Friday, February 29, 2008

Finally... something new!

Finally! I ended up not going to scuba class last night, Bill went by himself. Things went better, so I think we're hanging on for now. So, I used my newly found free time to stamp. Let's say it didn't go as quickly as I had hoped, but I did get some cleaning done ('redding up' - does anyone else say this?) and broke into my new PTI stuff. I headed right for Women of Life, my favorite set from the new release. I just love those flowers. Julie, if you're reading this.. act surprised when you get your mail.


This card came about because I wanted to use some supplies that I had, as my husband put it, 'cannibalized' from a Hallmark card. The card base is 4 1/4 square Almost Amythest, but the next layer is this shimmery purple cardstock that I 'recycled'. I used my bone folder to put some score marks along the top and bottom to add a little something. It wasn't enough for me, so I used the dotted line stamp from the Faux Ribbon set stamped in VersaMagic Pretty Petunia. I like how it mirrored the dotted 'leaves.' I stamped the stems in the new Spring Moss, which is just a wonderful color. The flowers are stamped in Pretty Petunia, and the centers in Thatched Straw. My first try at this image, I overloaded it with sparkles and it was just too much. For this one, I outlined the stems with my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust clear sparkle pen, but it doesn't show up well in the photo. I mounted the image on Spring Moss cardstock and then tied the Spring Moss twill tape around it... ah, coordination. I love this ribbon, it is really gorgeous. The sentiment is from Mixed Messages stamped in Palette Noir on a small cuttlebug tag. The little purple bauble was taken from the Hallmark card. I love it!

So, how do the photos look to you? They are getting better, but are they bright enough? I can't tell whether it is still lighting issues at home, or whether its the color on my monitor. Let me know what you think.. your feedback would be helpful. I hope you have a great weekend! Its starting to really snow here (AGAIN- geez!), so I may head home early. I don't want to get caught out there when it gets too bad. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Women of Life, Mixed Messages, Faux Ribbon (PTI)
Paper: Almost Amythest (SU), Stampers Select White, SS Spring Moss (PTI), Cannibalized shimmery purple from Hallmark (at least I got something good out of the card).
Ink: Palette Ink Noir, Spring Moss (PTI), VersaMagic Pretty Petunia, Thatched Straw (Tsukineko).
Accessories: Spring Moss twill tape (PTI), small cuttlebug tag, Sakura gelly roll stardust pen, purple bauble (recycled Hallmark).

Thursday, February 28, 2008

V-Day Bundle


I sent my college roommates each a little something for Valentine's Day. When I am motivated, I like to make gifts for the girls (I'm not sure the gesture is entirely appreciated, but that doesn't matter). I had so much fun decorating the Frappuccino bottles for Kelly that I wanted to make more. Going with the healthy-eating weight-watching theme, I opted to add dried cranberries to my bottles instead of chocolate. I didn't want to be the source of any unwanted temptation! The 'Love you Berry Much' sentiment from My Punny Valentine was perfect. I also covered one of PTI's small heart tins with some holiday-appropriate paper and stuffed some Valentine's socks in there. The frames are from Michaels, covered with SU! Ginger Blossom patterned paper and embellished simply with a few punched-out flowers. The picture is of the four of us at my wedding, and I wanted to send it to each of the girls. I topped it off with a simple card made using the hearts from Borders and Corners Heart. I know it isn't easy to see in the photo, but trust me, they are simple.

That concludes the stamping portion of this post.. if you want to head out, please feel free. Now I need to gripe a bit. I try to remain positive about things, 'Good things come to those who wait,' they say. But my job is crap and I hate feeling stuck. I wish I had more time to do the things that I enjoy, like stamping, or reading, or sleeping and less time keeping up with life. Even though Luca is getting to the point now that she is a bit better than she was when she was 8 weeks old, she's still a puppy and she still has puppy energy. I hope she grows out of all the jumping and biting. I hope she can break her routine of getting up at 5:45 am every day. Come on, what's half an hour more? I am in desperate need of a good night's sleep and really wish my husband wasn't such a bed hog! I wish we could come to some resolution about scuba class and I wish that our store manager didn't need off on Saturday so that I didn't have to give up my entire weekend to be there. And I wish that it would stop snowing!! Ok, I said it all. I have one card I want to make tonight. One! My wonderful friend Julie sent me a huge box full of books. Thank you Julie! I have been running up fines at the library because I take a book out, start it, and then have time to read only a bit here and there. So now I have a huge selection and don't need to worry about late fees. I know you just sent them to me so you didn't have to get rid of them, but I appreciate it anyway ;) I miss you! That's all for me.. I need to do some work. Tonight we're heading to the pool session of the Thursday scuba class to give this one more shot. I've got to draw a line somewhere. I love the guy, but I'm tempted to hold him underwater until he gets over it. Ok, not really (but sort of).

