Sweet Cupcakes!

The Monday work day is almost over. Thank goodness. I really hate having 5 days of work in front of me, so to get one out of the way is a start.

This is a card I made last night. I had this in my head for a while, and finally snuck in a few minutes to put it on paper.

The cupcakes are from PTI's It's A Celebration stamp set. The set comes with 4 different cupcake tops! The one with the spots reminds me of a mushroom :) Like the little red and white Super Mario Brothers mushrooms. I know you know what I'm talking about. Anyway..

The cupcake bottom is stamped in Sweet Blush. The tops are stamped in Berry Sorbet and Boudoir Blush (all Palette Ink). The Boudoir Blush is just a teensy bit darker than the Berry Sorbet. I stacked my cupcakes, adding two that were cut out of the new Pink Patterns patterned paper and popped up with foam tape. The 'how sweet' is a portion of the sentiment 'how sweet it is' from the set. I said that just so you too would be singing Marvin Gaye all day. You're welcome :)

This piece was layered on Night of Navy and then onto of a piece of Sweet Blush that I stamped with a teensy star from the stamp set. The card base is PTI Berry Sorbet. I added another strip of Night of Navy which I layered with Sweet Blush and then another piece of the Pink Patterns patterned paper. I added Tutti Frutti and Stardust stickles to the two popped up cupcakes and that was it. The sparkles never show up well in the photographs. I am rushing a little in an effort to finish this before I leave work for the day. I hope that I am making sense.

I really liked these colors together - the Navy was just enough to ground things a little. Keep from getting lost in all that pink! Thanks for stopping by, I hope your Monday went by quickly!



Supplies:
Stamps: It's A Celebration (PTI)
Paper: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, SS White, Pink Patterns PP (PTI), Night of Navy (SU)
Ink: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet (Palette Ink for PTI), Boudoir Blush (Palette Ink)
Accessories: Night of Navy marker, Tutti Frutti & Stardust Stickles

Come On Get Happy!

First off, I want to thank everyone that stopped by during Papertrey's Blog Hop! I was so grateful for all your wonderful comments; I am really glad that you liked my project. It was great fun - I am looking forward to next month's!

I have been a little lazy about posting. I haven't had much free time this week for stamping. Plus, puppy Luca makes it hard to sit down for extended periods of time! I made this card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #41. Have I ever said how much I love the sketch challenges? Having that inspiration is a big help! The colors and images on this card remind me of The Partridge Family! I used to watch it on Nickelodeon at my Gram's house after school - who else remembers it?

The colors came from this paper I got last week at a local scrapbook store. Seriously - after going to this place, I will never buy patterned paper at JoAnn's or Michael's again. The paper is K-Ology Addison Blue, Teal, and Green Floral from K&Company.

And here is my card:

Doesn't it have a great 70's funky feel to it? The colors I used were Night of Navy, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla and just a bit of Groovy Guava. The stamps are all from Spring Solitude, a Level 2 Hostess set. All products are Stampin' Up! (see Sandi, I DO still use SU! stuff ;)

The card base is a 5" x 5" square of Night of Navy. I layered a strip of Old Olive on a distressed piece of Very Vanilla. The flower cluster was stamped repeatedly in Night of Navy on Very Vanilla. I stamped the single solid flower in Old Olive over the largest flowers in the cluster. The smallest is watercolored with Tempting Turquoise. Another stamp in the set, a single flower made up of little dots (hey, I don't know what these are) was stamped in Groovy Guava over the medium sized flower in the cluster. I didn't ink the stem.

The oval part was cut out with my Oval Nestabilities (finally!) I stamped the tree branch in Night of Navy (to keep with my color scheme) and popped up the leaves in Old Olive. The bird (a perfect Partridge if you ask me) was stamped in Tempting Turquoise and then popped up. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Mixed Messages - I love this set because there are sentiments for any occasion, and they are a great size. The Very Vanilla oval was layered on Tempting Turquoise that I had paper pierced (by hand, no template - I like the funky uneven-ness of it). I sponged all the Very Vanilla pieces with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I think the flower panel looks like old wallpaper or a tablecloth my Nana would have. I highlighted the bird, leaves, and flower centers with a Sakura glaze pen and added the Pearl Dew Drops. That's it! Great sketch, Beate, I am sure to use this one again! Thanks for stopping by, hope to be back with new stuff tomorrow!

Have a great night!

