Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Wish I Could Backspace

Good morning!

How are you today? Did you enjoy the long weekend? It got super hot here in Pittsburgh over the weekend and yesterday, we just had no energy. I had big plans for my extra day off and didn't make much of it! But being lazy can be good, too.

Today I have a card to share that I made for my sister-in-law. I love my SIL dearly, and I totally forgot her birthday. Its awful, and I'm pretty disappointed in myself. Clearly the birthday calendar idea doesn't work so well for me!

I used this week's Play Date Cafe colors (PDCC83) for my card.

I couldn't help but to use the Just My Type set from MFT. I really do love it! This time I used the 'I Wish I Could Backspace' sentiment for my belated birthday card.

The background was stamped with the polka dot pattern from Off Beat Backgrounds. I added a few strips of black cardstock to help ground my image.

Fun stuff! I hope you have a great day! We are finally having our back patio poured today (we've been waiting since late November!) - so exciting!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Just My Type - MFT; Off Beat Backgrounds - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: White, True Black - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Jet Black Archival Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Just My Type Die - MFT; Green buttons; Black embroidery thread

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Put the Kettle On

Happy Saturday! I hope your day is great so far.

Here is today's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge:

And here is my card:

Love these cute peachy tea cups.

If you're like me and can't have white baker's twine with cream cardstock, I recommend trying the Tim Holtz Distress Stain. The liquid formula makes it easy to age those accents - a little easier I find that running the twine through your inkpad (although that's a good solution in a pinch, too!) This is Antique Linen, of course!

We hope you'll play along with us this week - head to the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge Blog to link up your creation. In addition to the Top Mice awards, a free stamp set is awarded each week to a random player!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Afternoon Tea, Afternoon Tea Sentiments, Text It, Very Vintage Labels No. 10 - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Melon Berry - Papertrey Ink; Soft Sky - Stampin' Up
Ink: Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Baja Breeze - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Mini Rolled Flower Die - MFT; Caribbean Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Antique Linen Distress Stain - Ranger Industries; Labels 10 Nestabilities - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Corner rounder - EK Success; adhesive pearl

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hello Friend

Hellooo! How are ya today? And how did it get to be 1:00 already - geez, time is flying.

I got some happy mail yesterday... I just couldn't resist the Just My Type die and stamp set from My Favorite Things. I also couldn't resist sitting down with it right away.

I started with a cream card base and stamped one of the scripty fonts from Text It in gray ink. Then I stamped the Hero Arts Circle Lace stamp in yellow. On top of that I added a strip of patterned paper and stitched it along the edges. Yellow and gray are perfect retro colors to me.

I die cut the typewriter and paper shapes, then stamped the typewriter image and my sentiment of choice. There are lots of fun ones in this set, but I just wanted a quick note for a friend.

I tied some baker's twine around my paper to help give a little more color balance to the design. I really like how it turned out! This stamp set is fun, and I can't wait to try out some of the other sentiments.

It is a long weekend coming up here in the US and I couldn't be more excited! A day off! So necessary! It is the unofficial start of summer - do you have any plans?

Thanks for stopping by to see me - have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Just My Type - My Favorite Things; Text It - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Circle Lace - Hero Arts
Cardstock: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; So Saffron - Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Togetherness Collection - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Going Gray, So Saffron - Stampin' Up!; Jet Black Archival Ink, Antique Linen, Pumice Stone Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Just My Type Die-namics - My Favorite Things; Charcoal Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Sewing machine

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Doodling

Good morning! This week's DT challenge at Serendipity Stamps was to combine felt with Serendipity's doodle stamps. Mary has a whole line of these whimsical little doodle line images. Today, I am using the Ladybug doodle stamp.

After much deliberation, I decided that I was going to stamp on felt for my card.

I used Jet Black Archival Ink (my go-to ink for stamping on fabric) and stamped my ladybugs onto red felt. I set them aside to dry - I don't think this was a necessary step, but I took the time to put the rest of the card together.

I stamped the ladybugs again onto cardstock and picked some picnic-y, summer-y patterned paper to coordinate. I trimmed the ladybug body/wings from the felt and adhered it to the card with Scor-Tape.

Aren't they cute?

Please be sure to visit the other Design Team members to see their take on this challenge!



Have you stopped by Serendipity's new store yet? Make sure you do, and check out the new products and deal of the week!


Thanks for stopping by today!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Ladybug (900B), Friends - Serendipity Stamps
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, True Black - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Early Bird Collection - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries; White Craft - Stampin' Up!
Other: Pure Poppy felt - Papertrey Ink; Sewing machine

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Feel Better Soon

Hi!