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Sweet Love

I needed to dig through my old photos for a post for today. I'm sure everyone is real excited to see Valentine's Day stuff (yawn). I haven't had much stamping time recently, although hopefully in the next few days I can find some time. My room needs some organization, and I really have a hard time stamping when I want to tidy up a bit. So that may be the first thing on the menu. I (and I say this with complete embarassment) haven't even had time (or made time, I take complete blame) to use my new Papertrey stuff. It is still *gasp* in the box it arrived in. It is terrible!

A quick thing before I get to the card. A few weeks ago, KDKA, one of our local news stations did a story about Eric, the guy we bought the store from. The link to the video is here. He's something! Thank goodness we have a dedicated space for Bill's fish 'collection' and we don't have a basement full of tanks! Eric told us that he encouraged the reporter to contact us for a follow-up, but who knows if that will happen. Maybe on a slow news day! Still, maybe Eric's bit will jog some memories about the place and we'll get some new customers. We have a lot of regulars, but we are always excited to talk to new people. Anyway, here's the card:

I made this card for my mom for Valentine's Day. This is prior to my new photo setup, so I apologize for the crappy picture. I am never home during the daylight hours, so I can't get pictures in natural light. The card base is Stamper's Select White, scalloped along the bottom using my corner rounder. I stamped one of the small filigree images from PTI's Sweet Love in a repeating pattern on a piece of Real Red cardstock. The main image is also from the same set, again stamped on Real Red, this time in Palette Ink New Canvas. I mounted it to another piece of SSW, and cut it out using my scalloped scissors. As soon as those oval nestabilities come back in stock at PTI, they are mine! I added some jewels and the ribbon and that was it. Simple layout, but I love how the 'background' paper gives it a little elegance.

Last night at scuba we finally got all suited up and did a bit of diving (in the 4-foot section of the pool). It was.. weird. It definitely takes some getting used to. Bill is having a very difficult time. For starters, he's having a hard time because he's having a hard time. He's very athletic, so not being able to do something really bugs him. It only takes one time swallowing a mouthful of water or getting it up your nose to make you more than a little cautious. We'll see how it works out. We're not going to pursue it if he can't achieve some level of comfort. We're not all that worried - we're sure there's plenty more to do in Australia!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Love (PTI)
Paper: Stampers Select White (PTI), Real Red (SU)
Ink: Real Red (SU), Palette Ink New Canvas
Accessories: corner rounder, scallop scissors, jewels, ribbon (unknown)

Monday, February 25, 2008

Happy Hellos



Thank goodness the Monday work day is almost over. I love going home.

Here is another card from Saturday's Stamp Camp. A simple, fun card. Card base is Certainly Celery stamped with the SAB set, Friendship Blooms in Certainly Celery Ink. The front panel is Shimmery White cardstock, stamped with the flower swirl from Friendship Blooms and the Happy Hellos stamp from Lots of Thoughts, another SAB set. This is mounted on a piece of Rose Red and then Wild Wasabi cardstock. I rounded all the corners. I used some of my new bulk rub-ons (I think they are from the Summer Days collection?) They are in the new mini catalog. I then punched the flower out with the 5-petal flower punch and used my Crop-o-Dile to add a jumbo pewter eyelet. That's it! It was easy, and the rub-ons were a hit. I am glad that SU! started the bulk buying program for demonstrators, now I can share some of the neat products with my customers that I would have probably hoarded for myself! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night!

Supplies:
Stamps: Friendship Blooms, Lots of Thoughts (SU)
Paper: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi, Shimmery White (SU)
Ink: Certainly Celery (SU)
Accessories: Rub-on, flower punch, jumbo eyelet, corner rounder

Friday, February 22, 2008

So Sweet of You!



