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, Vintage Cream
Misc: Glitter, EK Success Scallop Punch, PTI Summer Sunrise Grosgrain Ribbon, flat back pearls

PTI April Blog Hop: Floral Fusion Candle

2010-04-25T17:25:00.002-05:00

This month's challenge was to use tissue paper. Today I really, really wanted to make one of those cute poofy tissue paper flowers but time ran out. I decided to make a candle and card gift set.

Here is the tissue paper all stamped and ready to be applied to the candle:

I put the tissue paper to the candle, laid some wax paper on top, then used the heat gun.

(It's not perfect, but it's all I could manage with 2 kids crafting with me and a puppy biting at my toes.)

I made a matching 4x4 card to go with my gift:

And here is the matching gift set together:

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the rest of the blog hop!

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion & Butterfly Dreams

Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Sweet Blush & Summer Sunrise

Paper: PTI Sweet Blush & Vintage Cream

Misc: Tissue Paper, Rhinestones, Flat Back Pearls, PTI Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, PTI Lemon Tart Button, Machine Sewing

Another Puppy post and a Card

2010-04-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for your sweet comments about our new baby. We are very excited to have him here!! Some of you asked his name and breed. He is a toy Australian Shepherd and his name is "Buddy". The girls picked his name right away. They love watching those "Air Buddies" movies, that's how they came up with the name. And it seems to fit him quite well. He's always by our side. LOL! Here he is playing in the backyard with the girls.

He loves to "herd" the girls in the backyard. He'll chase after both of them, but if one of them stops, he'll stop right next to her and wait for her to run again to chase them. It's so funny to watch.

So to thank you for putting up with my puppy posts, I have a card to share with you today. I made it a couple weeks ago for a very good friend of mine. (I still haven't been able to get away to my craft room yet. He IS like a newborn.) I was able to play with my two new PTI sets, which I just love! Hope to be back soon with a new card. Wish me luck!! ;)

Stamps: PTI Butterfly Dreams, Delightful Dahlia & Turning a New Leaf, Verve Because of You

Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Versafine Black

Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, Bitty Dots in Spring Moss

Misc: PTI Spring Moss Satin Ribbon & Lemon Tart button, embroidery floss, flat back pearl, stickles, pop dots

Why I can't craft

2010-04-19T11:50:00.001-05:00

Our new family member is only 6 weeks old and he needs A LOT of attention. He is so incredibly cute that it's worth it. Maybe when he takes a long nap I can sneak up into my crafting room and make a card. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Caught a Bug

2010-04-14T19:05:00.001-05:00

PTI's newest release of their cute Bug car reminded me of a purchase that I made several weeks ago. I bought this adorable set and it has just the cutest sentiments! I thought I'd ink it up today for someone very special to me.

My brother Ed is still in the hospital with pnemonia. So I thought I'd try to bring a smile to his face with this cute car image. Both he and I owned Bugs at one point in our lives. Once a Bug lover, always a bug lover! I think he'll like this card. Please keep him in your thoughts as he is still struggling to recuperate. He is an amazing person who brings joy to everyone in his life. I can't wait to see him again!

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps "Sometimes You're the Bug"
Ink: Black Versafine, SU Not Quite Navy
Paper: SU Creamy Caramel, PTI Pure Poppy & Select White, misc blue
Misc: PTI Pure Poppy Buttons, Copics, Clear Embossing Powder

Queen Mother Mojo

2010-04-05T20:53:00.001-05:00

My Mojo has returned!! I haven't done a Mojo Monday Sketch in ages. I had some time today so I was able to work on it while the kids were in school. I thought it would be a good idea to get started on my Mother's Day gift for my Mom. I had found this great coffee mug at a local gift shop and I knew I just had to get it for her. I know she will get a laugh out of it!

So this coffee mug was my inspiration piece. I was so excited to find matching cardstock. I barely have any SU, mostly PTI so I was really happy to see that the SU Regal Rose was a perfect match!

This card came together quite quickly for me, which is surprising. The only trouble I had was deciding what color to have the butterfly. I actually glued and ripped off three different ones before settling on the polka dot one. I used some new flat back pearls that I picked up today. At the bottom of the mug there is a line of pearls. I didn't even realize it until I was photographing it!

You can click on the pictures to see them larger. The back of the mug has the definitions for both Queen and Mother. Very funny! I should have picked one up for myself. I went back the other day and of course they are all gone.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my long winded blog post! Hope to be back again soon.

Stamps: Verve Because of You

Ink: Black Versafine

Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU Regal Rose & Black, PTI Bitty dots patterned paper

Misc: Flat back pearls, PTI Butterfly Die, SU Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, pop dots

I Need a Cupcake!

2010-04-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

I bought this cute Greeting Farm stamp called Cheeky Rockabilly as soon as it was released last month and haven't been able to color her hair good enough to post a card. That is until I watched one of Amy R's copic tutorial videos. I've seen many other copic tutorials but for some reason Amy's "clicked" for me. If you are new to copics or you need more practice, check out all of her tutorials. They are excellent!