How are you today? It is Tuesday, and it is going to rain (again), but I'm feeling pretty great - I made something! I feel like it has been weeks since I've been in my studio just to play, the kitchen had been eating up all of my (very limited) free time. But now the kitchen is almost done. I just need to paint my windowsills and door frames and that's it!

I made today's card for this week's Play Date Cafe color challenge (PDCC82). So glad to be back playing along! Here is our color story for this week:

This is one of my favorite color combinations (and happen to be the colors I used in my kitchen!). Here is my card:

The label image is from Very Vintage Labels 18. I stamped the label first that was going to be stamped with the text, and then built the rest of the design around it. A post-it note was used to mask the label to stamp the text inside. I am addicted to Say It Loud - I just love all those little phrases.

Before adhering the cream piece to my card base, I punched two small holes above and below my sentiment label and threaded some baker's twine through it. I wanted some twine on the card, but didn't want it to overlap the design - problem solved! Plus, it draws your eye to the sentiments and creates some dimension on the card. I just love these colors together!

Before I take off, can I share something else with you? I made this in Ceramics class.

Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen? Oh I love him. I started with a tall bowl that I flipped upside down. Then I hand built the rest of the design - he's a luminary! Even the glaze turned out just as I had hoped - that is unusual! I have some more ceramics projects to share in the coming weeks, they aren't quite finished yet, but let's just say that some of the images from the Dainty Doilies sets look awesome in clay! :)

Have a super day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Very Vintage Labels 18, Say It Loud - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink; Baja Breeze - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Cappuccino Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Vintage button; Sewing machine

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday, Waltzingmouse!!

Happy Saturday, my dears! And a big, huge, happy, happy birthday to Waltzingmouse Stamps! Be sure to head over to the WMS Blog and lavish some congrats on our sweetie Claire! I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with her and the rest of the WMS team.

Here is today's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge - another fun sketch from Edna Morrisedie.

Here is my card, birthday wishes for WMS!

Frame It is chock full of fantastic sentiments, but have you seen this cute cupcake? It is really adorable!

I 'built' my cupcakes and then cut them out. I had to add some glitter to them - would it be a birthday card without it? The background is a combination of phrases from Say It Loud. Happy Birthday, Waltzingmouse!

We hope you'll play along with us this week - head to the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge Blog to link up your creation. In addition to the Top Mice awards, a free stamp set is awarded each week to a random player!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Frame It, Say It Loud - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: White - Papertrey Ink; Pale Plum - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Barely Banana, Daffodil Delight, Creamy Caramel, Pale Plum - Stampin' Up!
Other: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter - Stampin' Up!; Pointed Circle punch - Martha Stewart Crafts

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Birthday Wishes

Hello, friends! How are you today?

Today I have a birthday card to share with you. Speaking of birthdays, this Saturday is Waltzingmouse Stamps' 2nd Birthday! Wow! Of course Claire is having a ginormous contest - here are the details about what you need to do to qualify. The grand prize is your choice of over $300 in WMS goodies! Deadline is Saturday!

I do love purple and melon together. Used Teeny Trees for this one. I pulled this one from the archives, so I'll be back later with the complete supply details. I really haven't made anything new in a really long time! Better get myself together, we have a SOAP month coming up!

Take care today!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Teeny Trees - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Perfect Plum - Stampin' Up!; Melon Berry, Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Perfect Plum, Close to Cocoa - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Double Embossed Dotted Lace Edger Punch - EK Success; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Sewing machine

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

You're Too Cool

Good morning, Waltzers! Welcome to the May Friends of WMS Blog Waltz. Today we're creating for the boys!

Here are the details: if you want to waltz along with us and you haven't yet linked up your project, head to the link list thread in the WMS Forum to link up your creation and view the other participants. There is also a thread for chatting about what you've seen. This month a random poster will be chosen from the chat thread to receive a prize.

Masculine cards are one of those things that a lot of crafters struggle with. I am right there with ya! I don't know if it will be any help or not, but when faced with making a guy card, I like to keep a few things in mind: dark colors, simple layout, and office or hardware embellishments. So given that, here's what I came up with.

The grid-lined background was created using Off Beat Backgrounds and was then layered with images from Free Spirit - Boy and Way Out West. The numbers and sentiments are all from Free Spirit - Sentiments. I stamped all my words separately and combined them ransom note-style to create a phrase. Finished it off with some mini staples from the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. Gray and blue is a favorite guy-color combination of mine!

