Follow Your Dreams....

Hey there!  In my quest to use my PTI stamps more frequently I watched this week's Make It Monday video and tried my hand at making a frame larger using a smaller frame from one of PTI's Fillable Frames set.  For my card I used Fillable Frames #3.   The color combo is from the current CR84FN challenge to use yellow, kraft & grey.  You don't have to ask me twice to make something using kraft!!

Anyway... after watching Dawn's video I decided to try making my frame a little bit differently from the way Dawn made her frame.  I inked up the stamp and then carefully wiped the ink off one long side of the stamp.  I then stamped the partial frame on my cardstock.   I repeated the process taking care to make sure that I lined the stamp up fairly closely.  I was thrilled to see that the first time I tried the frame it worked perfectly!  I then die cut the flowers using the In Bloom dies, stamped the flowers using London Fog ink and colored the flowers using Copic markers (Y11, Y13 & Y15).  The leaves were stamped using London Fog and colored using Tonal Grey 1 & Tonal Grey 2 Copic markers.   The background piece was created using the Quatrefoil die.  A 5.5" x 4.25" piece of Lemon Tart cardstock was placed in the die, an embossing  mat placed on top and then I ran it through my Big Shot.  After embossing I trimmed the piece down to fit the card base.   After I got done placing the flowers I realized that I did cover up alot of the frame I created, but I think there is enough showing to give you the idea of what I did.  

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI; Stamps:  PTI, Ink:  Memento London Fog & Stampin Up! Crumb Cake; Copic Markers; PTI Quatrefoil die & In Bloom dies

Seeing Red...

Hey there!!  No... I'm not mad... just the card I have to share was made for the current Catered Crop challenge:  Seeing Red!   When I saw the challenge I just had to give it a try... especially since the other day I got my new SU! Rose Red ink pad.  I had used it on another card and so it was still sitting out.  I grabbed my favorite SU! red, Cherry Cobbler, and the SU! hostess set "Simply Soft" and got to work.

Initially I had planned to use some Cherry Cobbler cardstock that I had run through the Big Shot in an embossing folder, but I fiddled around with it too much and kinda ruined it.  So... I went to a back up... some lovely patterned paper from the Scrap Cake 6x6 Cozy Xmas pad.  I love the Scrap Cake papers and CAN.NOT.WAIT. to get the two brand new 6x6 pads from the Scrap Cake.  I just ordered them from the Flying Unicorn and so should have them in my hot little hands really soon!  Anyway... back to my card!   I stamped the outline image in Cherry Cobbler and then the solid image using Rose Red.  The piece was inked with Old Paper Distress ink and then some Cherry Cobbler seam binding was tied around it.  The piece was matted with Rose Red cardstock that had been inked, as well.  I distressed the background paper with my distressing tool.  The layout for the card is from a fairly new sketch challenge blog, I Spy Sketches.  My card is a very straightforward interpretation of the sketch... nothing fancy, but I really like it.  

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI cream; SU! Rose Red; PP:  Scrap Cake Cozy Xmax; Ink;  SU! Cherry Cobbler & Rose Red; Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding; SU! Scallop Border punch; Ranger Distress Ink

Oh Scrap!!

For my ODBD Shining the Light card click here.

Hey There!!  Here with a card for this week's Less is More challenge.  This week Chrissie and Mandi are challenging us to make a card that uses up some of those scraps of cardstock and patterned paper that all crafters seem to accumulate.   Lucky for me, right now I happen to have a small pile of scraps sitting on my kitchen counter.  In a few days they may all be gone... thrown into the recycling bin.   I don't tend to keep scraps around for long because I just don't have the storage space for them.  

Anywhoo... for my card I used some scraps of paper from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Blush collection.  I have fallen absolutely in love with all the new My Mind's Eye patterned paper... every single collection just gets more and more beautiful.   One of the scraps of paper had that little label like piece as part of the design, so I trimmed it out.  I had some other scraps that I was able to cut into strips to use in the design, as well.  My Mind'e Eye has also come out with stamp sets that coordinate with the paper lines and I happen to have the set that coordinates with the Blush collection.  So I used the butterfly image and another image that sort of looks like damask.  I inked up the damask image using SU!'s Regal Rose, stamped it off on some scrap paper and then stamped the design on my card base.  Then I did that a second time.  The butterfly was stamped on some patterned paper using Regal Rose and then trimmed out.  After I layered everything up as you see it, I stamped the sentiment (from Hero Arts) using Regal Rose.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  Hero Arts & My Mind's Eye; Ink:  SU!

ODBDSLC98 - Out of the Box..

Hey there!!  Happy Saturday... time for another ODBD Shining the Light challenge!   This week the team is challenging you to get out of the box!   This means we want you to make a card or project that is not an A2, A6 or A7 rectangular or square card.   You can make a shaped card or a different fold (diamond, joy, easel, accordion, step, sidestep, etc.).   For my card today I made shaped card using some Spellbinders dies.

I had previously posted on here on the ol' bloggo a card I made using the Spellbinders Labels 21 dies.  That particular card is a CardMaker online bonus project.   I love the way that card turned out so I decided to use those dies to make this week's card.  The ODBD stamp set I used is The Mighty Sea.  The card based was made using the largest Label 21 die.  I used the same die to make the mat from patterned paper (My Mind's Eye Breeze).  I simply laid the die cutting side up on the paper and traced around the interior and then trimmed it out.  I stamped the image from The Mighty Sea on cream cardstock, die cut it using the 2nd largest dies, colored it with Copic makers and then added some distress ink (Old Paper on the lower half and Broken China and Stormy Sky on the upper half).   The sentiment was stamped on some patterned paper and then die cut using 2nd smallest die.  Then everything was layered as you see and a few gems added.


