Rather be Craftin'

2 in a row??

2011-10-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm inspired. And the papertrey paper dolls challenge is right up my alley....nothing better for a time limited project then a CASEd card. I managed to sneak this in during Cam's morning nap!

They're asking us to check out Dawn McVey's blog and find something to CASE. Here's what I found:

And here's my CASEd version:

I stuck pretty close to the original. I think I'm going to make a few of these to send out this year. A great quick card to make during naptime. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Dusting off the old blog...

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been such a long time since I last posted. March 22.....and 4 days later I became a proud mama. Needless to say my 'me' time has been drastically reduced. But now that my little guy is getting older (6 1/2 months already!) I think it's time I start getting back to it. My goal to post one per month. Seems realistic to me. Let's see.

Here is a quick one to get me started. I'm feeling in the Halloween mood already (been sewing my little guy's first Halloween costume) and this week's colourQ challenge is a perfect fit!

I was following this weeks fall-to-layout 161 from clean&simple.

Thanks for stopping by after all this time. I look forward to catching up on all your blogs as well!

Flourishes Thank You

2011-03-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, since I had my Flourishes stamps out and baby has yet to make an appearance, here is another thank you card for one of my mom's co-workers. I've never met her, but she sent along a very nice baby present for me. I went for a monochromatic look with this one. The stamp is from the Cherry Blossoms set, colored with the Lavender Moon copic trio from PTI. And as with the majority of my simple coloring cards - a little bling to match!

On a side note - baby's actual due date is tomorrow.....let's hope he comes soon!

Fun with Copics

2011-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a gift that I made for my mom's birthday. It's a set of notecards featuring Flourishes stamps. The stamps come from the Waterlilies, Humming Along, Cherry Blossoms and Year of Flowers 2 sets. They were great fun to make - I think maybe I'll have to made myself a set? Of course it also makes me want to buy some more of these great flower stamps. Perfect for copics. I think it makes a pretty good homemade gift. I've included the enveloped and placed them all in one of those clear boxes from PTI for that 'professional' look.

This will probably be my last post for awhile as I'm about to have my baby any day now. I may be able to sneak one more in as I still need to make my Mom a birthday card. It may find its way to my blog. :) We'll have to see what my little one has planned.

Happy Birthday!

2011-03-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a little birthday card for my sister! Not sure how often she checks out my blog - so if Amanda's reading this - pretend to be surprised when you get this in the mail!

I used this weeks color palette from ColourQ:

The main image is a paper pieced Unity stamp. All cardstock is PTI (Aquamist, Lemon Tart and white), patterned paper was scraps I had - mostly CTMH. I colored some of the details with copics, but its kind of hard to tell in the picture.

Thanks for having a look!

Having fun with COLOR!

2011-02-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

So, my original plan was to post my birth announcements, but instead I'm posting the last of my thank you cards. I'm finally caught up! Thank goodness I had mass produced a bunch prior to my baby showers. :) I have the best friends and family.

I really felt like making something bright and fun. Both cards were made with PTI's Guide Lines 2 and Mega Mixed Messages stamp sets. Card 1 is a combo of CTMH's Cotton Candy, Chocolate and Twilight inks with PTI's Raspberry Fizz and Dark Chocolate cardstock.

For card 2 I used CTMH's Lagoon, Sweet Leaf and Sunset inks with PTI's Orange Zest and some random turquoise cardstock.

The colors for card 2 are from the Curtain Call 70 challenge:

Added some bling, ribbon, and buttons with embroidery floss and called it done! Hope these bright colors encourage spring to come sooner rather than later. :)

Keeping it simple

2011-02-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

So another really simple card to say thank you to a co-worker for a baby shower present. The image stamp is Unity and sentiment in PTI. The color palette is this weeks colourQ challenge 73 and layout from Stamping with Brenda's Clean and Simple Challenge 7:

Tomorrow I'm very excited to share the birth announcements I've made for my immediate family. It's completely CASEd but I love it!

Make it Monday Thank you

2011-02-18T04:59:00.000-08:00

Hello! So, I decided to play along with the PTI Make it Monday Challenge (Vellum Sentiment Strip) and the Color Throwdown 129.

So just a really quick thank you card. Unity stamp colored with copics (YG97, YG03 and B97), a couple dimensionals, and a vellum strip. Annoyingly, the sentiment is a little wonky - i swear it looked perfectly straight on the block!

Thanks for stopping by!

PTI Color Challenge

2011-02-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Here is a great color combo from Papertrey Ink : Ripe Avocado, Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate! Love these colors so much! There are 10 combos from PTI that you can find here that are sure to inspire.

If this layout looks familiar scroll down a bit - I used the FTL126 again (same as yesterday!) I used Close to my Heart ink and stamps except the sentiment which is from the PTI mega mixed messages set. All paper is PTI.

