Peonies

Just popping in really quick before I head out to work to share this Peony card I made with the new Justrite garden oval stampers. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, I used to have tons of them growing in front of my old house. Sadly, the only gardening I do anymore is container gardening on our front and back decks, the deer chomp up any and everything else planted in the yard.
I thought this would be perfect for a Mother's birthday card, or Mother's Day of course. But I intentionally left off any reference to the holiday so it could be used as a birthday card. My mom's birthday is in May too, and I don't want to be left unprepared in case I get distracted and don't make another card specifically for her.

I love this Martha Stewart Lattice punch around the page set. So delicate and pretty!

Hope you like it, come back soon!

Stamps: Justrite, Papertrey Ink sentiment

Ink: Brilliance, Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Bristol vellum, Memory Box, Incandescent cardstock

Accessories: Martha Stewart edge/corner punches, sheer ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Nestabilities, clear embossing powder

Colorful Cutie

We're snowed in again..uggghhh! I am sick to death of snow! School was closed early on Tuesday, then closed yesterday, today, and again tomorrow! We've got another foot of the evil white powdery stuff again, on TOP of what was there from Tuesday. The wind is howling now, and the temp is dropping. My sweetie and I are going on a short vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait!

Anyway, onto my card:

The problem with blurfing (is that a word? Surely not! But it seemed easier than saying blog surfing, LOL!) is that I'm always seeing new-to-me stamps that I just must have. I discovered these cuties from a UK store called Lili of the Valley stamps thanks to another blog I frequently visit. Can't remember whose blog it was, unfortunately. They are so adorable, though, I wanted to buy them all!I used very bright, cheery colors to color the little lassie with, to coordinate with SU's Kaleidescope DP. Beautiful stuff! This card just makes me happy... Kinda makes me think of turquoise seas, Hibiscus flowers the size of dinner plates and balmy breezes! I've got tropical islands on the brain!

Thanks for dropping in!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: SU, Gina K, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Fiskars sunburst edger punch, Spellbinders Labels die, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, pearls

Riding Pretty

This is an unusual stamp for me. I don't think I've ever made a card with something similar. But when I saw the old fashioned bicycle clear stamp set from Impression Obsession, with front basket and accessories, I had to try it! When I was around 14 years old, I went to visit relatives in the former Yugoslavia, and my aunts, uncles and grandparents all lived in small villages where the main form of transportation was with bicycles very similar to these. I went every summer for quite a few years, and I loved the simple way of life there. Everyone was mostly poor, but very happy. So this image brings back some sweet memories for me.
I colored the bike and clumps of flowers (flowers are from a different set, Sweet Delights) with my colored pencils. I didn't feel like doing a lot of masking, so I stamped the flowers separately and cut them out, layering them over the main panel with foam tape.

The big fluffy flower in the middle was made the same way I described in my last post, for the shaker boxes.

What a perfect Spring-y card, even though we are covered in snow again, and expecting more tomorrow...sigh....

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento

Paper: Bristol vellum, Basic Grey, Heavenly White, Bazzill

Accessories: Martha Stewart edger & leaf punches, colored pencils, OMS, coffee filter, Twinkling H2O's, glitter brad, Spellbinders double ended tags die, Stickles, clear Sakura Glaze pen

Easter Shaker Boxes

I was thrilled when I saw the new template Papertrey Ink put out for these stacking shaker boxes. I LOVE shaker boxes! I love making 3D projects from paper, but I especially love projects that are not only decorative but useful as well. These would look beautiful on a shelf as well as make a beautiful gift for someone.
The insides are just as pretty as the outside, I used Papertrey's Pretty Pastel patterned papers (wow, say that three times fast, LOL!) to line them.

Now, I have to say, these boxes are NOT the simplest things to make. My first set is far from perfect. I'm hoping the more I make them, the better they'll turn out. There is a lot of cutting by hand, I couldn't really use a trimmer, and no Scor Pal for scoring easy lines. I cut most of it with a ruler and Exacto knife. Not exactly hard, but definitely time consuming. I would say the hardest part for me was making sure the liner for the sides of the box was lined up evenly with the top edge. I seemed to have the most trouble with that.
One word of advice for those of you that haven't tried these yet, and want to; READ Nichole's directions very carefully and follow them in the order she does them. There is a reason you're supposed to make the bottom first, then the top.