I was really excited when I realized that I had the exact Copic markers she used to color in Anya's hair. I used YR04, YR07 and Y38. I have a tough time deciding where shadows should go, for some reason I am really dense in that way. So I cheated and looked at the picture on the TGF stamp package and I just followed along. I love that her hair almost looks like my 4 yr old's hair!

I propped her up on a cupcake and added some bling. I also added a cute little flower to her hair.

I was completely unmotivated to stamp yesterday due to some bad news. But I saw Amy's newest sketch and thought I really needed to give it a try. So glad I did, it was a great distraction! I used the sentiment "Cupcakes make everything better" because I thought it went well with the Greeting Farm image and I suppose because I needed a little cheering up myself. So I say if you are feeling down go do what I do...eat sugary stuff! Or go shopping. Heehee!

Stamps: The Greeting Farm Cheeky Rockabilly, Verve Cupcake Affair

Ink: Black Memento, PTI Hibiscus

Paper: PTI Hibiscus, SU Pumpkin Pie, SU DSP

Misc: Stickles, rhinestones, Copics, pop dots

Dancing With The Stars Inspiration

2010-03-31T13:47:00.001-05:00

Last night I was watching the "Dancing with the Stars" episode that I recorded Monday night. I just LOVE all of those dresses! The frills, the sparkles, the colors, the designs...they are so inspirational. Maybe I am way too obsessed with paper crafting. LOL! I saw this dress on The Bachelor's partner and immediately thought of PTI's new Hawaiian Shores.

So then I started composing a card in my head and ran up to my craft room and played around. This is what I came up with. It was SO much FUN to make! I have been in such a slump recently and this definitely helped me get over it. I've wanted to try the ribbon technique that I see so many people doing. Mine isn't that great, but it'll have to do for now.

I used my ATG gun to adhere the glitter onto the cardstock. I layered the flower and used dimensionals. If you look at her dress she has a poofy turquoise flower on her shoulder. I can't perfect the poof just yet. I'll have to try out Dawn McVey's technique one day.

Inside of the card I stamped a couple of sentiments. And viola, done.

I'm eyeing a few other of the dresses from that episode so I might whip up another DWTS Inspiration card soon. If anyone is interested in joining me, I'd be so delighted!! (haha, get it?) Just put your link in the comments section so I can check it out. Thanks for stopping by on your busy day! :)

Stamps: PTI Delightful Dahlia & Mother
Ink: Versafine Black
Paper: PTI Hawaiian Shores, SU Black
Misc: PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon & Button, SU Dazzling Diamonds, EK Success Punch, pop dots

Sugar Nellies Easel Card

2010-03-28T19:04:00.000-05:00

I have wanted to try to make an easel card for some time now. It looked really cool to me but a bit complicated. Surprisingly it was a snap to put together. I wanted to get it entered into a challenge given by Sugar Nellies on SCS. So I threw this together while dh was cooking dinner and the kids were running amuck. I need to go round them up for bed now. Have a great night!

Stamps: Sugar Nellies Daisy, PTI Butterfly Dreams
Ink: Memento Black, Adirondack Lettuce, Martha Stewart blue chalk ink
Paper: SU Old Olive, PTI Sweet Blush, Imaginese & Chatterbox Patterned Paper
Misc: Sewing Machine, Nestabilities, EK Success Punch, MS Butterfly Punch, Prima flowers, PTI button, flat back pearls, Copics

Butterfly Dreams

2010-03-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

I have wanted this stamp set since PTI released it in February. I just love how Niki designed it!! Butterflies are one of my all time favorite images. And they have a special place in my heart. Whenever I see one, I always think of my sister-in-law who passed away from Hodgkins Disease 15 years ago. It's like a sign that she is near me. It's funny, I just now realized that rainbows used to be the sign (long story) and here I made this card in rainbow colors. It was definitely not intentional! But I am loving the coincidence!!

Anyway this card was made for the PTI swap that I am in over at SCS. Angela gave us sketches to choose from and boy was this one a tough one for me. (Sorry, I can't find the sketch right now.) But once I got it together, everything fell into place. I love how that happens.

Stamps: PTI Butterfly Dreams
Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Versamark
Paper: PTI White, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, SU Old Olive, PTI Hawaiian Shores, PTI Bitty Dots paper in Summer Sunrise & Berry Sorbet,
Misc: PTI Butterfly Die, flat back pearls

Papertrey Peeps Challenge #4

2010-03-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

This is my first time doing a Papertrey Peeps Challenge. You can find their blog here. This challenge was to CASE one of Nichole's cards made from one of the last two releases and using a set NOT from that release, make a similar card.