Supplies:
Stamps: Spring Solitude (SU!), Mixed Messages (PTI)
Paper: Night of Navy, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Night of Navy, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Groovy Guava (SU!), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories: Sakura Glaze gel pen, paper piercer, Pearl Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest)

Blog Hop!

Welcome to PTI's first Blog Hop! How exciting, and what a great opportunity to share inspiration! Enough of the chit chat, I'm sure you're here to see my project (click on the picture for a larger view).


I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but every once in a while I like to do these scrappy projects. I decided that I would try stamping/journaling on my ribbon. I had this photograph that was taken in the Queen Victoria Park Rose Garden in Niagara Falls, ON where my husband proposed. The color went so well with Berry Sorbet that I sort of built the rest of the project around it. The poem was one that my husband wrote for me when we were first dating, back in eleventh grade. Yes, it is cheesy, but we were very much in love and you know how that goes... everything was sappy. Anyway :)..

The ribbon is the Topnotch Twill in Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, and Spring Moss. This is my favorite PTI ribbon, and stamping on it is easy. I used the Simple Alphabet stamp set to stamp my poem using Palette Noir ink. I did not use a ribbon stiffener and did not heat set my ink.

To pull the whole project together, I stamped just a strip of an 8" x 10" piece of Sweet Blush with the fancy fern stamp from Spiral Bouquet. I used Sweet Blush ink and highlighted with Berry Sorbet and a clear Sakura stardust gel pen. I layered a 6" x 6" piece of the Pink Patterns patterned paper (right out of the package!) on a piece of Berry Sorbet. I layered my ribbons on top and adhered with double-sided tape.

The photo is layered on a piece of Berry Sorbet and then on a piece of acetate. I stamped the location and date of the photo onto the acetate using Jet Black StazOn. I added some of the swirlies from the Boxes, Bags & Tags set to the top corners and around the caption using Palette New Canvas ink. Some other embellishments were added and I put the whole thing right in an 8" x 10" frame from Pottery Barn. It is not a masterpiece, but it is a nice memento of a day I had dreamt of since the eleventh grade!

If you have time, I'd love for you to browse some of my older posts or maybe stop by later. I would love to hear from you! Thank you for stopping by and participating in PTI's Blog Hop. I am looking forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations as well!



Supplies:
Stamps: Simple Alphabet, Spiral Bouquet, Boxes, Bags & Tags (PTI)
Paper: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Pink Patterns patterned paper (PTI)
Ink: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet (PTI), Palette Noir, Palette New Canvas, StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss topnotch twill ribbon (PTI), acetate (Office Depot), green rhinestones (K&Company), Sakura stardust gel pen, Pottery Barn picture frame

Celebrate RAKs!

I made this card last Friday with the new It's A Celebration set from PTI. I was most excited about the little flags in the set and thought I'd use them to make a thank you card for the wonderful RAKs I have received.

I chose my colors from the patterned paper, which is SU! East Coast Prep. I ditched the mustard for red - I love the combination of red, green, and baby blue.

The card base is Wild Wasabi, stamped with the open stars, also from It's A Celebration. I layered the strip of patterned paper on a piece of SS White I had paper pierced. The flags were stamped and cut out of Bashful Blue, Real Red, and Wild Wasabi (I used the coordinating inks for each). I used the Simple Alphabet to add the thank you to the flags in Palette Ink Noir.

The string for the flags was stamped twice in Whisper White Craft ink on Kraft cardstock. I popped up each flag with foam tape. I added two white brads and mounted that panel on Bashful Blue. As a finishing touch, I went over each flag with my clear Copic Spica marker to give them some sparkle. I know I will be using these flags again - they were a lot of fun! I've got another card cooked up using the cupcakes in the set, so that's what I plan to do the next time I can sit down to stamp.

Come back later on tonight, as I will be sharing the project I created for PTI's first Blog Hop! Hope to see you then!



Supplies:
Stamps: It's A Celebration, Simple Alphabet (PTI)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Kraft, East Coast Prep PP (SU), SS White (PTI)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White Craft (SU), Palette Ink Noir
Accessories: Paper piercer, white brads, clear Copic Spica marker

Egg Box

My project for last night was to decorate the egg box I plan to give to my mom for Easter. I had found these cute pastel egg candles at JoAnn's, and knew that is what I was going to put inside. The springy patterned paper was from a LSS and was my inspiration for the rest of the box.