I wanted a pretty pastel flower to match the Aqua Mist cardstock and ribbon for the smallest box, so I went about making my own. I've been seeing these crinkly, tissue paper flowers a lot lately, which seemed perfect for my project, so I went about making my own. I assumed they were made using a scallop circle punch, or die and it was pretty easy to figure out from there. I actually used a coffee filter, instead of colored tissue, so I could watercolor it with my Twinkling H2O's. I used my scalloped circle Nesties to cut three sizes from the coffee filter, then simply painted them with a little bit of Twinks. After they dried , I crinkled them up then opened them up again, smoothing them a bit. I glued the layers together, added some pearls for the center, and that's all there is to it. Pretty, huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Ribbon, cardstock, buttons, ink, stamps from Papertrey Ink.

Coffee filter, Nestabilities, Twinkling H2O's, pearls, silver brads, Distress Ink.

Cutie Pie

Here's the other card I made using Mel's tile background technique, this time for a kitchen scene. I stamped and colored Tilda with Prismacolor pencils, then cut her out. To make the tiles, I cut a bunch of squares using Nestabilities from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper. I glued them onto a piece of cardstock in a tile pattern, then inked them with Versamark ink & embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I cut the whole thing out with Spellbinders Labels 9.
I even cut out a little oval for a little rug beneath Tilda, making little stitches around the edge. The strip behind the image was cut with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, all very fitting for this cooking themed card!

The sentiment was printed from my computer and cut out with the double ended tag die from Spellbinders.

I had lots of fun making this card, hope you enjoy it as well, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Magnolia (from A Little Yummy for your Tummy collection)

Ink: Memento, Versamark, Distress Antique Linen

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, PTI, Core'dinations, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Nestabilities, Fiskars punch, twill ribbon, clear EP, half pearls, Red Copic Spica pen, White Sakura Glaze pen

Moo, baa, cluck...

Just a quick post to share this Elzybells card with you all today. I love the farm animals they are so adorable! I laboriously colored them with Copics, took me forever, I don't know why. Maybe I need more practice.
I added little white swirls to the sheep's coat using a Sharpie extra fine poster pen. Best white pen on the planet IMO, and I've tried them all! The paper is Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry. I love the little sentiment, 'Have you herd'? Inside I'm going to put something to finish it off, haven't decided on what yet.

Thanks for visiting, let's try to have a decent Monday!

Stamps: Elzybells

Ink: Memento

Paper: Basic Grey, Bazzill, Core'dinations, Heavenly White

Accessories: Martha Stewart edger punch, half pearls, Copics, Twill ribbon, PTI button, white extra fine Sharpie poster pen

Plant a little love...

These new flower sets from Just Rite stamps are simply gorgeous. It's been a while since I used Just Rite, but when I saw these I had to get them. I don't have to many flower images that I can actually color in, so I think I'll be using these quite a bit.

I used my colored pencils to color these Sweet Peas in pinks, cut them out with some circle Nesties and layered them onto a large scalloped circle.
You can't see to much of it, but I used a new Martha Stewart edger punch that reminds me of wrought iron fences. I love wrought iron designs! The paper is from a gorgeous K & Co. paper pad I picked up at my local AC Moore last week, called 'Madeleine'. Very shabby chic, which seems to be growing on me more and more lately.

Thanks for looking, and have a great Friday!

Stamps: Just Rite

Ink: Memento, Distress

Paper: K & Co., Bazzill, PTI, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Martha Stewart edger punch, Classic Circles Nestabilities, Twill ribbon, Prismacolor colored pencils, OMS

The most adorable bunny I've ever seen...