Thanks for stopping by to have a peek!

Valentine

2011-02-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Another Valentine's Day themed card - so easy to do with the color combos at ColourQ recently. Here's the palette for this weeks challenge (71) -

I used the FTL126 - I may try this one again using the numbers for a birthday card.

The flower stamp is from Flourishes and sentiment is from a Unity KOTM. The flowers were colored with copics R20, R22, and R24. I used memento rich cocoa ink for a softer look to the flowers.

My mind is just working overtime to come up with a birth announcement for my little guy's big arrival. I'll also soon be posting another thank you card as I have another baby shower coming up this weekend. I'm so lucky to have such great friends and family!

Thanks for stopping by!

My take on ColourQ 70

2011-02-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

I'm loving the color combo this week over at the ColourQ blog. Just perfect for Valentine's Day...don't you think?

I stamped PTI Life images in Close to my Heart's Cocoa, Hollyhock and Blush ink, then added some Tulip cardstock. I took inspiration from the sketch 203 at CPS and flipped it -

And a lesson learned - I was too lazy to get up and get my good scissors to trim my bow so I used a set just lying on my table and now the edges look terrible. Ah well :)

Neutral thank you card

2011-01-31T10:51:00.000-08:00

Another thank you card. I used the Neutrals Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World. There are 6 great color combos to choose from but hurry because you have to link by midnight tonight! Here is the palette (French Vanilla, Twig, and Smoky)-

The layout is from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 102 over at the sweetest thing -

Tree stamp, patterned paper and ink (grey wool) are Close to my Heart. Tag was made using the small scalloped squares nestie. Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Another thank you card :)

2011-01-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

So another thank you card - this one baby themed. I used the ColorThrowdown 126 color palette:

And the Fall-to-Layout 125 over at the clean&simple blog:

All supplies are Close to my Heart with the exception of the sentiment which is Hero Arts. Now to make a whole pile of these and continue working on thank you notes from my baby shower!

Cutie mouse

2011-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

So here is a weeks too late post for the ColourQ67 color challenge. It's also for a belated birthday....starting to see a trend here? Ah well, it's the thought that counts right?

Here are the fun colors for the challenge:

I also used the SSSC101 over at the sweetest thing blog:

I managed to do that in time! (Sort of...) Let's hope I can get it together soon....

ColourQ 65

2010-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here's my take on this week's ColourQ challenge! I think these colors lend themselves well to a sympathy card:

The flower stamp is Close to my Heart and the sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink Through the Trees set. Thanks for stopping by!

Hedgehog!

2010-12-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a little cutie birthday hedgehog for a friend of mine. Not only is her birthday tomorrow, but she just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this morning. :) I'm so thrilled and excited for her!

The colours are from this weeks colourQ challenge:

And the sketch is this weeks crazy4challenges C4C67:

Cardstock and sentiment from PapertreyInk, patterned paper is Basic Grey's bittersweet, and the hedgehog is Close to my Heart.

Happy Holidays!

Morning Glory Birthday

2010-12-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

Here's my take of the ColourQ challenge colors this week:

And the Sweet Sunday Sketch:

The morning glory flower stamp is Flourishes, paper is Close to my Heart and Papertrey Ink, sentiment is Papertrey Ink. The flowers were colored with the Sweet Leaf and Aqua Mist copic collections.

10 more days til Christmas!!

Christmas Wishes

2010-11-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hurray for Christmas! Today I decided to take my inspiration from the ColourQ challenge. I think these non-traditional Christmas colors make a great holiday card.

The snowman is from a recent Close to my Heart stamp of the month and the sentiment is from the Old Island Stamp Company (a Canadian company - yay!) The snowman was colored with copics. The papers are all Papertrey Ink and the snowflakes are some left over Basic Grey rub-ons that I had laying around. I used Laura's sketch 66 at 2sketches4you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you - Version II

2010-11-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Yay! I got another pile of thank you cards done. I used the CTMH twitterpated patterned paper again - I guess I'm obsessed with it right now. The stamps are all from the PTI Through the Trees set.

I like the nature-y colors and the kraft paper really lends well to the greens and browns (in my opinion!)

Alright now I really need to get working on some Christmas cards! I think the freezing cold weather here in Calgary will keep me in the house and working on them :)

Easy holiday sewing project for baby!

2010-11-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

So I decided to haul out the old sewing machine to make a couple of receiving blankets for Christmas. I got this super cute fabric from My Mind's Eye and I am just in love with it. This first one is for a very good friend of mine who's baby is due right around Christmas. Here is a close-up of the pattern:

Cute right? I just love the pink side - perfect for a baby girl. Now of course I had to make one for myself too - I suppose I'll just have to keep it in storage until next Christmas :) Here's a pic of that one:

Same red snowman flannelette, but the opposite side has the words to the Twas the Night Before Christmas story. I hope my little man will like it!

