Country girl

The Timeless Tuesday #158 challenge this week is create a project showing country comfort. At first I was at a loss, but then started thinking about denim and how I have this paper that looks like denim. While I was looking for it, I found this hay bale paper. When I think of country, I think of farms and you definitely have to have hay on a farm. I added a little pink paisley and pink ribbon because cowgirls need a little bit of softness. My mother-in-law has horses and my almost 6-year-old helps do chores almost every day. So, I think this card will probably be for her. The sketch is Stampin' Sisterhood #12. The horse stamp is from SU! and the sentiment is from Verve's "Celebrating You" set. The die is also from Verve: "Charming Oval".

Just because

I have been waiting to use this butterfly die by PTI and this card seemed the perfect chance. The sketch is the Sweet Stop Sketches #147 and the color combo is the Pretty Palette #49: saffron, aqua, lime, and teal. It is a fairly simple card: I die cut the butterfly from the center of the panel and stamped the various circles from PTI's "Simply Stationery" set. I stamped the small butterflies and the base panel with "Timeless Textures" from Skipping Stones Design. The sentiment is from Verve's "Celebrating you". I inked the edges of the small butterflies and then outlined the wings and body with glitter pen.

To have & hold

I have two cousins getting married within two weeks of each other this spring. So, I need several wedding shower/wedding cards. The Our Daily Bread Designs #98 challenge is to create a card/project that is NOT a square or rectangle. It worked out nicely that the Mojo Monday #230 challenge this week is either a round or square sketch. I chose the round and since I find them rather small (at least with the dies I have), it is the perfect size to include in a shower gift. I'm also entering this in the Pixie Cottage #110 Anything Goes challenge.

Dies/punches: spellbinders classic circles large and scalloped circles large, EK success flower punch, Fiskars border punch, PTI leaf die.

Stamps: Skipping Stones Design "Timeless Textures", sentiment from an American Crafts wedding set.

Cutest thing ever!

Ok, I just today received this die from Taylored Expressions for this bag and I HAD to use it. And you might be thinking that it is just a bag, but check out the last picture of this post! It is like half (or less) the size of a small Martha Stewart punch!! It is sooooo adorable. The little tag also came from the same die set: shopping bag and labels. The flower and the sentiment on the tag are both from PTI's "Year of Flowers: Collection". I created the bag (other than for the fun of trying out a new die) for the JUGS #125 challenge to create a template or 3-D project and used buttons, flowers, and ribbon.

A day of sunshine

This makes me so ready for summer! The sketch is Viva La Verve February 2012 week 4 and I also used the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge to use variegated colors. This was a very simple card after I picked the rainbow colors and figured out how wide to make the stripes. Then I sprayed the strip with spray adhesive and sprinkled on some white glitter. It add sparkle and muted the colors a bit which was a added benefit. The sentiment is from Verve's "Celebrating You", the dragonflies are from PTI's "Places, Please" and I inked them with blue and added a bit of green onto the tips of the wings and tail. Then I colored them over with glitter pen to add the shimmer of dragonfly wings.

Glorious Christmas

I have to say this is one of my favorite cards that I have created lately. I used the Seems a Little Sketchy sketch, the For Fun recipe challenge (use 1 sentiment as the main image, 2 ribbons, and 3 brads or buttons), the Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge #61 to use either ribbon or a charm, and the Make it Monday #55 challenge to create a large frame out of smaller frame stamps.

This picture shows the frame image I used to create the larger frame. It is from PTI's "Places, Please" set as is the tree image stamped in the circles and on the white ribbon. By using the oval die cut behind my sentiment panel (sentiment is from Verve's "Richly Blessed" set), those frames look like they are one. I really liked this technique. I already have plans to try it again with a different frame set. The ribbon is Ripe Avacado from PTI, the papers are DCWV Christmas pack.

Tent card

This was my first attempt at a tent card. And as most of the new techniques I have been challenged to try, it was rather fun. But this is the week of my brain not working properly and the tent card challenge was the Sweet and Sassy digi challenge. Which was all good until I got the card all made and realized that I did NOT use a digital image which is the Main part of that challenge. DUH! So, it was really just for fun. Ha! But, anyway, I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesdays #142.

The pointsettia image is from PTI's "Year of Flower Collection" and the sentiment is from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas". Both were heat embossed with gold powder.