...and sure enough it's a Penny Black (1033E) stamp! When it comes to adorable critters, PB is KING, lol! I didn't have much in the way of Easter/Spring stamps, particularly bunnies, so I went browsing through the old Penny Black catalogs Dick from PB Stamps has on his web site. I had to use a LOT of restraint when doing this, because I could easily buy up hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of cuteness from there! I settled for a few bunny stamps (three if you can believe it!) and this is one of them.
I colored him very, very softly with Prismacolor pencils. I had to use a very light touch so he would look like a fluffy white bunny. I sponged some SU Soft Sky ink around him for a little bit of a background.

The patterned paper and circle stamp are from Papertrey Ink.

Hope he makes you smile, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Penny Black, PTI

Ink: Memento, SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, The Paper Co., Bristol vellum

Accessories: Nestabilities, polka dot ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, sewing machine

Rub a dub dub...

I fell in love with Mel's bathtub card from a couple of weeks ago. Her tutorial on how to make bathroom tiles, Dew Drop and clear seed bead bubbles was simply stunning, and I knew I had to try my own version using this Elzybells stamp. I LOVE how this sweet little bear came out! I plan on using this technique from here on out, in many different way. Thanks Mel!
I colored the little guy with colored pencils, cut the whole thing out and adhered it to the bathroom tile background. The paper is Basic Grey's Lily Kate. I cut out a bunch of little squares using my square Nesties, applied Versamark and heat embossed using clear embossing powder after I glued them to my background paper. Then I cut the whole thing out with the Labels die.

I already made another card using the tiles, this time a kitchen scene with Tilda. I'll be sharing that soon. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Stamps: Elzybells

Ink: Memento, Versamark

Paper: Heavenly White, Basic Grey, Memory Box

Accessories: Stitched ribbon, Spellbinders Labels 1 & Nestabilities Squares, Martha Stewart edger punch, Ranger clear embossing powder, Dew Drops, seed beads, Liquid Glass, Prisma colored pencils, OMS

Ruffled ribbon flowers

I can't believe I've never tried these ruffled ribbon flowers before. I've seen them many times and always admired them, but for some reason never tried them myself. Well, you all may be seeing these more often, because I love them! The Papertrey Ink ribbon is particularly easy to ruffle because it already has a stitched edge, and all I did was work both ends loose and start pulling the threads. With the other ribbons I had to sew a little bit of stitching with a needle and thread. Didn't take long at all though, because you don't need to be precise to get 'ruffling'.
The background of the card base was stamped with the Giga Guidelines and the smaller Guidelines background sets from PTI. I love making my own backgrounds, they are so much fun.

That's all for today, thanks so much for visiting!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Nestabilities, PTI ribbons/buttons, DMC floss, Stickles

Cutie Patootie!

(Edited) Thanks to a couple of helpful readers here as well as on Splitcoast Stampers, I now know that Hero Arts is the maker of this stamp! Thanks everyone

I just happened to be cleaning up some of my scrap pile, and ran across this poor baby buried beneath tons of cardstock scraps. I rescued it right away and colored it pronto before it got lost again! This is why I never pre-stamp my images, I am so disorganized, I just know I will never see it again, LOL.
I colored the image mostly with Copics, except for the sky. I like to do that with my colored pencils. I can get much smoother blending with a pencil and OMS. Plus, I think Copics take a lot longer, color, blend, color, blend...over and over if I want really smooth blending out of color. With my pencils, I just apply a little color all around the edges, then back with a wet stump and blend it out to white. Easy, peasy. I love the smoothness of Copics, but I don't think I will ever be a total convert. I have the opportunity to fill out my collection significantly too, but they're sitting in an online shopping cart, because I am just not sure I want to invest the money in something I am not fanatical about. I'm pretty proud of myself, actually, LOL! Years ago, I would've jumped on it, without thought, and they just wouldn't get used as much as they should. Then I would've felt guilty. For right now, I am content with my small collection, if I feel like coloring with them, I have enough colors to do so.