And on a side note, I was to share this awesome bib I just received as a gift. It was picked up at the Art Market here in Calgary this weekend. It's made by a Canadian company Mally Bibs - they have a huge selection of supercute bibs! Isn't it the cutest?

Gonna be needing some thank yous...

2010-11-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

So I'm anticipating being in need of quite a few thank you cards in the near future. So today I spent the afternoon making copy after copy of this card. The papers and stamps are from the Close to my Heart twitterpated series. The sentiment and butterfly are Hero Arts. The label was cut from the cricut Calligraphy Cartridge.

Baby Shower Invite

2010-11-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

So maybe I'm crazy but I decided to take on making these baby shower invites. First time I've ever done anything in mass production - 50 invites in total! I must say it was kind of fun.

Now to get back to some Christmas crafting!! Have a great weekend!

Countdown to Christmas!

2010-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, this weekend I got the majority of my Christmas shopping done and it really got me in the Christmas spirit. :) As soon as I got all those presents wrapped I ran to my craft room to start making some gift tags. Here is the start of it!

I used my trusty cricut to cut out the tag shape from the Joys of the Season cartridge. Then I stamped and colored away to my hearts content. Oh, and stickled. Yes, I've decided stickled is a word.

I hope everyone had a great weekend (especially with that extra hour of sleep)!

Recipe

Paper - PTI stamper's select and kraft

Stamps - various PTI and CTMH

Ink - CTMH and memento

Other - ribbon, copics, cricut, white gel pen stickles

A card for the friend who inspires me!

2010-10-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

So it's the birthday of a very talented friend of mine. Please go check her out at natureofcraftythings.blogspot.com/. I'm sure you'll find some inspiration as well. I'm so lucky to have such a great friend in my life!

After my super long slump, I managed to haul out the old cricut to get the birthday cake cut from the Sweet Treats cartridge.

This card is for the color challenge 53 at the playdate cafe - black and white with a splash of burgandy. Also, it's based of the sketch challenge 132 at http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/.

Recipe
Paper - Black and White PTI cardstock, Cranberry CTMH cardstock, Unknown polkadot
Stamps - Hero Arts
Ink - CTMH cranberry
Other - Cricut cut from Sweet Treats, CTMH cranberry ribbon, self adhesive pearls, copic marker, pop dots

back at it!

2010-10-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

Finally I am posting again. After a very long hiatus, which I do not have a good excuse for, I now have a new card to share! This is a card I made for a very good friend for her baby shower. Feels good to made something again. Maybe this will be the start of something good?

I'm submitting this card to the 2 sketches 4 you sketch challenge. Check them out and play along. :)

I hope to share more soon. Thanks to all of you who come to visit me once again!!

Recipe

Stamps - CTMH elephant, PTI sentiment

Ink - CTMH blush and cocoa

Paper - PTI cardstock and patterned

Other - MS punch, ribbon, stickles

Thank you!

2010-07-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, starting to get back in the crafting groove - hurray!! I made this card for my hubby's boss who hosted a bbq at his house this weekend. I had a great time even though I had to leave early to go in to work.

This card is a change from my normal dimensions - 6.5 x 3.25. I actually like using this size and will be trying it again. The sketch is from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 77 which can be found here. Luckily this card will be hand delivered as there are little parts sticking out both side. I like it - but the postman may not. It's hard to tell in the picture but I used a popdot on the hummingbird to give a little dimension.

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: PTI Stamper's Select White, New Leaf, Lemon Tart. Patternend: CTMH
Stamps - Flourishes: Humming Along, PTI: Polka Dot Basics
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics - E29, E55, E57, Y21, Y26, YG11, YG17, YR24
Other - Nestabilites Scalloped Squares, Ribbon, Pop Dot

I am a bad wife...

2010-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

So, today is my hubby's birthday and I didn't have a card for him until just now. I just haven't had any inspiration at all to create. And I think the pressure of knowing I HAD to make a card for today was just making things worse. So now it's done...and I kinda like it. Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets in these slumps?

The card is based off of the SSSC76 which can be found here. The super cute cupcake stamp is from CTMH and it was colored with copics.

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: PTI Kraft, Select White, and Unknown blue, Patterned: CTMH
Stamps - CTMH Piece of Cake, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics - B00, B41, B37, E57, Y17
Other - Twill, Button, Hemp

One layer birthday

2010-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

So today I have a super quick and easy one layer card for the OLW9 challenge over at Simplicity. Susan wants us to use a flourish in our design and this is what I came up with. A combination of a Close to my Heart flourish, Papertrey Ink sentiment and Hero Arts bird stamp with a touch of copic markers -- and done.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Recipe
Paper - PTI Stamper's Select White
Stamps - CTMH, PTI Mega Mixed Messages, Hero Arts: Tree, Birds & Messages
Ink - ColorBox Lime Pastel, Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH Moonstruck
Copic - B45, R32

B&W with a splash of BLUE

2010-06-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at another one of the images I received from the stamp swap. I'm just having so much fun coloring!!

