April GSS Submission

Happy tax day! I hope you finished getting your taxes in on time.  Luckily, we have an accountant (because of the store), so taxes are relatively painless.  We also received our tax return check - it is paying for our diving trip to Cozumel!  So that is exciting.

Since we're past release day, I thought I would share my Papertrey Guest Star Stamper submissions for April.  This card is one of my favorites lately - I really like the color combination.  Tomorrow is my father-in-law's birthday, so this one is headed to him. 

I started by creating my background, stamped with Chocolate Chip onto Kraft using Guide Lines and Guide Lines Two.  I love how well the images from the two sets work together!  I really enjoy making my own background paper.

I used a 1/16" circle punch to punch out the centers of each of the designs.  I then layered this piece onto Pure Poppy so that the red would show through in those areas.  The happy birthday was stamped randomly in Sahara Sand and once in Chocolate Chip.  The red buttons were threaded through the linen thread and wrapped around the card.  Everything is matted onto Dark Chocolate cardstock. 

I don't know what it is, but I love this card!  So did you order anything last night during Papertrey's release?  I picked up Dawn McVey's new Scattered Showers..so cute!  I love the cards I've seen with the umbrella upside down and full of fun stuff.  Can't wait to play. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great night.  The Pens start the playoffs tonight, so my hubs and I will be ordering a pizza and watching the game!  Can't wait!

Recipe:

Stamps: Guide Lines, Guide Lines Two, Birthday Basics - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip - Stampin' Up!

Other: Linen thread - SU!; Buttons - Autumn Leaves; 1/16" hole punch

A Star is Born!

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend, whatever you may celebrate.  I made it a long weekend and enjoyed an extra day at home with my hubby.

I have some new things I made that I can't quite share yet, but I do have a card in my stash that I haven't posted here yet.

This uses PTI's 2nd Anniversary set, Everyday Classics, but I have made other versions with other stamp sets - just use your favorite stars!

All the card details are below in the recipe.  I really like making these collage-y type cards.. its fun to stamp and cut and layer! I have two friends that are expecting (one is any day now) so it will have a good home soon!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Recipe:
Stamps: Everyday Classics, Background Basics: Stars, Text Boxed, Favor It Baby - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, SS White - PTI
Ink: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado, True Black - PTI
Tools: Quilter's tracing wheel (for faux stitching)

You're a Fabulous Friend!

Ahh.. the sun is shining, the sky is blue.. its a happy day!

Today is another quick card using another new PTI set, Wishing You.  It is beyond cute.

I love square cards!  This card is 4.5 inches square.  The card base is Sweet Blush.  The tulips are from Wishing You, and the watering can is from Green Thumb.  I thought they were pretty cute together.  I think I'll send this off to one of my far-away college friends... I think of them often.  The recipe is below!

Thanks for stopping by - have a great Thursday night!

Recipe:

Stamps: Wishing You, Green Thumb, Friends 'Til the End - PTI

Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart, New Leaf, SS White - PTI

Ink: Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart, New Leaf, True Black - PTI; Bashful Blue - SU!

Tools: EK Success Wavy border punch, Stickles

Life is Good

I woke up this morning to almost an inch of snow on the ground! I am sure I am not the only one, but what a bummer!  Things look to be improving outside, though, so hopefully that little hiccup didn't hinder any of my flowers from making their appearances.

Today's card uses a new PTI set from Lisa Johnson called Life.  I love this set.  I love the silhouette images and sentiments.

The same floral image was stamped in Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, and Lavender Moon ink onto a piece of Vintage Cream cardstock.  I layered and inked and stamped off to get the look that I wanted.  I distressed the edges and added a piece of Spring Moss twill tied with a piece of linen thread.  I then matted that piece onto a piece of Ripe Avocado cardstock.  I stamped another of the images from the set twice in Spring Moss, cut them out, and inked the edges in Ripe Avocado.  I added these in front of and behind my ribbon for a little interest.  I pulled out my (rarely used - but fun!) color spritzer and added some Close to Cocoa spritzes to my Melon Berry card base.  The sentiment was stamped in Dark Chocolate. 

That's it! This is one of my favorites over the past few days, and I am excited to use this stamp set again. 

In other news, I relocated work offices today to one that is closer to home and much more conducive to my personality.  Life is good!


Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:

Stamps: Life - PTI

Cardstock: Melon Berry, Ripe Avocado, Vintage Cream - PTI

Ink: Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Lavender Moon, Dark Chocolate - PTI

Other: Linen thread, Color Spritzer, Close to Cocoa Stampin' Write marker - SU!; Spring Moss twill - PTI

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #3

Good morning everyone!  I am really loving the Raspberry Suite Color Challenges, and this one is no exception. That Dawn has a great eye for color!

I pulled out the oh-so-versatile Damask Designs stamp set for today's card.  Have I ever said how much I love Fleur-de-lis?  It is one of my favorite designs.  I used the small (I like to think of it as a fleur-de-lis) pattern from Damask Designs to create my background.

I stamped the pattern on Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, and Pure Poppy cardstock.  I distressed each piece a little and added to the Kraft base.  The edges were inked with a little Vintage Cream ink.  The sentiment (also from DD) was stamped on Vintage Cream and the end was punched using the EK Success dotted scallop edge punch.  I added a punched out fleur-de-lis and some bling!  If you have some time, take a few minutes and check out some of the other entires for the Color Challenge - they are great!

Thanks for stopping by!


Recipe:
Stamps: Damask Designs - PTI
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, Kraft - PTI
Ink: Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy - PTI
Other: Dotted Scallop edge punch - EK Success, Fleur-de-lis punch - Punch Bunch, Adhesive rhinestone - Darice (Michaels)

Finally Friday!