Anyway, hope you like this cute little card, and if you happen to need some baby cards, I'll be updating my Etsy shop soon!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Hero Arts, PTI sentiment

Ink: Perfect Match (PTI)

Paper: PTI, Heavenly White

Accessories: SU stitched ribbon, Copics, Stickles, SU scallop punch

Swing in the Garden

I've had this Stampin Up paper in my stash for quite a while, and never used it. I have no idea why since Baja Breeze is one of my favorite colors, ever! The colors are really beautiful in the whole collection of papers and it was my inspiration for coloring the image. I colored with my Copics, used a Sharpie extra fine white poster pen to make the polka dots on her dress.
See the flowers in the top left corner of the image? Wanna know why they're there? Well, I know they're pretty, but I wasn't going to use them. I had the whole card done, the tree leaves were covered in Ice Stickles, drying slowly, when I decided I needed a little tag for a sentiment hanging from the bow. As I was tying it on, you guessed it.....I smeared the Stickles! I tried rubbing a little too hard, and the paper got all yucky. So, the flowers were born. 'Tis what Bob Ross would call a happy accident, I guess.

Thanks for visiting me, and I love to read your comments, so please take a second to leave a small word or two!

Stamps: My Favorite Things, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, SU

Accessories: SU ribbon, Copics, Stickles, Martha Stewart Hydrangea/Tiny Tag/Simple Scallop punches, Adirondack Dimensional Paint, Dew Drops

More PTI Goodness...

I know this post is verrrry late, but we are being pummeled by a snow storm, so I got to sleep in, the kids are home bugging me...etc...etc.

One of the reasons I love using Papertrey Ink's stamps is because they allow me to simplify my card making tremendously. Their clean, simple designs steer me in a totally different direction from my usual cards which is refreshing for me. I'm always afraid that my projects will get 'stale', or too similar after a while. So this is why I like to mix it up by using a different style of stamps/techniques, and PTI stamps are my favorite for that very purpose!
This birch tree stamp is from their newest release, 'Through the Trees'. Now, I LOVE trees, funky trees, elegant trees, primitive trees. They are so beautiful to me, so getting this set was a no brainer. I brayered a piece of card stock with PTI's Aqua Mist and Blush inks, then stamped/embossed the trees in white over it. Of course, the sentiment fits perfectly for the card, peace and beauty, exactly the two words I would use to describe the feeling this card gives me!

Fitting day for this card too, the snow is a thick, white blanket outside and all is still and peaceful...

Thanks for visiting, I'm off to shovel some of the stuff!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match, Versamark

Paper: Heavenly White, PTI, SU

Accessories: Martha Stewart loops punches, silk ribbon, brayer, white EP, PTI button

PTI Goodness

I made this project quite some time ago when I saw Nichole's tutorial for making this pad/pen holder, just haven't shared it yet. I do love making notepads and journals!
I wanted to make a baby ensemble using their new pastel patterned papers, that paper pad is just gorgeous! I am a sucker for pastels, love, love, love them! The notepad and pencil holder took me a while to figure out though, LOL. I just wasn't getting it for some reason.

I wanted to make a matching card for the notepad, this way I could give a card and a little something extra as a gift. And what new mother doesn't need a handy shopping list for the seemingly endless necessities for new babies! I colored one of Mo's digital images, the adorable chubby baby with a few Copic markers. I wanted to add some stitching around the edge of the card, so I used my piercing tool and plastic canvas as a guidline and pierced some holes all the way around. This way it was easy to get even, straight stitches with a needle and some embroidery floss.

That's it, clean, simple and adorable! I love how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: PTI, Digital Pencil

Ink: Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, PTI

Accessories: Fiskars apron lace punch, PTI ribbon/buttons, Nestabilities, DMC floss, Copics

Simon & Lola in Love...

I love this Simon & Lola image from Sugar Nellie. Rachelle Ann Miller was one of the first illustrators who's blog I discovered by accident, fell in love with her artwork, and was ecstatic when I found out there were rubber stamps being made from her images! I love when that happens...

I wish I could color like her, though. Her talent for colors, textures and patterns is nothing short of genius!
I love the colors and patterns from this SU Simply Scrappin' kit DP's too. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

The image is colored with Copics.