The sketch is from Sketch Saturday #107. I also decided to play along at Play Date Cafe with challenge 34 to create a card in black and white with a splash of blue.

I made my scallops with the cricut then ran them through the cuttlebug. Then just for sparkle added some clear and blue bling. A girl's gotta have sparkle, right?

Recipe
Paper - Neenah, CTMH
Stamps - Greeting Farm - Miss Anya, PTI: Mega Mixed Messages, Polkadot Basics
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Copic - B39, B41, B45, E00, E29, E33, E35, E50, R20, W3, W5, W7
Other - Ribbon, Bling (Martha Stewart), Cuttlebug, Cricut

Life....simplified

2010-06-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Oh, the torture I put myself through for this card.... Doesn't seem like it, right? My crafting table is currently covered in buttons, bling, ribbon, paper, embellishments...all which at some point were laid out on this card. In the end, what did I do? Kept the most simple design and chose not to add any 'extras'. I probably could have made a whole new card in the time it took me to make that decision....oh well.

I recently participated in an stamped image swap and received this lovely image. I was very intimidated to color it, as I've never attempted something like this before. Perhaps it's still above my skill level, but how will I learn unless I practice, right?

My layout inspiration comes from the Card Positioning Systems sketch 171. My colors are inspired by the Color Throwdown #97 - certainly celery, not quite navy, and cameo coral.

Recipe
Paper - GinaK:white, PTI: kraft, CTMH: patterned
Stamp - Sarah Kay - Bernadette Admiring Spring Flowers, PTI - Life
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH - Moonstruck
Copics - B39, B41, B45, E00, E50, G21, R20, R30, R32, R35, W00, W3, W5, Y21, Y26, YR24

Wedding Card CASEd

2010-06-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

So, here is the third (and I think final) wedding card I need for this summer. I'm starting to wonder if I can somehow get myself invited to a couple more weddings so I can keep going with these....I'm having so much fun!

The Papertrey Chicks challenge is to CASE a gorgeous card by Debbie Olson. I stuck pretty close to the original - layout, colors, embellishments. I've used another stamp from the Flourishes cherry blossom stamp set. Still really loving it! I don't (yet) have a nestabilities label that would work for this layout so I used the cricut and cut a tag from Gypsy Wanderings.

Recipe
Paper - PTI: Stamper's Select White, Sweet Blush, New Leaf
Stamps - Flourishes: Cherry Blossom, PTI: BB Text Style, CTMH: flourish stamp
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, CTMH: Blush, Distress Ink: Antique Linen
Copic: R30, R32, YG99
Other: Ribbon (stash), Button (stash), Embroidery Floss, Cricut

For another wedding this summer

2010-06-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

So, today another wedding card. I used that great Flourishes cherry blossom stamp again, except I made the flowers blue this time! I think the blue is super pretty. Maybe I'm biased because I colored it?

I used the current Taylored Expressions sketch challenge (117). And I used the new Papertrey Paper Dolls color challenge - Hawaiian Shores, Ripe Avocado and Dark Chocolate. I was a little bad and substituted Spring Rain for Hawaiian Shores, only because those were the copics I had. I'm pleased with how it turned out. :)

Recipe
Paper - PTI: Stamper's Select White, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado and Kraft
Stamps - Flourishes: Cherry Blossom; Cornish Heritage Farms: Sentiments
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, StazOn Timber Brown
Copics - B39, C41, B45, YG67
Other - Ribbon, Nestibilities Scalloped Squares

Happiness

2010-06-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Lots of weddings coming up this summer! Here is a card I've made for one of them. Very simple...hopefully not too simple? I debated whether to add some bling or ribbon or something. In the end I left it as is...but I still may add a little something before sending it out. :)

I've taken on the OLW challenge - masking a background. I used a Nestabilities label 8 for my mask - then stamped and distress inked it.

Recipe
Paper - PTI: Rustic Cream
Stamp - PTI: Life, Text Style; Cornish Heritage Farms: sentiment
Ink - Memento: London Fog; CTMH: Buttercup; Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Walnut Stain
Other - Corner Chomper, Nestabilities Labels 8

Married 2 years :)

2010-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Amazingly two years have passed since my wedding. Next week we celebrate our anniversary, so of course I have made a card for the occasion. I feel so lucky to have a husband who supports my habit and shows so much interest in my work.