I started by painting the outside of both the top and bottom with acrylic paint. I mixed some colors until I got the pink shade that I liked. I was basing the colors on the polka dot patterned paper. These boxes really do take paint very well. At first it was a little streaky, but after a second coat and time to dry, it had a beautiful matte finish. The inside of both the top and bottom was painted with a light shade of green.

I cut the patterned paper to fit across each side and mounted it on a slightly larger piece of Spring Moss. I attached this and then ran the strip of Spring Moss satin ribbon around the box for some added elegance. I used the same theme for the top, but added a strip of SS White that had been scalloped and paper pierced. The inspiration for these pierced scallops came from a card I saw on Melissa Bickford's great blog. I pulled out my new Maya Road velvet blossoms, added crystal brads to the centers and adhered them using glue dots. I am so proud of myself for using and not hoarding!

The little tag was stamped using the new Boxes, Bags & Tags set. I stamped the scalloped circle in Whisper White Craft Ink onto Spring Moss and punched it out with my Marvy scalloped circle. Two flowers from the BBT set were stamped on SS White in Pretty in Pink, then Celebrate Spring (from Just Hatched) was stamped in Palette Noir. I punched this out with a 1-inch circle punch. The ribbon is from American Crafts and has the same great shades as the patterned paper. I wanted it to apply more to the season than the particular holiday, and I think its very springy! Here's an inside view.

I have another egg box that I am saving for Mother's Day. Target has these pretty little glass votives in all different colors that would be great for my MIL. I think they would fit inside the box perfectly.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and blessed Easter. Thank you for stopping by!



Supplies:
Stamps: Boxes, Bags & Tags, Just Hatched (PTI)
Paper: Lollia patterned paper from Margot Elena (dot pattern), Spring Moss, SS White (PTI)
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Pretty in Pink (SU), Palette Noir
Accessories: acrylic paint, Spring Moss satin ribbon (PTI), striped ribbon (American Crafts), velvet blossoms (Maya Road), crystal brads, paper piercer, egg-shaped candles

I feel so loved!

I received two more cards from members of the PTI RAK Group this week. They are gorgeous! The first is from Heather, who is in Germany.

Thank you Heather, I really love the colors that you used. I did not order the Shapes By Design set during the last release, so its great to see some things made with it. Love it!

The second card is from Daisy, who used my favorite Women of Life set. I love the scallops and paper piercing.

Thank you both so much!

A Little Something..

Ok. I have had a few distracted last couple days, but I'm back. I haven't had much stamping time the past couple days, but my new PTI stuff arrived on Tuesday and I am hoping to use some of it tonight.

Today's card is another one that I submitted for the PTI Guest Star Stamper Contest. This card really was much better in my head. It kept evolving, and I'm not quite sure if I'm satisfied with the results.

There are 2 things I love about this card. First is that it is yellow (I love yellow right now) and second is that the polka dot background stamped so beautifully.

The card base is Barely Banana, stamped with PTI's Polka Dot Basics in SU! Whisper White Craft. I then layered a piece of Aqua Mist and Cameo Coral cardstock and finally a piece of Kraft I had stamped with the large polka dots in Thatched Straw. On a piece of scrap I stamped 4 large polka dots in white on Kraft and then stamped again with the heart and flower images from Borders & Corners Heart and Butterfly Kisses. I punched them out with a 1/2-inch circle punch and layered them on top with some foam tape.

The sentiment 'Just a Little Something' is from Just Hatched and was bent to fit in the curve of the circle. This was not as easy as it sounds with that tiny circle! I ended up doing the words individually with just enough 'curve' in them to look right together. I then layered some various-sized circles in white and Cameo Coral to resemble the little stamped flower. The ribbon was originally white and I colored it with the coral marker to match. The new PTI Berry Sorbet color would be a perfect fit for this card as well!

I hope to have new stuff tomorrow...if not I still have another submission for the Guest Star Stamper Contest that I can share with you. Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!



Supplies:
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, Borders & Corners Heart, Butterfly Kisses, Just Hatched (PTI)
Paper: Barely Banana, Cameo Coral, Kraft (SU), Aqua Mist, SS White (PTI)
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Cameo Coral (SU), Aqua Mist (PTI), VersaMagic Thatched Straw (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Various-sized circle punches, ribbon

This Day

First off, I am going to apologize for this photograph. As you can probably imagine, it is not easy to photograph a mirror. Imagine that it is not blurry - looking at it directly, it is not.