I'm off to work this morning, uggghh. I hate working Saturdays. Catch ya later!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Memento

Papers: SU, Heavenly White

Accessories: Martha Stewart Lace Doily punch, SU Label punch, SU ribbon, Copics, Sharpie white poster pen

Love-ly Tilda

Another Magnolia card! I really wanted to use this sweet heart tree for a Valentine's Day card. I masked off Tilda so I could stamp the tree 'behind' her, then colored everything with Copics. I did go back with some Prismacolored pencils to deepen some of the shading. I added some white buttons to her shoes and some dots to her scarf with a white Sakura glaze pen. I love the embossed look of those pens. Much easier than heat embossing tiny areas!
I added some Pink Liquid Pearl hearts to the tree for some dimension. A little bit of Stardust Stickles for her wings and I call it done!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Magnolia, PTI

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, PTI, SU, GCD Studios

Accessories: Martha Stewart loop edger punch, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Copics, Prismacolor pencils, Marvy/Uchida heart punches, swiss dot ribbon, Sakura glaze pen, Copic Spica pen

Impression Obsession Color Challenge

This weeks IODT challenge is 'Shades of Green'. Visit the IO blog for all the details on how you can participate and win a $25 gift certificate for the IO store.

I used the tree and leaf stamps from the clear stamp set 'Branches of the Tree'. I used two different sizes of the leaf clusters to stamp different shades of green with Colorbox Fluid chalks and a little bit of Brilliance pearly green ink. I made sure to stamp a light layer of leaves first, then stamp the darker leaves on top to add depth to the tree.
The papers are all Papertrey Ink, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Chocolate and the patterned paper is from 'Turning a New Leaf' paper collection. I love the Herringbone texture I created using the Cuttlebug embossing folder, very masculine.

This was a fun challenge, I like doing monochromatic color schemes! I hope you'll join in and share your creation too!

Here's the rest of the design team's blogs for more inspiration:

• Daniela Dobson
• Dina Kowal
• Jeanne Streiff
• Jenny Gropp
• Julie Koerber
• Rosemary Marino
• Shirley Ross

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession 'Branches of the Tree'

Ink: Fluid Chalks, Brilliance

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Accessories: Cuttlebug EF, Spring Moss twill ribbon from PTI, SU ribbon slider, Martha Stewart flourish edger punch

Shabby Chic Birthday Tilda

I've been digging into my old Magnolia stamps, it's been so long since I used them, they almost feel new again, lol! Of course, this little Tilda is one of my favorites. I just love her sweet dress and pigtails! I stamped her twice, once onto Bristol vellum for coloring, and once onto a piece of digital patterned paper I printed out. I cut the dress out of the patterned paper and layered it onto the colored image. I added a little shading with some T0 and T1 Copics to give the dress some dimension.
I cut the image out with some Petite Oval Nesties, and layered them onto the Labels 4 die cut. I am really liking this combination of Labels 4 with the Petite ovals, they're a perfect fit. I ran some zig-zag stitching around the edges of the card to complete the 'shabby' look.

I hope you like it as much as I do, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Magnolia, Papertrey Ink sentiment

Ink: Memento, Distress, SU

Paper: Digital papers from Digital Anemona. SU, Heavenly white

Accessories: SU Hodgepodge Hardware/Designer Label punch, sewing machine, Stickles, Copics, Twill ribbon, PTI button, Martha Stewart Doily lace punch

Valentine Mail

7 Kids College Fund has the new Spellbinders dies for pre order! Woo hoo! I love Labels 10, these went right in my shopping cart, LOL!

These large scalloped circles are on my wish list too, they are so pretty, I can see making gorgeous layered flowers with these!
Anyway, I'm just a bit excited... now onto my card...

I have another Joy Fold card to share with you today. I used a twill double bow to hold the card closed again. The image is colored with colored pencils, blended with odorless mineral spirits (OMS).
The paper is Basic Grey 'Bittersweet'.

That's about it for now, just a quick reminder that Thursday is another Impression Obsession Challenge. The challenge this week is 'Shades of Green'. Should be interesting.... Hope you join in!

Thanks for visiting me today!

Stamps: Art Impressions

Ink: Memento, Distress

Paper: Basic Grey, Stardream, Bristol vellum

Accessories: colored pencils, OMS, twill ribbon, heart stick pin, Fiskars edger punch, Nestabilities