This is the card that I chose:

I used an image from the first PTI Anniversary set to create my background. I don't have the new Dies so I cut out my vellum with my Silhouette machine. This card was super quick and easy to create. I am so used to wasting time making decisions on color combos, which images to use, type of ribbon. I think I need to CASE more often!! As a matter of fact, I just might do that today. :)

Stamps: PTI Simple Little Things
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush
Paper: PTI White &; Sweet Blush, Vellum
Misc: PTI Fresh Snow Grosgrain Ribbon, Sweet Blush Button, Vintage Cream Twine, Silhoutte Machine

Masculine Thinking of You

2010-03-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

{you can click the pictures to enlarge}

Hi everyone! I want to thank you for all of your comments on my blog. It truly makes my day! I haven't had too much time to visit all of your blogs recently and I apologize for that. I've been either too busy or my 7 yr old is on the computer. I think we need to get her her own. We used to have a laptop but the hubs took it apart one day several months ago. And it still sits in a thousand pieces in the box! Although if it were fixed I think I wouldn't get so much stamping done. ;-)

This is my second card for the Manly Card swap I'm in over on SCS hostessed by my friend Jen. I'm not sure the ribbon belongs but at least it's not Satin. Or polka dots. Or pink. :-D

Did you notice that I used PTI's Spring Moss pigment ink again? I am SO happy that I now know how to use this ink properly. I am seriously getting more and more addicted to Papertrey products. Didn't think it was possible! Look for more cards this week. I should be getting the new release items on Tuesday!!!!
Stamps: PTI On My Couch & Homemade
Ink: PTI Spring Moss, SU Chocolate Chip & Really Rust
Paper: PTI Spring Moss & Vintage Cream, SU Really Rust & Chocolate Chip, My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus Patterned Paper
Misc: SU Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon, Misc Button, Heidi Swapp Distresser tool

The Case of a Masculine card

2010-03-19T08:10:00.000-05:00

I always struggle with Masculine cards. In fact, I only owned one set by SU and I just sold it. (To buy more PTI. Surprise!) I cased this card from a lovely one that I found on SCS here. I used some twine for the swing rope and the very last of the PTI Wood buttons that my sweet friend Angela had sent to me months and months ago. It feels good to use hoarded product. I must remember that. ;) I have another masculine card completed that I will post later on. I'm so happy because I was in a huge creative slump but I think my Mojo is back. And just in time for my huge PTI order to arrive next week!

Stamps: SU Thoughts & Prayers, PTI Birthday basics & Turning a New Leaf

Ink: SU Old Olive, PTI Spring Moss, Adirondack Lettuce, Versafine Sepia

Paper: PTI Spring Moss, SU Textured Chocolate Chip

Misc: SU Top Note die, twine, PTI Wood Buttons

PTI Ink Success!!!

2010-03-16T18:13:00.000-05:00

After I watched Nichole Heady's videos last week, I decided to give the PTI inks another chance. I just love PTI and I refused to give up. Plus I can be a bit stubborn. Just ask the husband. ;) I noticed that she did a lot of soft dabbing on the ink pad. That definitely wasn't my technique. It was more like smush, smush, smush, dab, dab, dab...stamp. She has also suggested to use the back of a spoon to get the ink incorporated. I'm too lazy to go all the way downstairs for a spoon so I just used my finger. My new technique is to smush the ink pad with my finger, dab, dab, dab, dab, dab, dab and lightly press onto the paper. IT WORKED!! I was soooo happy!! Especially since the new Hawaiian Shores ink pad is on it's way to my hot little hands!

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion, Fancy Flourishes, Communique Sentiments, BG: Texts
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush, Spring Moss
Paper: PTI Spring Moss, Sweet Blush
Misc: PTI Sweet Blush Ribbon, copic marker, CB Butterfly die, flat back pearl

Thank you for your Hospitality

2010-02-27T11:14:00.000-06:00

I've been kind of blue lately, so I thought I would make a nice Spring like card for our PTI Swap over on SCS. We take turns hostessing and it's my good friend Angela's turn. I've been in lots of swaps before, but our PTI swaps are hands down, the best. I've basically stopped swapping except for our PTI Swaps. Anyway, I always have a difficult time coming up with something new and fresh every time. I thought this one turned out cute. But I'm hoping it's not too cute. (Sometimes I go overboard with the cutesiness. Ahem.)

I tried using PTI's new formulated Spring Moss ink but it just doesn't seem to like me. I ended up using a Martha Stewart chalk ink for the door. (I like Martha's pigment inks much better than PTI's. Shhh..don't tell!) But that's okay because I just can't get enough of those PTI stamps. Or ribbon. Or buttons. Or cardstock. Never enough. It's an illness.

I hope that wherever you are, you are staying warm, spending time with your family and are surrounded with love. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: PTI Home Made, On My Couch additions, Floral Fusion

Ink: Versamark, SU Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa,Versamark Sepia, Martha Stewart Chalk Inks

Paper: PTI Spring Moss & Vintage Cream

Misc: PTI Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, clear embossing powder, brad, pop dots

Crafting away those Winter time blues

2010-02-13T19:35:00.000-06:00

Hiya!! Have you missed me? I sure have missed blogging!! I got too busy with life and then I lost my Mojo. Luckily, a sweet little contest given by PTI got me back into the groove. In case you live under a rock, Nichole issued a challenge for her anniversary festivities here.

We got a record breaking 7 inches of snow the other day. It's extremely rare in this part of the country to get any snow! The kids were ecstatic and we jammed packed the day with every snow activity possible. I was frozen to the bone! So I thought some Spring Time colors were in order for today. I used PTI's Friends Til the End set. I definitely do not utilize it enough. I just love it. I thought it was perfect for the flower embellishments challenge. I am going to send it to my Mom since she has been going through a rough time taking care of my father after his bypass operation. Hopefully it will brighten her day. Take care blogging friends! Hope to be back again soon!!