Pink Emery

I think every time I use this Emery plain jane from Verve, I love him even more! He's so cute and is perfect for coloring or paper piecing. Today, I colored him with colored pencils. The sentiment is from Verve's "Birthday Phrases". The paper is from one of those freebie packs you get when a magazine is trying to entice you to buy a subscription. It's very bright (too bright for my usual taste) but perfect for this card. The sketch I used is Creative Inspirations #151, but I just realized the link for that is already closed. : ( But their challenge #152 is Anything Goes, so the card still fits (AND uses last week's sketch).

Let's Party

Another birthday invite for my 6 year-old's birthday next month. The sketch is Pixie Cottage #109 and I also used there optional theme of Buttons & Bows. I also used the challenge from Delightful Sketches to use patterned paper. Mine is all from an old SU! pack (I think it had to do with baby girls--all pink/yellow). The cake stamp is actually a wedding cake from a wedding set I bought at Michael's a long time ago. The sentiment and the die are from Verve (the set is Birthday Phrases).

6th Birthday

Wowee! That is some serious green in that inspiration picture from Stampin Sisterhood! Good thing my daughter's favorite color is green. And her birthday is next month, so what better for a birthday invite than an all green one.

It's an almost completely Papertrey Ink card (I just realized): ripe avacado cardstock and ribbon; By the Numbers die and Big Birthday Wishes stamp set. The patterned paper is DCWV.

6! Yikes!!

My oldest is turning 6 next month! How did that happen?! So, this year, I am actually going to get a jump on the invitations to her party. I used the Skipping Stones Design #116 sketch, the Make it Monday #54 challenge to glitter some buttons (I used spray adhesive and white glitter and they look so sparkly and sugary) and the JUGS#124 color challenge: teal/green/pink/yellow. Mixing mutliple colors is really hard for me, so when I found this paper (DCWV) in my stash, it was perfect: the right colors and Happy Birthday. Then I just had to match up the colors and it was a piece of cake. The "6" is one of the dies from PTI's By the Numbers die set; I die cut it from paper and cardboard to give it a chipboard look. The sentiment is from Verve's "Birthday Phrases" and I used a flourish from Inkadinkado behind the 6.

Let's Party

Mmmm . . . those cupcakes look so yummy! This picture is the inspiration photo for this week's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi #41 challenge.

As you can see, I went with the chocolate cupcake theme (you can find this image here) with little pink flowers. I used the Mojo Monday #229 sketch. The die and the sentiment (Birthday Phrases) are both from Verve. The patterned paper is from My Time Made Easy's Coffee Bean collection. And notice the glittery button: a little spray adhesive and some white glitter. It looks sweet enough to eat.

Just a note

Isn't this a beautiful flower? It is the image A Day for Daisies is offering for free if you use it in their color challenge (see the inspiration photo at the top of this post). I thought it was so pretty, I decided to use it to create patterned paper, too. I colored them all in with markers, something I rarely do, but it creates a much more vibrant color than my usual colored pencils. The sentiment is from Verve's "Accent Notes".

Bookmark

This week's Pixie Cottage #108 challenge to create Anything But a Card really had me stumped until I saw the Timeless Tuesday #157 challenge to create a corner bookmark using one of Flourishes beautiful flower stamps. Having never tried it and seeing the gorgeous samples, I had to give it a try. Plus, I LOVE reading, so it will be useful to boot. I also used the Pretty Palette #48: saffron, light blue, kraft and espresso and the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge #127 to use flowers on your project.

Stamps: Flourishes (I think it is called Paperwhites?); Skipping Stones Design: "Timeless Textures"

Dies/punches: Spellbinders Labels 4, Fiskars border punch

Birthday wishes

The first photo is the inspiration photo for this week's Paper Variety challenge. I decided to go with the color scheme for my card: green, grey, auburn. My daughter's birthday is coming up next month and her favorite color is green, so this is perfect for her. I used the Sweet Stop Sketch #146 which is a sketch with a spin: use punches or dies. I used the Fiskars Upper Crest punch, the spellbinders label one die and classic circle, large die. Stamps used: Verve's "To the Moon" and "Birthday Phrases"; and Skipping Stones Design's "Timeless Textures". Ripe avacado cardstock and ribbon from PTI.