I made this project for the PTI Guest Star Stamper Contest. Originally I had hoped to find a clear piece of glass, as I intended to make more of a suncatcher/window hanging. It was sort of a last minute brainstorm that I had, so I really didn't have a ton of time to run around looking for what I had in mind or to make it myself. I found this beveled mirror at Michaels for under $3, which I figured was worth some experimentation.

The details are really straighforward. The cross was stamped in Olive StazOn and then heat set. The verse and little swirly were both stamped in Palette Ink New Canvas. Once stamped, I heat set for a few moments. The ribbon was already attached, but I trimmed it up a little. The adhesive pearls were found at a LSS and come in a variety of sizes. The center pearl is actually a greenish color, where the others are a 'regular' pearl color. It may be difficult to see in the photograph. That's it!

I just wanted to stop in for a quick update today before I head home. I am going to try to make some time for new stuff tonight. After Stamp Camp on Saturday I had the chance to tidy up my stamp room a bit, which always makes me feel so much more at ease when stamping. Too much clutter makes me nervous! But, I always end up pulling all kinds of stuff out all over the place anyway. Oh well!

Have a great night!



Supplies:
Stamps: Everyday Blessings (PTI)
Ink: Olive (StazOn), New Canvas (Palette Ink)
Accessories: Beveled mirror (Michaels), adhesive pearls

WSC39 Easter Trio

I had the chance to participate in another one of Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenges this weekend. Bill is sick, so he stayed home from the store on Saturday. I had some stamping time while he was resting.

I found this cute patterned paper (Easter Chicks from Karen Foster) at a LSS. It had such nice, springy colors. Since there was such a large panel on this sketch, I thought it would be a perfect place to use the paper.

I chose my colors based on the patterned paper, using SU! Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, and PTI's Aqua Mist. I stamped the Easter egg and Happy Easter from PTI's Limitless Labels. I added some paper piercing and ribbon. The blue ribbon is PTI's Aqua Mist Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon which is really beautiful and great to work with. I added the flowers, which reminded me of those on the patterned paper. They were cut out with my Cuttlebug and stamped using Beautiful Blooms. That is about it - I think I am going to send these out as RAKs!

I will be back with new stuff tomorrow - I submitted a few things for the PTI March Guest Star Stamper Contest and can share them with you. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Limitless Labels, Beautiful Blooms (PTI)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery (SU!), Aqua Mist and SS White (PTI), Easter Chicks patterned paper (Karen Foster)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery (SU!), Aqua Mist (Palette Ink for PTI)
Accessories: Aqua Mist Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon (PTI), yellow polka dot ribbon, rhinestones, paper piercer

Come on, Friday!

Boy, I am ready for the weekend. Bill is feeling under the weather and I seem to be catching up. I am trying really hard not to get sick, but it may be inevitable.... there are lots of germs floating around. You would think adults would know to cover their mouths when they cough!

The card I am going to share with you today is one that we are making at Stamp Camp. It uses another Sale-A-Bration set, Merci.

I am on a bit of a yellow kick right now - it is so cheery! The card base is Barely Banana. The patterned paper is River Rock designer double-sided paper (I don't remember if this is retired or not..) layered on a piece of white to give it a little kick. The main image is stamped in Basic Brown and watercolored using the coordinating inks. The hearts are Ruby Red, flowers are Barely Banana, and stems are River Rock. I added some yellow Stickles to the flower for some added sparkle. This is mounted on a slightly larger piece of Ruby Red that I pierced and went over with my white gel pen for some faux stitching. The bee was made the same way as the main image. I cut him out and stuck him on (mainly to cover up the PP copyright). I stamped the sentiment from the set at the bottom in River Rock and then the little hearts in a row. That's it!

The weather is finally starting to get nice here. Today is in the 50s, and it is very sunny. I am positive that if I was out there instead of in the office I would feel much better! Have a great day!



PS - Like my new signature? I got it here. Make one for yourself.. there are over 100 fonts to choose from!

Supplies:

Stamps: Merci (SU, Sale-A-Bration)
Paper: Barely Banana, Ruby Red, Whisper White, River Rock DSDSP
Ink: Basic Brown, Barely Banana, Ruby Red, River Rock
Accessories: paper piercer, white gel pen, yellow Stickles