Stamps: PTI Friends til the End, Communique Sentiments, Turning a New Leaf, Background Basics: Text Style
Ink: SU Whisper White Craft ink, PTI Raspberry Fizz, Memento Black, Ranger Lettuce
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss, New Leaf, White Select, Clearly Creative Cardstock
Misc: White embossing powder, PTI Buttons & Twine, Rhinestones, glue dots, pop dots

Sweet as can Bee

2010-01-23T12:09:00.000-06:00

It's been a long ten days since I've posted. Lots going on and not enough time for me. I got my new PTI stamps last week and I couldn't wait to ink these cutie pies up! I snuck away this morning and whipped out this card while the girls watched tv. Sometimes I feel guilty but in reality, it will probably be the only "alone" time I will get all weekend.

I put some glitter on the wings and adhered a rhinestone to the bee's head. Gotta have that bling! For the sentiment I used two different stamps. I always have trouble lining it up. So this time I stamped the last word first, which was "bee". Then I stamped the beginning of the sentiment and lined up the last word with the "bee" word. I think it came out pretty straight.

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

Stamps: PTI Baby Button Bits
Ink: Versafine Sepia
Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, Select White & Bitty Dots in Spring Moss
Misc: PTI Lemon Tart buttons, Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, rhinestone, Martha Stewart Glue & Glitter

Saturday Scrapbook Sketch Challenge #2

2010-01-12T11:42:00.001-06:00

Over at the Inspired Crafters Blog we have a scrapbook sketch every Saturday. We take turns posting either the sketch or an inspiration piece. This week was a wonderful sketch taken from the 52 sketches blog.

I grabbed a photo that was on my daughter's All About Me poster that we did for school last year. It's such a cute picture. I found her walking around the house like this and I just grabbed the camera. It's not the best picture, but it caught her at the moment that I wanted to remember.

I'm not 100% happy with this page. But I'm just chalking it up to practice. I should have inked the flourish in a darker color and I should have used a darker journaling pen. But other than that, I guess it' okay. I'm normally not a circular type of girl. I like those boxy, clean lines. I know, how boring. I tried to match up the DSP with her cute little strawberry dress. And I couldn't resist using the PTI buttons. I've never been in love with buttons before, but PTI makes it easy. :)

Stamp: PTI Fancy Flourishes
Ink: Martha Stewart chalk ink
Paper: SU Certainly Celery, PTI Spring Rain & Sweet Blush, Basic Grey Nook & Pantry DSP
Misc: MS Journaling marker, PTI Sweet Blush buttons, flat back pearls, EK Success scallop punch, prima flower, Creampuff font for title, leaf die cut from Silhouette

Holiday cards...too early or too late? hmmm...

2010-01-11T11:25:00.000-06:00

Over at the Inspired Crafters Blog we are holding challenges to get our holiday cards done early this year. Great concept for this procrastinator who didn't even send any cards out! It's unfathomable isn't it? A card maker did not send out cards for the biggest card sending occasion of the year. But this year things are changing. It makes this all very convenient when you have a basket full of stamps, dsp, ribbon, punches and embellies sitting on your craft table from last month.

This card came together easily. Well, besides the fact that I didn't have to look very far for the supplies...but because I had this cute Basic Grey paper that I loved. And it matched up perfectly with the cute stamped image of the eskimo girl. I doused her in some Martha Steward Glitter. LOVE this stuff!! I have been a glitter avoider for years and years. I hate that it gets everywhere. But Martha makes it easy to love. So much so, that I am now the proud owner of about a dozen bottles of her shiny happiness. Don't be surprised if you start seeing it on all of my projects in the near future. ;)

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Basic Grey Snow Baby Bitsy Stamp
Ink: SU Ruby Red, Ranger Tea Dye Ink
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Misc: SU Certain Celery twill ribbon, MS Glitter, pop dots, copics

Blast from the past Layout

2010-01-08T07:27:00.002-06:00

I wanted to post this layout that I did a couple years ago. Mostly to motivate ME to get into my messy craft room and just do it already. I have been making excuses all week as to why I can't start a new layout. I'm hoping that this page reminds me WHY I love scrapbooking. This is one of my fondest memories of my girls playing together.

I also finally got around to making a blog for my Project 365. A week late, but not bad for me the procrastinator. You can find it on my sidebar.

I hope to be back in a few days with some more projects to share!

First Sketch with Inspired Crafters!!

2010-01-04T13:25:00.003-06:00

My first completed scrapbook page for 2010. Oh how I've missed scrapping! This definitely isn't my best, but it's a start. It's so weird going from a 5x4 canvas to 8x11. Thank goodness for sketches! Of course me being, well me, I couldn't make the sketch exact. I thought I'd scale it down from 12x12 to 8-1/2x11 since I'm just getting back into it.

This one was a nice one to ease me back into the swing of things. It's from Page Maps and it was chosen by my friend Banu for our Inspired Crafters Saturday Scrapbook Challenge. A few of us started a blog so that we can have our own challenges. I'm very excited about it! Banu has done an excellent job of getting things started and organized. Thanks Banu!!