My card is based off of the mojomonday sketch. My colors are from the Papertrey Chicks Challenge #5 (Pure Poppy, Kraft and White). And one more submission - the Papertrey Paper Dolls challenge #7 is to make your own patterned paper, which I've done using the little stamps from my new flourishes Cherry Blossom Stamp. My border detail was made using two of the Gypsy Wandering borders welded together. I colored the little pearls using my copics so they would match perfectly!

Thank you for all the wonderful comments that have been left recently! I'm really feeling the love today!

Recipe
Paper - PTI - Stamper's Select White, Kraft, Pure Poppy
Stamps - Flourishes: Cherry Blossom; Cornish Heritage Farms: sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics - R30, R32, R35, YG99
Other - Cricut, Twill, Pearls

And a quick one...

2010-06-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

I know I've already posted today, but I just wanted to add a quick one for the OLW7 challenge. This week's one layer card had to feature repetition.

I always have fun with these cards. You should try one too!

Recipe
Paper - PTI Stamper's Select White
Stamps - Hero Arts: sentiment, Nikki Silvis: Victoria's Street
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH Twilight
Other - Copics

Retirement card for my FIL

2010-06-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, my FIL is officially retired - so I'm a little late with this card! But I was just waiting for my new stamp sets from PTI to come in the mail! I hope he doesn't mind :)

I'm trying out a new challenge today. The inchie! The sketch can be found here. My color combo comes from the Play date Cafe challenge 3 1. The best color matches I could find out of my ink stash were CTMH buttercup, garnet, smokey plum and lilac mist. It's hard to see in this photo, but the kraft is stamped with the PTI background stamp text styles. Much better IRL!

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: CTMH Buttercup, Bamboo; PTI: Rustic Cream; DCVW: purple
Stamp - PTI: Life, Mega mixed messages, Text Style
Ink - CTMH: Buttercup, Garnet, Lilac mist, Smokey Plum

Father's Day - Part II

2010-05-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is what I came up with for my second Father's Day card. I used the TESC115 challenge sketch with some stamps from PTI and CTMH. Again, I had to add a little something 'girly' (the ribbon).

Not sure why I had such a problem with these cards...hopefully by next year I'll have some great ideas...

Recipe

Paper - Cardstock: CTMH - buttercup; PTI - Rustic Cream, Dark Chocolate; Patterned: CTMH

Stamps - PTI: Through the trees; CTMH - small chocolate alpha, label

Ink - CTMH: Ponderosa Pine, Buttercup; StazOn: TImber Brown

Other - Cuttlebug (swiss dots embossing folder), metal dots, ribbon

Father's Day

2010-05-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

So, I've been having a bit of 'creative block' when it comes to creating father's day cards. After quite a few days of frustration and reject cards, I finally have a card I'm happy with....I think. I finally decided to just keep it simple and not try to overdo it.

I used the FTL91 sketch for the layout. The boat and waves were cut from the Life is a Beach cartridge. And I added just a touch of sparkle with stickles on the flag....I just had to!

So, one Father's Day card down, one to go....

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: PTI Rustic Cream, Patterned: CTMH
Ink - CTMH: Moonstruck, Distress Ink: Anitque Linen, Weathered Wood
Stamp - CTMH: small chocolate alpha
Other - Cricut, Cuttlebug, Stickles, Foam squares

Challenging myself :)

2010-05-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to challenge myself a little again today. Another one layer card for the OLW challenge on Susan's blog. This Wednesday's challenge? To use a faux embellishment stamp.

My color inspiration comes from the moxie fab world Tuesday Trigger.

My faux embellishment is the stitched flourish that I used as steam from that delicious cup of coffee. The flourish stamp is CTMH. I also used copics with the super cute Hero Arts What's Perking stamp set. The paper is PTI select white, which I have been in love with ever since the amazing Kasia introduced me to the it!

OLC take 2

2010-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

So here is my second attempt ever at a one layer card. It still such a challenge for me. I like the overall idea of this card, but I think I would like to retry it. A few glaringly obvious problems...like the spacing...ah well. What I do like? The colors. Summery, fruity, yummy. :)

I used the FTL90 sketch to create a card for the OLW challenge (ribbon) at simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com.

Thanks once again for stopping by. I really appreciate all the kind comments!!

Recipe
Paper - PTI Select White
Stamp -CTMH - You're Sweet
Ink - CTMH - Buttercup, Cranberry, Hollyhock, Olive, Sunflower
Other - Ribbon

Zooper Fun!

2010-05-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

My zoo pals again! I love them so much!! Today I introduce you to monkey, panda, elephant and lady vulture. So, a fun and easy card for me today, as I'm going into work tonight. The sketch for the card comes from tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com. Love playing along with those challenges!