Glad you could stop in today, have fun waltzing!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Off Beat Backgrounds", Free Spirit - Boy, Way Out West, Free Spirit - Sentiments - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Going Gray, Bordering Blue - Stampin' Up!; White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Real Red - Stampin' Up!; Black Soot Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Tiny Attacher - Tim Holtz

Monday, May 16, 2011

Dotted Thank You

Good morning to you - I hope you're doing well. I'm still immersed in my kitchen.. its coming along nicely but I wish it would be done already. I am starting to feel pulled in too many directions, but sometimes that's the way it goes.

I want to share a quick card today, one I made for last week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge (WMSC46) as well as the Play Date Color Challenge (PDCC80). I'm late for both of these, but sometimes its just about making something, you know?

I started by creating a two circle masks with my Nestabilities and a post-it. I inked up the reverse polka dot from Gingham & Co. and stamped it over my mask. This is a simple design, but fun, no?

The thank you sentiment is from Join Us, and is another favorite of mine. I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink and stitched up the side. Simple and easily reproducible!

Hope you have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Gingham & Co., Join Us - Waltzingmouse Stamps

Cardstock: Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie - Stampin' Up!; Jet Black Archival Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Sewing machine

Saturday, May 14, 2011

You Make the Difference

Hi there!

This is my second post for today. What with all that Blogger nonsense yesterday, my schedule is a bit goofy!

I'm here to share this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge. Here is today's sketch, brought to us by the lovely and very talented Edna Morrisedie!
This is a fantastic sketch, here's my take:

Simple is what I seem to have been going with recently. I started by stamping my background with the medium gingham stamp from Gingham & Co. - I dare you to stop using this set!

I stamped the polka dot pennants from Bitty Banners all in a row and then trimmed them out along the bottom. That left a little space above for me to stamp my sentiment, which is one of the great phrases from Say It Loud (I dare you to put that one down, too!).

A little bit of baker's twine across the top helps to give a nice clean line for my sentiment, and adds a pop of color to my card.

We hope you'll play along with us this week - head to the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge Blog to link up your creation. In addition to the Top Mice awards, a free stamp set is awarded each week to a random player!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Gingham & Co., Bitty Banners, Say It Loud - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Caribbean Baker's Twine - The Twinery

LAD May DT Challenge

Hi there, friends! Today is Design Team Challenge day at Lizzie Anne. This month we are doing a color challenge based on the photo below. Our colors were tan and mint green with a splash of pink and yellow.

For my card, I used the Merry Marine stamp set.

I paper pieced the whale with patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket's Social Club collection. The waves were created by using the negative image after die cutting a scallop border. My yellow and pink accents were easy additions with a button and some baker's twine.

This would make a great birthday card for a little one!

I'm so glad you stopped by today, please be sure head over to the Lizzie Anne Designs Blog to see what the other DT members created for the challenge. Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Merry Marine - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Kraft, Aqua Mist, White - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Social Club Collection - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Lemondrop Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Medium Scalloped Die - Papertrey Ink; pink button

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

'Tis the Season

For weddings, that is!

This week's DT challenge at Serendipity Stamps was to create a wedding card. Wedding season will be in full swing soon (me, I got married in December :) but maybe you are attending one this spring?

We are also using a sketch this week, too:

I used the Wedding Cake stamp for my card.

I stamped the cake in Memento ink and then colored it in with Copics. My sentiment is a portion of the Love Inside label stamp - I just used a post-it to mask off the 'Inside' portion of the phrase.

With a glue pen, I highlighted some of the icing swirls on the cake and added some gold glitter. I also added some paper flowers to the right side. These started out white and I spritzed them with Watermelon Glimmer Mist to coordinate with the roses on my cake!

Please be sure to visit the other Design Team members to see their take on this challenge!



Have you stopped by Serendipity's new store yet? Make sure you do, and check out the new products and deal of the week!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Wedding Cake (425E), Love Inside Small (780B) - Serendipity Stamps
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Berry Sorbet - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento Ink - Tsukineko; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Copic Markers (R32, R35, G00, E50) - Imagination International, Inc.; Smoky Quartz glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Watermelon Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels; Paper flowers - Prima; Gold elastic cord - Stampin' Up!; Vintage button; sewing machine

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Good Friend

Hi there. How have you been? I hope your Mother's Day was an enjoyable one. We had some last-minute plan changes for our weekend, but it all worked out.

My kitchen is coming along nicely - its about 2/3 finished, but all the moving and maneuvering is done so hopefully the rest will go smoothly. I moved a new pantry into the room as well as built a counter top/cupboard combo and installed a shelf. I am pretty head-over-heels about the counter top and shelf. Work space and storage were not abundant in the old setup. I will share some pictures as things move along.

My craft room has been neglected, and right now I'm not so sure I miss it. I am feeling the need for a bit of a recharge, so I'm just going with the flow.