I'll be back soon with more pages.

Stamps: PTI New Leaf & Fancy Flourishes, CTMH Today's Date
Ink: PTI Aqua Mist, SU Pumpkin Pie
Paper: SU Pumpkin Pie, PTI Aqua Mist, My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow
Misc: QK Silhouette (Hero arts butterfly), Amienne font for title

Thanks a Melon!

2010-01-01T16:07:00.001-06:00

To my friends who encouraged me yesterday, I thank you. Each one of you warmed my heart more than you know.

I know you can't see it, but I made her feet, ponytails and the watermelon 3-D with pop dots. Added some stickles for some shine. I haven't played with my copics in months so I need some practice desperately!

Stamps: High Hopes (stamped image from my friend Angela)
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: PTI Raspberry Fizz & Select White, SU Certainly Celery
Misc: Copics, brads, Nesties Ribbon tag, prima flowers, flat back pearls, PTI Raspberry Fizz Swiss Dots Satin Ribbon

Fear

2009-12-31T07:47:00.004-06:00

It's something I live with every day. Oddly enough, I never realized this until recently.

I'm afraid of heights.
I'm afraid of disappointing people.
I'm afraid of failure.
I'm afraid of people not liking me.
I'm afraid of my kids getting kidnapped, hurt or killed.
I'm afraid of new situations.
I'm afraid of living up to my own expectations.
I'm afraid of change.

I'm just afraid of too many things.

And it's got to change.

They may not seem like huge fears but each one of them prevent me from doing things that I wish I had the courage to do.

So... to start off the New Year I decided to tackle one of my fears. Change. I've been wearing my hair pretty long for a while. But I've always envied the women who could pull off short haircuts. I've never been able to do it. But I found a great stylist and knew if anyone could do it right, she could.

So I chopped off a good 6 inches. You should have seen the mess of hair on the floor. My girls kept commenting on just how much there was.

I know many of you have seen this picture already, so you don't have to comment. :) I think I am mainly doing this for me. To document the fact that I can overcome a fear and I can make a change and actually survive it.

Here's to a New Me in the New Year. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
xoxoxo

The last batch

2009-12-19T21:05:00.001-06:00

This is the last of them. For a while I hope!! I did enjoy making them all but since I left it for the last minute it was quite stressful getting them all done in time.

The first one was for her librarian, the next was for her guidance counselor, her teacher who likes Green & Blue. Then my other daughter wanted some for her teachers. When I gave them out yesterday, I got some good feedback. I hope they can use them.

I'd list all the products like usual, but it's just like the previous notepads. All products PTI. Except for the actual notepads inside. I got them for a steal! Paid $5 at Walmart for two 6 packs (which gave me 24). Then I got an additional 24 notepads for free at Office Depot since the cutting machine didn't cut them exact. But I think they may still be usable....

I have a few Christmas projects almost ready to share this week. If the girls allow me some free time I'll get them done to show you all. Thanks for stopping by! Each and everyone of you make me smile!!

First try with my new Silhouette

2009-12-14T16:42:00.003-06:00

See that pretty light pink design at the bottom of the notepad? It was cut out with my new Silhouette. I've only played with the machine a few times but I am smitten!! I added some Raspberry Fizz rhinestones to jazz it up, a damask image and a pretty little bow. I don't know about you, but I always seem to have a mile long list of things to do. And for some reason the list never shortens no matter how much I get done! So I figure if the package that has my dreaded errands in it is pretty to look at, I might be a little bit more apt to pull out the list and actually get the things done.

Stamps: PTI Damask Designs, Take Note
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush & Raspberry Fizz
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz & Vintage Cream
Misc: PTI Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon, MS Heart border punch, pop dots, Silhouette

I made another one for my friend that asked me to make her some notepads for her son's teachers. Not sure if it's too frilly for her, but I tried to keep it less than mine. I added flat back pearls instead of rhinestones, some buttons and a scalloped edge. I hope she likes it.

Stamps: PTI Take Note
Ink: PTI Raspberry Fizz
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz & Vintage Cream
Misc: PTI Vintage Cream Grosgrain Ribbon & Pink Buttons, MS Heart border punch, flat back pearls, pop dots, Silhouette

You're Probably Sick of These...

2009-12-13T13:13:00.001-06:00

but I had to make a few more for a friend of mine. I still have to make some for my kids' teachers. And all I wanna do is play with my new Silhouette!!

Sorry I don't have time to list the supplies individually right now. If you have any questions, just let me know! Off to make more teacher gifts....

Stamps: PTI Take Note, Damask Design, Turning a New Leaf & Friends til the End, Impression Obsession notebok stamp
Ink: PTI Rasperry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate, SU White Craft ink, Not Quite Navy,
Paper: PTI Raspberry Fizz, Blue, Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream, Summer Sunrise
Misc: PTI Ribbons & Button, MS Butterfly Punch, pop dots

Birthday Card by my 7 year old

2009-12-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share this card with you all because I thought it was so CUTE!!