Happy Snowman

For my last card of the day, I used the Viva La Verve February week 3 sketch, the Delightful Sketches challenge to use scraps (every single piece of paper used was a scrap!), and the For Fun challenge to show snow (since most of us have not seen very much this winter at all). This adorable snowman is from Inkadinkado and I colored him with colored pencils in colors to match the scraps I knew I was going to use. Notice the ski gear paper? Cute, huh? The sentiment stamped on the tag is from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas".

Celebrate

I don't often do shaped cards; I must prefer the easier A2 version. But this week the Clearly Inspired Challenge (from Clear Dollar Stamps) was to create a shaped card. I'm also using the color combo from Creative Inspirations #150: brown, blue and cream. Love this color combo! I think I will be using it a lot more. I used the Labels One die from spellbinders to create my card. No patterned paper and only one layer on this card, but I really like how it came out. The bottom section was stamped with several of the elements from PTI's "Guide Lines 2". The sentiment is from PTI's " Damask Designs". The top portion was stamped with a French script stamp from Hero Arts and then a flourish from Inkadinkado. I inked around all the edges with a light brown and also inked across the center of the card to create the illusion of a layer of paper. I added two rhinestones and it was finished.

Christmas Scene

The challenge this week from Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge is to create a scene on your project. As soon as I saw the challenge, I thought of this set from Clear Dollar Stamps (I can't think what the name is, but it contains a whole bunch of stamps that you can use to create many different fireplace scenes). The fireplace/mantel, logs, fire, candles and stack of books on the mantel are all from this set. The Christmas "tree" I created using a pine branch from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas", that I stamped repeatedly in a tree shape. The wreath/mirror over the fireplace was a happy discovery. I was looking for something the right size to use as a wreath and discovered that one of the elements from PTI's "Simply Stationery" was the perfect size and if you stamp it twice, aligning the points (the 2nd time) into the valleys of the first stamping, it makes this really beautiful decorative circle. Then I added a trio of little red dots from PTI's "Boy Basics: Out of this world" as the berries. I had so much fun creating this scene, I am definitely going to use this set again soon. I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesdays #141 and tied embroidery floss around the squares to look like Christmas presents.

Lighthouse Christmas

This card uses the Skipping Stones Design #115 sketch, the Our Daily Bread Designs #97 to use a scene on your project, and the Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #60 which is also to create a scene. This lighthouse stamp is from Clear Dollar Stamps. I colored it in with colored pencils and used a glitter pen on the snow. To create the wreath, I took the wreath stamp from PTI's "Places Please" and stamped it twice to create a fuller look. Then I added red berries or lights with a red marker. "Hope" and "The True gift of Christmas" are both from Verve's "Richly Blessed" the Merry Christmas is from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas".

Christmas slider

I made this card with a technique I have never tried before: a slider card. I might try it again. It was fun but I made it more difficult than it needed to be by trying to create it while using the sketch from Mojo Monday #228. Something a little less layered might make it easier. : ) Oh well, live and learn, right. I'm also using the Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge #59: use an angel or fairy image (and remember, it has to be a Christmas project). I found this adorable angel ornament image here and colored it with colored pencils, gold pen and glitter pen on the wings. I almost had a disaster as I left the image in my paper cutter after I had cut out something else from the sheet of paper. My littlest said, "Mama, what's this?" as she swiped the blade right across the image!!!!! Luckily, she's only 3 and didn't push down hard, so she only lightly scored through the image instead of cutting it!

Papers: DCWV

Dies/punches: Spellbinders Labels one, standard circles large, classic scalloped circles large; fiskars border punch, Oval dies from Verve.

Stamps: "Holiday Cheer" Verve's Ornamental Christmas, slider sentiment Su!'s Versatile Verses.

Love

This is a cute little bag I made to hold my husband's Valentine's Day gift. I'm entering it in the Delightful Sketches Challenge to show "LOVE" and the Our Daily Bread Designs #96 challenge to use 3 materials/techniques beginning with three letters of the word "HEART". I used "H" hearts, "E" embossing and eyelets, and "R" red. The die cut and frame stamp are from PTI's Mat Stack 2 die and stamp sets. The heart and "LOVE" are from Verve's "Text Objects".

All buttoned-up

This is a bit of fun for Christmas time. A bunch of button "ornaments" for the JUGS #123 challenge which was to create images with button centers. The stamps (tree branch, ornament toppers, and sentiment) are from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas."