I used my cricut to create the scalloped borders as well as cut out the circles (both from Plantin Schoolbook). Who needs punches? I also pop-dotted my stamped images for a little dimension.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: Green DCWV, White Neenah, Patterned: CTMH (pink) and recollections (green)
Stamp - Cornish Heritage Farms - Zooper Fun, Hero Arts - sentiment
Ink - Memento tuxedo black, CTMH olive, hollyhock, ponderosa pine
Other - cricut, copics, pop dots

Zoo-riffic!

2010-05-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. :) Today I have a card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 68.

I think the koala is too cute. He comes from the stamp set I just got from Cornish Heritage Farms. There are a bunch of cutie animals in this set. I can't wait to use them all!

I didn't have any cloud pp, so I used my cricut to create a cloud stencil and sponged the clouds on blue cardstock with white ink. I used the cloud image from Everyday Paper Dolls.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock: PTI select white, CTMH Olive, Unknown blue and green; Patterned: Piggy Tales - porridge
Stamp - Cornish Heritage Farms - Zooper Fun
Ink - Memento tuxedo black, CTMH olive, StazOn jet black, PTI fresh snow
Other - cricut, twill, hemp, button, copics

A card for Ivan

2010-05-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, a certain someone has been pestering me since I've started this blog to make a card for him. Well, it just so happens his birthday is this month, so I've finally done it! These masculine cards really present a challenge for me. I seem to always gravitate towards flowers and such.

The card is based off of the CPS sketch 165. I masked off the middle section of the card so that I could sponge and stamp the leaves in gray ink. The stamps and sentiment are all from the PTI Through the Trees set.

Let's hope Ivan likes it....

Recipe
Paper - PTI Stamper's Select White; Black cardstock - unknown
Stamp - PTI - Through the Trees
Ink - Memento - Tuxedo Black, London Fog; CTMH - Twilight
Other - Corner Rounder, buttons, hemp

Sweet Pea

2010-05-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

I decided to get a little cutesy today and pull out the New Arrival cartridge for cricut. I know many people don't like this cart, but I think the images are sweet. And of course that little peachy keen stamp for the face just makes me smile.

I've submitted this card for the mojomonday sketch challenge. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Recipe
Paper - Cardstock - DCWV, CTMH, Reflections; Patterned - Three Bugs in a Rug
Stamps - Peachy Keen
Ink - Close to my Heart - Olive, Twilight; Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other - Brads, Cricut, Copics, white gel pen

What's perking?

2010-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello and happy Thursday! After a little stretch of working, I finally have some time to craft again! Today I've combined two things I love - coffee and copics. :)

Todays card is based on the CPS challenge sketch - check it out here. I had a fun time putting this one together - and playing with my copics....I've got some more ordered and I can't wait until they arrive. They are very addictive!

Recipe

Paper - PTI stampers select white; Basic Grey patterned paper; DCWV blue cardstock

Stamps - Hero Arts

Ink - Memento tuxedo black

Other - Copic Sketch Markers; Buttons; Close to my Heart accents

PTI Blog Hop

2010-04-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!! It is blog hop day!

So, here is my submission for the the Papertrey Ink April blog hop! Yay! So what was the challenge you ask? Why, it was to use tissue paper in some form on your project.

I chose to make a card incorporating the faux silk technique. Each block has a stamped image (or a couple) on piece of tissue paper. I used copics on the small tress to give them a bit of color after stamping. Then, I crumpled and smoothed out the paper. Each piece was glued down to white cardstock. Turned out pretty cute I think. On the green cardstock I used another stamp and versamark ink to create a background. I decided to 'pop dot' the tree to give it that little bit extra! The stamps I used are from the PTI Through the Trees set.

The sketch is based off of the challenge at Tayloredexpression. I think it's a fun one, and will be trying it again soon!

Thanks for hopping by! I can't wait to see what everyone else has created!

Recipe
Paper - PTI cardstock in Stamper's Select White, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avacado and Sweet Blush
Stamp - PTI Through the Trees
Ink - Memento ink - Tuxedo Black, London Fog, Angel Pink; StazOn - Timber Brown; Close to my Heart - Olive, Versamark - watermark
Other - Copic Sketch Markers - E35 G21; Tissue Paper; Foam Squares

CASE challenge

2010-04-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I came across this challenge blog - crazy4challenges - and seems just perfect for me! I am crazy 4 challenges :) The current challenge is to CASE something or everything from the awesome cards created by the DT. I chose Barbara Anders card to CASE.

The background paper is stamped kraft - I used 2 Close to my Heart stamps with Sunflower and Twilight ink. I stamped the sentiment onto PTI Ocean Tides cardstock then paper pierced below it.

I hope I did justice to the original. Thanks for taking the time to check out my interpretation!