Teachers Notepads

2009-12-10T06:00:00.002-06:00

I made a couple more notepads for the girls teachers. The first one is for the Music teacher. I used my Quickutz music notes die, which I think will become obsolete very soon since I purchased a Silhouette machine!!! I found some music paper at my LSS and inked the edges.

For the Coach's notepad I wanted to keep it low key so it's pretty plain. I figure most PE teachers don't prefer bling and ribbon. ;-) I made the baseball by stamping only a part of the dotted circle that comes with the Take Note Set.

I'll be wrapping them up in these clear plastic bags that I found at Hobby Lobby. I also have some tiny bells and some pine with holly twisty things that I will be adding. And some tags that I made. I'll show you the finished gift bag when they are all finished.

Music Notepad:

Stamps: PTI Take Note
Ink: Versamark Sepia
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream & Pure Poppy, SU Creamy Caramel, misc music paper
Misc: PTI Button, Cream Ribbon, misc twine, QK notes die

Coach's Notepad:

Stamps: PTI Take Note
Ink: SU Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red
Paper: PTI Pure Poppy& Select White, misc sports paper, misc navy blue cardstock from my stash
Misc: Nestabilities

Holiday Things To Do

2009-12-09T16:15:00.000-06:00

The month of December always has me running around with tons of things to do. So while I was making some notepads for teachers and friends I decided to make one for myself. I tried a few different techniques with this pad. I layered buttons, added pearls and I used a strip of tacky tape and sprinkled with some Martha Stewart gold glitter. I also masked the "Holiday Planner" stamp and used it with the "Things to do stamp".

I added some of the girls fake snow to give it a nice wintery affect. We rarely get any snow so this is the best we're probably gonna get.

I have a few more of these notepads to share. Stay tuned! (And stay warm. It's been FREEZING here lately!)

Stamps: PTI Take Note, Holiday Button Bits
Ink: SU Old Olive & Ruby Red
Paper: SU Old Olive, Ruby Red, Chatterbox patterned paper
Misc: Flat back pearls, MS Glitter, PTI Buttons, pop dots, EK Success Punch

A Quick Card

2009-11-30T20:23:00.001-06:00

I was able to sneak away for a half hour this weekend. I was going absolutely crazy with the girls home 24/7 for NINE days. I feel so bad whenever they are home and I go stamp. But I really needed a break. I made this card and went back downstairs refreshed.

Just an FYI if you ever use the new PTI pigment ink with the Kaiser Rhinestones. Let the ink DRY first before putting them on. I was in such a rush, I didn't even think about it. Until I picked up the card to take the photo and the rhinestone slipped off the flowers. I had to re-glue them all with Crystal Effects. S'okay cause it gave me a few more minutes of quiet time. ;)

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion & Turning a New Leaf
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush Raspberry Fizz, Martha Stewart green chalk ink
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz, Vintage Cream
Misc: CB Swiss Dots folder, Kaiser Rhinestones, pop dots

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #19

2009-11-25T15:09:00.004-06:00

So yesterday I had the grand idea to move around the upstairs rooms. Both my girls got different rooms and I got a room with lots of natural light. Everyone's happy! Or so I thought. My youngest woke up a few times during the night and I ended up sleeping with her on her twin size bed. Tight quarters, let me tell you! So while I was awake at 3am I came up with my card for Dawn's color challenge. Sleep deprivation has it's privileges. ;)

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Background Basics Text Style
Ink: Versafine Sepia, PTI Raspberry Fizz
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, SU Pale plum
Misc: PTI Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon, Spring Moss & Raspberry Fizz buttons & rhinestones, EK Success Punch, pop dot

Teachers Holiday Gifts Part 1

2009-11-17T14:01:00.003-06:00

I think I am really slow to catch up to what most people get excited about immediately. Michelle Wooderson has been making these little altered notepads for quite some time now. I thought they were cute but never had the desire to make any, even when PTI came out with their own stamp set to coordinate with this project.

So I scrounged through my stash yesterday. Surely I had something that I could use instead of buying the stamp set. I found a few things, but my completely neglected SU alphabet set was just crying to be used. So I pull out my stamp-a-ma-jig and was able to just barely fit "notes". I cased the sentiment from Michelle. I'm not 100% thrilled with what I made, but the alone (aka kid free) time was very therapeutic. So much so that I put in an order for the Take Note set today. Hee hee!

Inside I covered up that upper part where the notepad company name is. Love, peace, joy seemed fitting while writing holiday notes. :)

So now I have one down and 11 to go!!

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits & Borders & Corners: Circles, SU Defining Alphabet
Ink: SU Old Olive, Ruby Red
Paper: SU Old Olive, Ruby Red, Chatterbox Patterned Paper, PTI White
Misc: PTI Pure Poppy Buttons, Red Line Tape, pop dots, Copic Marker R29, EK Success Scallop Punch, Nestabilities, cheap-o notepads cut in half at Office Depot

Quick Thank you Gift

2009-11-14T13:19:00.000-06:00

Another quick thank you gift that I whipped up last minute. Gotta love those PTI clear boxes the sets come in!

I made this for a friend who helped me out when I needed an extra set of hands during our Halloween party.