This card is for my Stamp Camp this month. It uses one of the new Sale-A-Bration sets, So Many Scallops. This card was simple and quick and I am really digging the colors. The card is a 4 1/4 inch square of Tempting Turquoise stamped with the little flower from Priceless. A strip of Pumpkin Pie was added to the bottom. Then I paper pierced the Close to Cocoa strip and added it on top. The scalloped circle was stamped twice, once with Tempting Turquoise and a second time with Pumpkin Pie. The entire turquoise image was punched out using the Scallop Circle punch; the small orange circle was punched out using the 1-inch circle punch. I added a Close to Cocoa button and that was it! So easy!

Bill and I are planning to go to Phipps Conservatory tonight to see the Chihuly Exhibit one last time before it closes. We were both so amazed by it and really enjoyed it when we saw it. The first time we went was during the day, this time will be in the evening. I am glad that the exhibit did well for the Conservatory, it is one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh. If some things would have worked out differently, that is where we would have gotten married. Here's a picture from our last trip.


If you are in the Pgh area and have not been there, I highly encourage you to go! The show closes on Sunday.

Have a great Friday! I may be back to post this weekend, but we'll see.

Supplies:
Stamps: So Many Scallops, Priceless (SU)
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie (SU)
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1-inch circle punch, Earth Elements & Neutrals button (SU)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

To Infinity and Beyond!



This is the card that I made for Bill for Valentine's Day. He's not really a card guy, so I usually give him cards only to take them back again. This is my favorite sentiment from PTI's Out on a Limb set. I started out by stamping the moon in VersaMagic Thatched Straw and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Next I brayered the colors to create the sunset/moonrise background, starting with Pretty in Pink, then Going Gray, then Not Quite Navy. After that I sponged the ink on to fill in and even out the colors. I used a tissue to wipe off any ink on the moon, then stamped the branch and leaves with Palette Noir. The card base is Basic Black, layered with a piece of Basic Gray stamped with the CHF Weave Backgrounder in black. I sponged some black around the edges and stamped the sentiment, using a marker to color in each line separately. I added some paper piercing to the corners to fill in the empty space and draw your eye around the card.

Bill laughed when he looked at it.. both of us have a hard time reading the words 'To Infinity and Beyond!' without thinking of Buzz Lightyear. I know I said that I would share some projects from Stamp Camp, but was really pleased with the way this one turned out and felt like sharing it instead! I will share a Stamp Camp card tomorrow. Did anyone see the Lunar Eclipse last night? I didn't remember until the shadow was almost past the moon, but it was still neat. It was way too cold to stay outside long, though.

Hope you have a great day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Out on a Limb (PTI), Weave backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray (SU), Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Going Gray, Not Quite Navy (SU), Palette Noir, VersaMagic Thatched Straw

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Wool You Be Mine?

Its another snowy day here in the 'Burgh. I hope it doesn't snow like last Tuesday, I have a scuba lesson tonight! Bill and I are taking lessons in preparation for our big honeymoon trip to the Land Down Under. I'm excited.

This weekend we went to see The Lion King. A friend of ours had given us the tickets as a wedding present, which was great. We both really enjoyed the show - it was similar enough to the movie to know the story line, but so unlike the movie! The costumes and singing were just spectacular. It was really nice to have a date planned for us already. With the store, it is not always easy making time.

It isn't easy making time to blog, either! I slacked a bit this weekend, but here's a card I made for our nieces for Valentine's Day.


The girls are all young, so this was a great fun card for them. It is very pet-able with the batting on the sheep. I stamped various hearts from the Borders & Corners Heart set in VersaMagic Pixie Dusk, Malted Mauve, and Pink Petunia on Pretty in Pink cardstock. Before the ink dried, I covered it with sparkly embossing powder and heat set. The body of the sheep is punched out of Stamper's Select White with a Marvy Super Jumbo Scalloped Oval punch. The stuffing is just wrapped around the body and adhered on the back. I was going for the big and fluffy look, so I wasn't too concerned about the shape the batting was taking. The sheep's head and feet are from the My Punny Valentine set and were stamped in VersaMark and embossed in black detail embosssing powder. I cut them out and adhered them to a piece of Stamper's Select white that I had sponged with Soft Sky and Bashful Blue ink. The grass was stamped using VersaMagic Key Lime and Tea Leaves, trimmed, then popped up using foam tape. This entire piece was mounted on a piece of Cool Caribbean and then a piece of SS white. I stamped the sentiment from the set on the Cool Caribbean, and that's it!