Recipe
Paper - Kraft; PTI - Ocean Tides
Stamp - Close to my Heart - Love is in the Air, Enjoy the Journey; PTI - Through the Trees (sentiment)
Ink - Close to my Heart - Sunflower, Twilight; Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Twill Tape; Button; Hemp; Corner Rounder, Paper Piercer

Monochromatic Card

2010-04-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

So, this is me trying out a monochromatic card (this is the challenge at Caardvarks!) I went for green for Earth Day. The layout is based on the sketch at clean&simple. Both great sites if you're looking to have some fun and participate in a challenge.

The flowers were cut from the Pagoda, Sweet Treats, and Forever Young cricut carts.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Earth Day!

Recipe
Paper - Shades of green cardstock pulled from stash
Stamp - CTMH
Ink - CTMH olive, Colorbox lime pastel
Other - buttons, cricut

Welcome Spring

2010-04-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

So, today I noticed little green buds on the trees and I got pretty excited. I love when everything starts to turn green. So, that is what inspired my card today.

So, the color scheme is from the ColorQ challenge 29. The layout is from the CPS 163 sketch. Also, in honor of Earth day, Frosted is challenging crafters to use a tree in their project. Yup, managed to sneak three challenges into this one. :) When I stamped the tree it turned out much more yellow than I had anticipated, so I ended up going in and adding a touch of green to each leaf with a copic.

Well, hopefully this has a 'springy' feel to you too. Hopefully we have seen the last of snow!

Recipe
Paper - White cardstock PTI, colored cardstock and patterened paper CTMH
Stamp - PTI Through the Trees
Ink - CTMH pansy purple, sunflower, Stampology citrine, Colorbox lime pastel
Other - Brads, corner rounder, copics

Are you tired of tea yet?

2010-04-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ok , so I promise this will be the last tea themed card for awhile! Seems that all I want to made these days!

This card is based on the sketch from crazy4challenges 33. A new challenge blog for me!

Tomorrow will bring new things....no more tea...hehehe

Recipe
Paper - cardstock white PTI, patterned Laura Ashley
Stamp - Flourishes Let's have tea
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Nestabilites Labels eight, cuttlebug, dull silver brads, ribbon, copics.

Tea for Taylor

2010-04-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning!! So today I am continuing with the tea theme. I really love this stamp set. I'm also really loving my new patterned paper from PTI - pink and pretty! Today's card is based on the Taylored Expressions sketch #109. Check it out and play along. :)

I managed to sneak a little cricut into this card - the scalloped edge and circles were all made with the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. Thanks for coming to have a look and hope you're having a fabulous day!

Recipe
Paper - Patterned:PTI pink patterns, Cardstock: CTMH colonial white
Stamp - Flourishes Let's have tea
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Other - cricut, twill ribbon, tea bag, copic markers

Let's have tea!

2010-04-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I have a new card to share. :) This card is based off of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 65. It can be found here if you're looking to give it a try! So for this card, I had Mother's Day in mind, as well, I wanted to practice my copic coloring.

Recipe
Paper - PTI Guide Lines collection, Cardstock Neenah & DCWV
Stamp - Flourishes Let's have Tea
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black & Distress Ink Antique Linen
Other - copic markers, CTMH Just Blooms paper flowers, CTMH filigree charm, Martha Stewart punch, corner rounder punch, buttons

What I learned in coloring class today...

2010-04-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't get sent back to kindergarten. :) But I did take a copic class from Sherrie Siemens at my LSS today. We got to make some pretty cute cards! I like the coffee/toast hero arts stamp set so much I bought it! I think its so cute! I enjoyed the class, but it's one of those things where when I'm at home if I mess up I just start over. Here I just had a live with those ugly mistakes. Oh well. So, no the cards aren't perfect, but they are still pretty cute. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Quilt card

2010-04-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hello! A new card for today! I was going for a patchwork quilt kind of look with this one. The idea for this one comes from Lucy's Cards where stitching on cards was issued as a challenge. I used both machine stitching (zigzag) and faux stitching (around the edges). I used my cuttlebug and a nestabilities label 8 to cut the shape. For the smaller sentiment label I used my cricut with a cut from the home accents cart. All paper and the sentiment is close to my heart. Brads are recollections and ribbon is from stash.

I think this will make a good mother's day card. :)

Just one more...I promise...

2010-04-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I made one more. I know I wasn't supposed to. This one is based on the cleanandsimple sketch 85.

For this card I used white daisy cardstock from CTMH and the green is unknown. Pattened paper is basic grey. Stamps are CTMH. Ink used was StazOn in timber brown, CTMH in olive and Distress ink in Antique Linen. Ribbon is from stash.

Thanks from looking at my blog today!

Trying something new...