I've been trying to catch up on things. I'm REALLY hoping to be able to share some scrapbooking projects in the new year. I have gotten away from it, but I really need to get back to it. I'll still be making cards, but I'm hoping to start scrapping some of the thousands of photos that I have.

Cards for my Momma

2009-11-04T13:59:00.012-06:00

I found some time today to make a few cards for my Mom. Hi Mom! I have about a dozen others coming your way.

Mom needed some feminine Birthday cards and I was only happy to help out. I love making feminine cards! I stayed with basically the same color combo just because it was much easier and made things go quickly.

Rose Birthday Card:
Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, PTI Damask Designs
Ink: SU White & Old Olive, Ranger Tattered Rose
Paper: SU Old Olive, PTI Sweet Blush, PTI Sweet Blush Bitty Dots patterned paper
Misc: White EP, MS Ribbon, pop dots

Butterfly with Button Card:
Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion, Birthday Basics &
Ink: SU White Craft Ink
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush & Raspberry Fizz, SU Old Olive, PTI Sweet Blush Bitty Dots patterned paper
Misc: PTI Raspberry Fizz button, SU Certainly Celery Twill, CB Butterfly Die, pop dots

CAS Butterfly Card:
Stamps: PTI Damask Designs
Ink: SU Old Olive
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, SU Old Olive
Misc: CB Swiss Dots Folder & Butterfly Die, SU Certainly Celery Twill, pop dots, flat back pearls

3-D Rose Birthday Card:
Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, PTI Birthday Basic
Ink: SU White & Old Olive, Ranger Tattered Rose
Paper: SU Old Olive, PTI Sweet Blush, PTI Sweet Blush Bitty Dots patterned paper
Misc: White EP, MS Ribbon, pop dots

Holly Jolly CAS

2009-11-01T05:46:00.000-06:00

I decided for my 4th and final swap spot I would do a Clean And Simple card. It was really super difficult for me not to add any embellishments!!

Of course, mid way through I ran out of the Red Satin ribbon. Luckily I had some velvet ribbon that matched perfectly with the Old Olive.

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits
Ink: Memento Black, SU Old Olive
Paper: PTI Pure Poppy & Select White, SU Old Olive
Misc: PTI Vintage Holiday Button Mix, misc ribbon from stash

PTI Swap #5 Sketch #1

2009-10-31T09:04:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween! I didn't expect to be able to post a new card today, but last night we had "Family Movie Night". While the kids watched Monsters and Aliens, I was able to put together my cards. It was SO much fun rummaging through all of the gorgeous buttons. I've never been a huge fan of buttons and crafting but PTI has forever changed that!

At first I tried the buttons alone, but then got the idea to use the Guidelines 2 set as little ornaments and used the buttons for more pop.

Each button was carefully selected for size, color and texture. I am going to have a difficult time parting with my beloved buttons. ;) Oh well I can always buy more.

This is not the greatest picture, but I wanted to show you the variety of the buttons on the cards. (Remember you can click to enlarge the photo.)

Well, we are off to buy a new Hamster. Since Fluffy's untimely passing the girls have been bugging me for another one. I'm hoping to be able to post my fourth and last swap card (for this round anyway) tomorrow. And guess what it has on it? That's right! More buttons!!! Heehee!

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Holiday Treats & Guidelines 2
Ink: SU Old Olive & Whisper White, PTI Raspberry Fizz
Paper: PTI Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist & Sweet Blush, SU Old Olive
Misc: PTI Vintage Holiday Buttons, EK Success Punch, dimensionals

PTI Swap Sketch #2

2009-10-30T11:25:00.002-05:00

We were given a couple of sketches for our swap. I did the second sketch first because I am just backwards like that. ;)

I tried my best with the supplies that I had on hand. I ran out of cream ribbon so 3 cards have pink ribbon. (Hope that's okay Chris!) I colored the Sakura flowers with a Copic marker. Why I didn't just use the Sweet Blush cardstock, I had no clue. Guess that's what happens when you don't have much time to stamp. I tried to squeeze this project into a very busy week. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy Halloween!

Stamps: PTI Damask Designs
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush, Martha Stewart Chalk Ink
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush & Vintage Cream
Misc: Flower punch, ribbon, flat back pearls, copic marker

Gingerbread Tag Card

2009-10-27T10:35:00.001-05:00

I am in LOVE with this cute little man!! I stamped him in Versafine Sepia then sprinkled with some clear embossing powder to give it an icing effect. Then I added the buttons & popped him up on the tag.

I made the mini Gingerbread patterned paper out of SU's Old Olive cardstock and ink. I used PTI's Holiday Treats stamp set which has a mini Gingerbread man.

I just adore this stamp set!! I apologize in advance to everyone because you will be seeing lots of cards using it in the future. Hope you are having a fantastic day!!