I promise that its my picture-taking that is crooked - not the card! I am working on getting an area set up where I can go to for photographs. I've been experimenting with lighting in some different locations around the house and nothing is working out too well. I bought myself an Ott-Lite craft lamp when they were on sale at JoAnn Fabrics, so hopefully you'll see an improvement in my photographs!

Thanks for stopping by, tomorrow I will share some projects with you that I'll be doing at my upcoming Stamp Camps. Have a great day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Borders & Corners Heart, My Punny Valentine (PTI)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean (SU), SS White (PTI)
Ink: Pixie Dust, Malted Mauve, Pink Petunia, Key Lime, Tea Leaves, Midnight Black (VersaMagic Chalk Ink), VersaMark, Bashful Blue, Soft Sky (SU)
Accessories: Marvy Super Jumbo Scalloped Oval, Craft stuffing

Friday, February 15, 2008

PTI Guest Star Stamper Entry


Happy PTI release day! Yay new stamps. This was my entry into last month's Guest Star Stamper Contest using Out on a Limb. Needless to say, I didn't win - the winners had beautiful creations. You can see them in Nichole's blog here. I used SU! Shimmery White cardstock, and the shimmer really shows up in the picture. The rectangles were cut and embossed using the Large Rectangle Nestabilities. I trimmed the rectangle down after I stamped the sentiment. I inked the flowers in VersaMagic Pixie Pink and then Pink Grapefruit to give them a two-tone look. The colors go much better with the paper in real life than in the photo. I used one of the square borders from the Borders & Corners Monogram Edition to create the pattern on the card base. If you ever need a chain-link fence pattern, this is the stamp to use! I added a little paper piercing on the side, tied a ribbon, added some Fruit Punch Stickles to the flower centers, and that was about it. Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!


Supplies:
Stamps: Out on a Limb, Borders & Corners Monogram Edition (PTI)
Paper: Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Shimmery White (SU!)
Ink: Certainly Celery (SU!), Palette Ink Noir, VersaMagic Pixie Pink, Pink Grapefruit, and Gingerbread

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Goody Basket

So I'm biding my time until the Papertrey release at midnight (yes, I am a stalker) and figured I could get around to posting the rest of the gift basket. The last item in the basket was this Jasmine-scented candle.


If you've been following along, I used the same color scheme and stamps as for the other pieces. I really like these bands around the candles - they are easy and add a little pizzaz. I put the candle and the 2 Frappuccino bottles in a fabric-lined basket I found at Target, along with a bath poof and a pair of soft, fluffy socks.


I tied it all together with a little tag attached to the ribbon at the side of the basket, and that was it.
I really liked the coordination of everything - the green, blue, purple all on white gave it a clean, fresh look (perfect for bath products!). Everyone loved it and my SIL was very pleased. I had a great time putting it together, and will be sure to do more in the future. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, various

Paper: Brocade Blue, Kraft, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Almost Amythest (SU!), Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: VersaMark, Palette Ink New Canvas, Palette Ink Noir, VersaMagic chalk ink in Aloe Vera, Aspen Mist, and Pretty Petunia

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Altered Frappuccino bottles


I've always loved the altered Frappuccino bottles... so many possibilities! Plus, who doesn't love the initial bottle emptying? (French Vanilla is my fave). In keeping with my gift theme, I filled my bottles with milk bath and bath salts. I used the same colors as in the card and chose sentiments that encouraged relaxation. I used a ton of different Papertrey stamps, pulling out all my sets and picking things here and there. If there is something you see that you would like to know what I used, let me know. That's what I love about those sets - they can interchanged and combined easily, and can be used for so many different occasions. The band around the bottles was stamped just as I did my 'patterned paper' yesterday. Finished them off with some ribbon around the top and user instructions :)

That's it for today. Tomorrow I will show you the last piece of the gift and how it was all tied together. Be sure to check out Papertrey Ink's new forum! And tomorrow night is their big release. I know I will be treating myself to a Valentine's Day gift!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Snow Day

Finally, the snow we've all been waiting for! (At least me!) This is the Pittsburgh winter I remember... getting dumped 6 inches of snow in 8 hours. I, luckily, had my laptop at home with me, so I didn't stress about trying to drive in it this morning and worked from home.