I think I always give a sigh of relief on Fridays.  I love the weekend!  It has been a very rainy day today, but it looks like our weather here in the 'Burgh is supposed to clear up in time for the weekend.  I hope you have great weather, too!

Today I have a card to share with you that is a little out of my comfort zone.  I sort of shy away from cute-sy images, and have a tendency to gravitate towards flowers or silhouette images.  But when I saw this set from Stampin' Up! called Under the Stars I snatched it up! I love the little raccoon! I have a growing number of nieces and nephews, so I can always use cards for little ones.

So fun! The background for the bear and coon was created using a combination of Distress Inks from Ranger. I use the foam Ink Blending tool and work the ink in a circular motion - its very forgiving! I usally do the lightest color first (in this case Peeled Paint) and then the darkest (Weathered Wood) and the add the middle color (Pine Needles) last to blend it all together.

The animals were stamped twice on white cardstock with Memento ink in Tuxedo Black and then colored with Copics. I am still new to using these, so its lots of practice for me. I tried to give the bear the look of being furry by adding a few different shades of brown in what I hoped would look like a hairy pattern! If you're interested in trying Copics out or learning more about them (like me!) then you should check out Marianne Walker's, Debbie Olson's, and Michelle Wooderson's blogs. These ladies are such wonderful resources.

The details for the rest of the card are below in my recipe. I love the raccoon holding the can of beans! :) Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Recipe:

Stamps: Under the Stars - SU!

Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Whisper White - SU!

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke - SU!, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Weathered Wood - Ranger Industries

Other: Copic markers, paper piercer, Kraft Corduroy button - SU!

Twinkle, Twinkle

Yesterday, I took it easy and finally caught up on some much needed sleep.  I do feel better today, but am really looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  I have a project to share with you that I made for Becca's baby shower.  The other two girls and I went in together on a giant basket of goodies (many things we had personalized for Becca - I love stamping on onesies!).  I made this simple baby frame, which was easy, quick and cute!

The patterned paper is from Making Memories and was in a kit called Animal Crackers Jack.  The felt stars that I used on the frame are also from the same kit.  I stamped 'twinkle, twinkle' on Stamper's Select white using PTI True Black Ink.  I have 4 or 5 different black inks, so I really didn't think I 'needed' this new ink from PTI.  But, oh I was wrong.  It really is as good as they say it is - the coverage is excellent, and the images are crisp and clean.  Try it!  The stamped layer is matted on a piece of Ripe Avocado.  The stars are a combination of chipboard and felt and I used a mix of buttons to finish it off.  The frame is from Ikea and is great for a project like this, because it is deep, like a shadowbox. 

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:

Stamps: Chelsea Alphabet - Inkadinkado

Cardstock: SS White, Ripe Avocado - PTI

Patterned Paper: Animal Crackers Jack - Making Memories

Ink: True Black - PTI

Other: Chipboard stars - Stampin' Up!, Frame - Ribba from Ikea, buttons, string

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #2

Happy Tuesday! But oh, I wish it was Friday! I am beat. I had a wonderful weekend with my college roommates and I am so glad they came into town (but I'm tired!) We are the Four Musketeers, the Fantastic Four, the Four Amigos! We have been friends since our freshman year of college and these are the peeps I turn to when I need a boost. They are the sisters I never had (I love these girls, can't you tell?)

Becca is expecting her first baby, and the other girls congregated in town for her baby shower. Here's a photo of us. We can't just take normal pictures, you know ;)

From L to R we have Julie (she lives in Los Angeles), me, Becca and her adorable baby belly, her sister Abbey, and Dina (she lives in Virginia). I miss them already.

But that's not why you're here! You're here to see the card I made for Dawn's second Raspberry Suite Color Challenge!

 More fabulous colors to work with. Here's my card:

I used Spring Moss, Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate and SS White cardstock. Ovals were cut using the plain and scalloped large oval nestabilities. The stamps are from Pine's Beyond Basic Borders set - I stamped the branch image twice and cut out just the leaves, adhering them to the card with foam tape. Added some adhesive pearls and sponging for a finishing touch. The finished size is 4 1/2 inches square. More details are in my recipe below.

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:
All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted :)
Stamps: Beyond Basic Borders
Cardstock: Spring Moss, Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, SS White
Ink: Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, Antique Linen (Ranger)
Other: Oval, Scalloped oval dies (Spellbinders), adhesive pearls (Michaels)

Stamped Tile Coasters

One of my favorite things to make are stamped tile coasters. I find the tiles at any Big Box home store (Home Depot or Lowe's in my area) for around $5 for a box of 9.

The first project I thought of for PTI's Blog Hop was a set of stamped coasters using the Guide Lines Two set.

Aren't they pretty? All inks are PTI, and I have found that with a coat of clear spray paint (I like Krylon's #1311 Clear Matte Finish) they are water and spill resistant.

One thing I love about using these coasters is the worn, rustic look you get from stamping on the very imperfect surface. It reminds of something I would see in a Tuscan village! (I've never been to Tuscany, but its what I would imagine! ;)

These make great gifts (they are one of my craft show best-sellers) and are really easy to do!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow! I have a baby gift to share with you.

Recipe:
Stamps: Guide Lines, Guide Lines Two - PTI
Ink: Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate - PTI
Other: Tile

Wow!

I am truly honored to have been chosen as one of the ten In The Spotlight color challenge participants on Dawn McVey's blog! Wow! Dawn's work is just awesome, so it is so exciting for me to have been chosen by her! She's a celebrity, you know! ;)

Anyway, my weekend was busy busy! My old college roommates converged on my house for the weekend and we talked, and ate, and shopped until we couldn't anymore. So I apologize for the lack of blogging. But I have a post coming up later today with another project I made for the Papertrey Blog Hop.

I hope you will stop back!