2010-04-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

So, this morning as I was checking out some blogs I came across this one - Simplicity. There was a beautiful one layer card - and I thought to myself - can I do that? I think they look clean and pretty. So I tried one myself. The colors were inspired by the current challenge at Color Throwdown.

Here's what I used - Cardstock CTMH White Daisy; Stamps CTMH Hello There set; Ink Memento in London Fog, CTMH in Sunflower, Distress Ink in Antique Linen.

And that's it. Paper + stamps. I think it's kinda cute. :)

Well, I promised my hubby that I would actually do some housework today and not just make cards! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

I went cricut crazy!

2010-04-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

So I went a little cricut crazy on this one. But I like it...reminds me of Paris....Makes me want to wear a hat and drink wine! My intention was for this to be a Mother's day card, but as it evolved, I think it moved away from that...? Maybe if i just changed the sentiment?

So, the design of this is based on the Get Sketchy challenge at Moxie Fab World. I used a whole lot of carts for this one - Forever Young, Jasmine, Wild Card, Plantin Schoolbook, Calligraphy Collection, Sweet Treats....I think I got them all! Patterned paper used was DCWV latte stack. Cardstock was from stash. Stamp on wine bottle is CTMH. Coloring/inking was done with copics V06, V04, E00 and E02, distress ink in antique linen and frayed burlap, CTMH olive and pansy purple.

Hope everyone is having a great week. If not, just relax and have a glass of wine.... :)

Euan turns 1!

2010-04-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, this card is a bit of a departure from my usual style, but I was trying to appeal to a boy turning 1 year old! I hope he likes it?!

Of course I used my cricut! Sweet Treats for the 1/candle and the rick rack was welded from Plantin Schoolbook. The current challenge at BBTB2 is to use that cut - so this is my take on it. The sketch is based on 2S4Y50. Paper and stamps are CTMH. Ink used was CTMH in sunflower and StazOn in jet black.

Happy Birthday Euan!

I just had to do it again...

2010-04-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

I loved making the paper rose on my previous card so much I just had to do it again! Lucky me - this weeks mojomonday sketch called for a flower! I used the same technique as before with a Plantin Schoolbook flower cut 3 times. The link to the video can be found on my paper rose post. I used CTMH and DCWV latte stack paper. Stamps are CTMH. Ribbon from stash. Ink is CTMH in olive and pansy purple and StazOn timber brown.

Now, if only i could fit these cards in an envelope to mail them....

Pagoda Thank You

2010-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I've made another challenge card today. Today's is the CPS 162 sketch challenge. I used my pagoda cart to cut the tree. I also used my gypsy to weld three copies of the flower which can also be found on the pagoda cart. Patterned paper is from CTMH. Ribbon from Michael's. Sentiment is CTMH. Ink used was StazOn timber brown, CTMH olive, and Distress Ink frayed burlap. Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

Paper rose card

2010-04-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! Another card for another challenge! The sketch for this card was taken from Taylored Expressions #108. I also used the color scheme from My Pink Stamper (pink, green and black). I really wanted to try my hand at making the paper flower. The technique used I learned for Kathy Orta's video which can be found here. So a big thank you there! Instead of using the George cart (I don't have it - yet), I used the New Arrival cart to cut the flower. The papers I used were a combination of Basic Grey, CTMH and Anna Griffin. Sentiment is CTMH and ink was StazOn in Jet Black and Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap.

Hope you are having a wonderful and crafty day!!

New arrival challenge

2010-04-09T09:43:00.001-07:00

Hello once again! Felt up to another challenge card today! BBTB2's challenge was to make a card using the delivery cut from the New Arrival cart. I also used the card positioning systems sketch for the layout. Papers and ink are CTMH, stamp Peachy Keen and copics were used to color baby. Thanks once again!

And while I'm at it...

2010-04-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just share a couple older cards that I made and have pictures of just kicking around on my computer. The first is a card I made using my cricut for a housewarming party I went to recently. The cuts are from Paper Doll Dressup. All the paper I used was from my scrap bucket! I really liked the idea of a clotheslines - so I wanted to incorporate the idea into a card - reminds me of spring :)

This second card I made for an older challenge. I again used my cricut to cut the pear - from the Joys of the Season cart. The papers are Basic Grey and CTMH. The sentiment is also CTMH. Thanks once again for checking out my cards.

First post - oh my!

2010-04-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

So after posting on messageboards for awhile now, I've decided to try out the blogging world (with a little encouragement from my gal Kasia - check her out at natureofcraftythings.blogspot.com) So here is my first post - a card I've made for a couple challenges - sketch challenge from mojomonday, colors scheme chellenge from color throwdown, and a baby theme for the caardvarks challenge. Wow that seems like a lot!

The paper and stamped image are CTMH, image was colored with copics, and I've used CTMH ink in olive and blush as well as memento in tuxedo black.

Thanks for checking me out!