Christmas Wishes

After completing all the Valentine's Day cards, it's time to get back to work on Christmas cards. : ) Today's card uses the Sweet Stop Sketches #145 sketch and the Sweet n' Sassy Digital challenge "Hats off to you" (create a project incorporating a hat and a digital image). I found this pretty image here (it's free as are all the images on the blog) and colored it with colored pencils and a little bit of glitter pen on the snowflakes. Papers are DCWV, sentiment from Verve's "Ornamental Christmas", SU! ribbon and ink and a Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

Praying for you

One of the women at our church is having surgery today and I'm going to send her this card to let her know that we are praying for a quick recovery. I'm using the Pretty Palette #47 color challenge: pink/aqua/rose/gray and the challenge today from Papertrey Ink (they are celebrating their 5th anniversary and have challenges and prizes each day) to use butterflies & leaves. The Stampin' Sisters In Christ challenge is to create a "happy" card. I think this will brighten the recipient's day, so it's definitely happy.
All products are Papertrey Ink (except the French Script I stamped on the leaves and the butterfly): Mat Stack 2 die and stamp set, leaf die, butterfly die and the sentiment from "Damask Designs"

Love for little girls

I have three little girls, so I had to create 3 packages for Valentine's Day. When I saw these $1 mailboxes at Target, I knew they were perfect. They are going to love playing with the mailboxes afterwards. This red one is for my oldest. Red and green (and white to think of it) are her favorite colors. The Pixie Cottage #107 challenge is to use red and lots of it. I'm also using today's Papertrey Ink Challenge (part of their 5th anniversary party going on) to use hearts and the Delightful Sketches challenge to show love.

Here's a close-up of the flower and the leaves with "heart" berry clusters. The leaves and border die are both fom PTI.

The next picture shows the mailbox I created for my middle daughter. Her fav. color is pink and she has a stuffed monkey that is her constant companion. Isn't this little pink guy cute? He is from Verve's "To the Moon" set.

This last picture shows all three mailboxes ready to go.

Sketch challenge #2

Because I love Papertrey Ink's products and so want to win today's challenge (and who doesn't?), I made two cards (see my previous post for the other card). This card uses the sketch #2 from the sketch challenge which is part of PTI's 5th anniversary festivites. Both stamps are from Damask Designs by PTI and the border punch is fiskars. A little hand stitching and a row of pierced holes on either side of the sentiment strip finish it off.

Fancy love

Today starts the sneek peaks for Papertrey Ink's new release. As part of their 5th anniversary festivities today's challenge is to create a project based on one of the 5 sketches they have provided. I chose sketch #4 and had something completely different in mind when I chose it. : ) I used my new favorite color combo (at least for Valentine's Day): dark pink, light blue and brown. I die cut PTI's Mat Stack 2 from the center of my blue layer and stamped an image from the Mat Stack 2 set in the center, then stamped the sentiment (from PTI's Damask Designs). I also used PTI's button die to cut the two "buttons" that I topped with pearls.

Treeheart

Today, I ventured (briefly) into the world of pinterest and found this card to use as inspiration. Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 5th anniversary this month and today's challenge (as part of the festivites) was to find inspiration on pinterest and create a project from that. I'm also entering the For Fun challenge: Love, and the Creative Inspirations #149 challenge: Lots of love.

I used the layout from the inspiration card and also used a tree image, but that was because I had planned on using the tree before I found a layout to use. If you read my previous post, you will recognize both the image and the color combo. I really enjoyed using both and wanted to use them again. The medallion stamp is from "Mehndi Medallion", tree is from "Through the Trees" and the sentiment is from "Damask Designs" all by PTI. The little hearts are a trio from Verve's "To the Moon". A little ribbon from SU! and some twine and a button finish it up. It took longer to find an image than to create the card!

You make my heart smile

The above picture is the inspiration photo for this week's Stampin' Sisterhood #9 challenge. So many possibilities. For my card, I latched onto the single tree right away and that bright pink color, too. But I also loved the blue so I had to add that in. I used the Seems A Little Sketchy sketch, though I simplified it quite a bit.

The tree is created by stamping the trunk (from PTI's "Through the Trees") brown and then stamping the little trio of heart "leaves" (from Verve's "To the Moon") in rose red ink from SU! On the both the pink and sblue layer I used "Mehndi Medallion" from PTI. The "You" is from PTI's "Damask Designs" and the rest of the sentiment is from Rubbernecker stamps. It has a "You" with is, but it was too big and didn't fit the layout of this card.