But, regardless of that, I do have some cards to share with you today that I made with the two new Simply Singles that Lizzie Anne released this month, called Favorite Jeans and A Good Friend. Love it when the Singles go so well together :)

For this card, I created a pattern by stamping the Favorite Jeans stamp all over my paper. I colored one pair in with an Aqua Painter and an ink pad. Don't they look all worn and comfy? Then I used the A Good Friend single to add my complimentary sentiment.

For my second card, I broke out some patterned paper and created a fun patchwork card.

I punched all the little squares out with a 3/4-inch square punch and adhered them to a piece of cardstock. Then I die-cut it with a circle Nestability. The jeans were paper pieced, and I added a tiny rhinestone for the button. I just included the first part of the sentiment on the front of my card...

.. and continued the rest of the sentiment on the inside. Cute!

Thank you for stopping by today, I appreciate you taking the time to visit! Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe:
Favorite Jeans Card
Stamps: Favorite Jeans, A Good Friend, Timeless Textures - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink; Buckaroo Blue - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Buckaroo Blue - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink, Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Postage Stamp punch - Fiskars; Aqua Painter

Circle Patchwork Card
Stamps: Favorite Jeans, A Good Friend - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Material Girl, Social Club - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Big Scalloped Circle Large, Standard Circle Large Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Adhesive rhinestone - Recollections; sewing machine

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Hi!

Hi-ya friends. Happy Cinco de Mayo! I just wanted to pop in for a moment to let you know I've been taking a little break. I'll be back on Saturday with the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, though.

My crafty brain needed a bit of a rest after the WMS release. The weather has finally started to get a little nicer around these parts, so that means construction season is upon us and I am extra super busy at work. And, I have started a kitchen revamp.

Image from Pinterest.

This isn't my kitchen, but it will hopefully have at least close to the same color cabinets once I'm done! I'm adding a different pantry solution and extra counter/work space (which I have almost none of now) so I am pretty excited about finishing. That and its a giant disruption and no one in my household does well with disruption.

But I'll see you soon - thanks for understanding, I didn't want you to think I bailed on ya!

Anya

Sunday, May 1, 2011

WMS May Release Blog Waltz

Today is the day! The five new Waltzingmouse Stamps sets we've been previewing for the past three days will be available for purchase.

You should have arrived here from Tosha's blog. Claire's blog is the start of the waltz, so head back to her if you're just popping in! Niki will be your next stop.

As usual, Blog Waltz prizes are up for grabs! One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments left on one of the Design Team blogs, so let us know what you think of the new release! The contest ends at 11:59 pm EST Monday, May 2. Winners will be announced on the WMS Blog.

Today we are sharing previews of the final set to be released this month, Say It Loud. Oh - this set is just awesome.

I know you've got lots of things to look at, so I'll keep my chit chat to a minimum and just share some pictures. This is another set that will be well loved in my crafty room.

The small and large sentiments are separate, so there are lots of options for phrase building.

One quick thing I do want to mention - I purposely inked up the smallest gingham image (from Gingham & Co.) unevenly before stamping. This may not be your style, but I loved the spotty look when I stamped the stamp - like the paper has been loved and worn... just a thought!

Combined with Dainty Doilies 2 Small, the reverse polka dot from Gingham & Co., Bitty Banners, and Emma's Shoppe paper from Crate Paper.

The doily was embossed with clear embossing powder, then I brushed some Vintage Photo Distress Ink over top.

And an example of just how easy it is to combine multiple stamps in this set to create your own custom sentiment. I did a bit of masking for this, but most of the phrases are as is.

Combined with some colorful doilies. Love these colors together.

So that's me for today, thank you for all of your kind comments over the past few days. I am glad you enjoyed my projects - I am continually inspired by you all!

Niki is your next stop on the waltz - enjoy!

Anya

Recipe:
Bonny New Baby Card
Stamps: Say It Loud, Gingham & Co. (available May 1) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Bashful Blue - Stampin' Up!; White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Bashful Blue - Stampin' Up!; Jet Black Archival Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Buttons; Twine; Sewing machine

Celebrate Banner Card
Stamps: Say It Loud, Gingham & Co., Dainty Doilies 2 Small (available May 1); Bitty Banners - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi Textured - Stampin' Up!; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Emma's Shoppe Collection - Crate Paper
Ink: Thatched Straw VersaMagic - Tsukineko; Coffee Archival Ink, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Clear Filigree Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior

Sending Hugs Card
Stamps: Stamps: Say It Loud, Dainty Doilies Large, Dainty Doilies 2 Small (available May 1); Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Melon Berry, Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Groovy Guava, Pale Plum - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Stardust Gel Pen - Sakura; Sewing machine