I mentioned yesterday about Bill's birthday last week. We usually double up on birthday celebrations, since there are so many of us in the family and someone's birthday is always near someone else's. I put together a little gift basket of relaxation-promoting items for my sister-in-law Kelly, and today I will share the card.



You can click the photo for a larger view. I used Papertrey Ink's Little Lady stamp set - I just recently bought it and am really glad that I did. I really love it. I had seen this sketch on Beate's blog a few weeks ago and liked the idea of a tall card. Then I saw this creation by Debbie Olson and really loved it, too. The colors were originally inspired by some ribbon that I had, but in the end it didn't really have a place on the card. I looked through my stash of patterned paper for something I could use on the base and couldn't find one that was just right. So, I made my own, and it ended up being just the ticket! I used the polka dot backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms stamped in VersaMark. Then I went over with the little flower from PTI's Borders & Corners Heart in Palette Ink New Canvas. I love the look of white ink on Kraft cardstock, and it ended up being exactly what I was looking for. I know, you're thinking "she has way too much time on her hands," but it really took no time at all and was kind of theraputic in a way! I stamped the ladybugs in coordinating ink colors, cut them out and popped them up. I added some Stickles to their spots, so they've got some sparkle in real life. This is the first tall card that I ever made, and boy did I love it! I will definitely make more in the future. It really works great with multiples of the same image.


I also thought I'd share some Snow Day pictures with you. This is Juno and puppy Luca playing in the back yard. Look at all that snow on Juno's face! They both love the snow and come in the house covered in it.





Tomorrow I will show you more of the gift set for Kelly. Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies:

Stamps (all PTI): Little Lady, Borders & Corners Heart (for background flower), Faux Ribbon (sentiment)

Paper: Brocade Blue, Kraft, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Almost Amythest (SU!), Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: VersaMark, Palette Ink New Canvase, Palette Ink Noir, VersaMagic chalk ink in Aloe Vera, Aspen Mist, and Pretty Petunia

Monday, February 11, 2008

Birthday weekend

I know I have been terrible about posting. I really want to start using my blog as I had originally intended, and that is to share some of the crafty stuff I am doing. I am always so intimidated by feeling that I need to post something new and exciting every day, but I will work on it. I certainly feel creative, but don't always have the opportunity to actually get it on paper. Moving on..

Friday was Bill's birthday. I like to make a big deal about birthdays, especially his. Today I'm going to share the card and cake that I made for him. I had seen this stamp in the new SU! catalog and knew it needed to be a part of my collection for just this occasion. So this is what I came up with (click the photos for a larger view).

With owning the store and all, its easy to use the fish theme for Bill. Let's hope I don't wear it out too soon. I thought the 'porthole' idea was so clever! I used various sized circle punches to create the holes for the portholes and the outside border. I stamped some 'bubbles' on acetate with New Canvas (Palette Ink) and heat set to create the windows. I used my Crop-o-dile to dry emboss the 'rivets' around the portholes and popped up those pieces with foam tape. For the inside, I wheeled the Something Fishy stamp and added a torn piece of Sahara Sand cardstock for the sand. The little crab is stamped, cut out, and popped up. I hand-wrote the sentiment 'Fishing you a Happy Birthday', which seemed appropriate! He liked it, and I had a fun time making it.

The cake was also fun, too. I had seen a cake in a magazine a few months ago and thought it would make a great groom's cake. That ended up not happening, but I did dig the picture out for his b-day cake.



It was so much fun! And so yummy. Its a good thing it wasn't cupcakes, because I would have sampled a few during the decorating process. The cake was decorated with a lot of candy, which made it difficult to get to the cake part of it, but worth it. I've got lots of blue food coloring left over, so the ocean-themed baked goods will make a re-appearance! I topped in off with Lego Star Wars for the Wii, and we had a great weekend. I had the chance to do more stamping, so I hope to share more with you tomorrow.

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