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Holiday Treats & Text Background
Ink: Versafine Sepia, SU Old Olive & Creamy Caramel
Paper: SU Creamy Caramel, Old Olive & plaid DSP, PTI Sweet Blush
Misc: Ribbon, twine, ric rac, tag (all from my stash), MS mini heart border punch, machine sewing, dimensionals

PTI October Blog Hop

2009-10-25T20:58:00.003-05:00

For this month's blog hop, I decided to do an Advent Calendar. I've never done one before and it was SO much fun! I absolutely loved playing with the Holiday Button Bits set. The Holiday mix Vintage buttons are just so lovely. I really enjoyed going through all of the buttons and finding just the perfect color and size.

I also used some images from the Anniversary set. The stars and the mug both spoke "holiday" to me. I went with a color combo that used the buttons and had to add some hot pink, my daughter's favorite color. Here are some photos:

{You can click on the images to enlarge}

I hope you are all enjoying the Hop! I can't wait to see everyone's creations!!

Stamps: PTI Holiday Button Bits, Everyday Classics, On My Couch
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush & Raspberry Fizz, MS Chalk Inks, SU Old Olive
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush & Raspberry Fizz, Misc Holiday paper from my stash
Misc: PTI Sweet Blush Satin Ribbon, Vintage Buttons Holiday Mix, dimensionals, chipboard letters from Target, circle punch

Button Snow Man

2009-10-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

I ordered PTI's newest release "Holiday Button Bits" stamp set. But it feels like it is taking forever to get here! I absolutely fell in love with it. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. It is motivating me to do some housework around here. If I get it all done, then when the box arrives I can play guilt free!!!

In the meantime, I had an idea to use some buttons with PTI's Made of Snow set. I stamped the hat, face and arms. Then added the buttons. Isn't he cute? I can't wait to get the new set. Oh wait, I said that already. LOL! Just a bit anxious.

{you can click to enlarge}

{sorry for the picture, it's been raining here for a while}

Stamps: PTI Made of Snow
Ink: Palette Noir, SU Old Olive
Paper: SU Navy, Old Olive, PTI Select White
Misc: SU Certainly Celery twill ribbon, Stickles, Basic Grey Buttons, twine, SU Plaid DSP, glue dots, dimensionals

Earrings & Gift Box

2009-09-25T17:38:00.001-05:00

Happy 25th PTI Lovers!

{you can click on the image to make it larger}

I made a pair of earrings for a friend as a birthday gift. I tried to make the earrings look like they were hanging off of the branch. I thought that would look cute.

Of course, me being me, I waited until the very last minute to do this. I was able to make them and create the gift box all in under 45 minutes. Why do I torture myself like this?! I was in such a rush to get out of the house on time that I had my little girlie hold the gift outside and took a quick picture before we dashed into the car.

I hope to make a few more pairs of these for ME. Isn't it funny how you can create all sorts of things for people but never for yourself? So this weekend I will make myself something special. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion & Fancy Flourishes
Ink: PTI Summer Sunrise & Chocolate, Versamark
Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, SU Brocade Blue
Misc: SU Irridescent Ice, half back pearls, SU retired Ribbon, Cuttlebug Butterfly die, Martha Stewart Butterfly punch, handmade earrings and of course PTI's clear box recylced to become a gift holder

More PTI Swap cards!

2009-09-24T10:56:00.004-05:00

In our PTI Swap over on SCS we had the option to do some Clean & Simple (CAS) cards. I chose 2 spots. I love CAS cards but I had a difficult time keeping mine simple without being boring. For the first card I used the Fall to Layout #55. You can see the sketch here. I used to branch and flowers to create my own patterned paper. I had a difficult time deciding on what colors to use. So I tried to keep it simple. :)

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion
Ink: SU Whisper White & Old Olive
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU Old Olive & Certainly Celery
Misc: SU Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon, PTI button, dimensionals

This next card I am not too crazy about. Since I have such a love affair with pink, anything that doesn't have enough just doesn't look right to me. ;) Again this card was a CAS sketch found here.

I have one more set of cards to show you. I'll get those up just as soon as I can. Have a great day!

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion & Everyday Classics
Ink: Palette brown, PTI Sweet Blush, Versamark
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU Chocolate Chip, PTI Summer Sunrise
Misc: SU Top Note Die, dimensionals, Clear EP

Channeling Dawn McVey

2009-09-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

Well, my interpretation anyway. :)

So I HAD to have PTI's Exclusive CHA set. Paid almost 2x the amount of a regular full size PTI set. Have I used it since? Maybe once. So I broke it out today and played around. I love the little flower image up top that I was able to make my own patterned paper with. They are just such sweet little flowers.

Those buttons up there? They are covering a mistake. I used my temporary tape to hold my paper onto the base so I could glue it on straight. Well, when I removed the tape, off came a layer of the cardstock. Ack! Torn paper was not the look I was going for here. So I grabbed some Sweet Blush buttons that were just sitting on the desk and viola. Not sure if it makes the card look too busy but I think I like it. Thanks for taking a peek today. Hoping I can get another card done tomorrow while the kiddos are in school. :D

Stamps: PTI Floral Fusion
Ink: PTI Sweet Blush & Summer Sunrise, Versafine Sepia
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream & Summer Sunrise
Misc: SU So Saffron Ribbon, PTI Cream Button & Sweet Blush Buttons, Stickles, Flat back Pearls, EK Success border punch