To make the challenge even more fun, we will be giving out a prize, a $15 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Friday, March 2nd at 8 a.m. EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced next Saturday. If you are not using ODBD stamps, please do not enter more than once. Additional entries that are made without using ODBD stamps will not be commented on nor will they qualify for prizes. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Designs images and sentiments on your creations, we would love to see them if you have them. As a way of recognizing those who do use Our Daily Bread Designs stamps, we will again be choosing 1 to 2 creations to spotlight for our Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award, however, you must use Our Daily Bread stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Friday, March 2nd at 8 a.m. EST. If you upload your creations to Splitcoast Stampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword is ODBDSLC98. When creating your posts on blogs please include a link to the challenge.  


Thanks for stopping by... please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Debi,  Kathy, and Sabrina! To join in the fun, please click here.


Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Aqua Mist & Cream; PP:  My Mind's Eye Breeze; Spellbinders Labels 21 dies; Stamps:  ODBD; Ink:  Memento & Ranger; Copic Markers; Gems; 

A Masculine Card....

Hey there!!  Another week is drawing to a close... time sure does fly!!  I have a card I made using the current Mojo Monday sketch.   Mojo Monday is one of those challenges that I have often wanted to participate in, but never seemed to find the time.  I'm hoping to change that and play along more frequently.  I'm also going to be putting this card into the current Paper Players challenge to make a masculine card with clean and simple lines.  I think my card fits the guidelines...

Anywhoo... I don't have a ton of masculine stamps, but I do have a really cool set from Flourishes called "What a Catch".  I used the image of a fish from the set for my card.  I colored him with Copic markers using some tonal greys, a yellow/green (YG91) and a dark teal blue (BG09).  The piece was then lightly inked with Broken China and Old Paper Distress inks.  I was a little scared to use the fish image, but in the end I really happy with how it turned out!   I used some My Mind's Eye Breeze patterned papers, as well.  I think I will be sending this to my brother when father's day rolls around.  Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Fine Linen & white; SU! Pacific Point & Old Olive; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  Flourishes; Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Distress Ink; Twine:  May Arts; Copic Markers

you're the best...

Hey there!!!   For I guess about a year now PTI has been posting a different techinque/idea video on Mondays for their Make It Monday series.  I have never actually watched a Make it Monday video, but decided to watch Ashley Cannon Newell's video tutorial on how to glitter up buttons.   The first way she showed involved using spray adhesive and since I do all my crafting at my kitchen counter I didn't think spray adhesive was a good idea.  The she glittered up some buttons using Stickles and I was like "duh... I can do that one!"  So, I did.   And it took FOREVER for the Stickles to dry!

Anyway, I used the PTI set Blooming Button Bits, along with some of my remaining sheets of Bitty Dot Basics in Aqua Mist & Sweet Blush.  I'm also putting this card into this week's Shabby Tea Room challenge since my super talented in real life friend, Cindy, is the challenge hostess this week.   Cindy is asking us to use colors from the beautiful inspiration photo as well as a doily on our project.   I enjoyed playing along with this week's Make It Monday and so I think I will have to participate in more of them in the future.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  All supplies are PTI except the Diamond Stickes, Doily Die, ink & border punch.  Die is from Cheery Lynn & the in and punch from Stampin Up!

Cherries....

Hey there!!! Sunday is here and it seems our cold, windy and rainy weather has abated some!!   I have a card today for the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge to use red on your card.  The layout comes from the current Cardabilities sketch, which I chose to make vertical instead of using it horizontally as it is shown.   I really like the Cardabilites sketches, but unfortunately have not been able to play along with them as much as I would like.

For my card I used the Flourishes set Peaches & Cherries.  It was the first set that came to mind when I saw the challenge and it also fits in with the current Shabby Tea Room challenge to use cherries on your project.   I stamped the cherries in Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them with my Copic markers.  The image was then trimmed out.  The patterned papers used are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Rosy collection.  Everything was layered and adhered to a light green card base.  It took me forever to figure out what I would make the little bow out of before settling on some May Arts twine.  The sentiment from the Flourishes set Gerbera Daisies was stamped on a tag that was die cut using the PTI Tiny Tags die.

Thanks for stopping by... hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  SU! & PTI; Stamps:  Flourishes; Copic Markers; May Arts Twine; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Papers:  My Mind's Eye; Wilton paper doily

Friend....

For my ODBD Shining the Light card please click here.

Hey there!!!  Back with my card for this week's Less is More.  The challenge this week is to use die cuts and/or punches.   The card I'm posting I actually made last night not knowing what the LIM challenge would be and that my card would be a perfect fit for the challenge!!  Who knows... maybe I'm just a little bit psychic, ha ha!!  

Anyway, the colors I used for the card are from this week's ColourQ challenge to use red, turquoise (or the SU! color cool caribbean), pink, cream and white... which should explain why the card base is cream and the main panel is white.  Anyway... I punched out the partial circles on the white panel and then positioned it on the card base where I needed it to be so I could stamp the sentiment.  The butterflies are from the Hero Arts/Sizzix  stamp and die set Antique Flowers and Butterflies.  They were stamped using Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise, die cut and then adhered as shown.  Some gems were added to the butterflies and beneath the sentiment to add a bit more interest.  

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & cream; Stamps:  Hero Arts; Ink:  SU! Real Red, Tempting Turquoise & Pretty in Pink; Dies:  Sizzix; Punches:  SU!; Bling:  Hero Arts & KaiserCraft

ODBDSLC97 - Make A Scene...

Hey there!!! Happy Saturday... time for a new Shining the Light challenge and the challenge this week?  To create a project with a scene on it.  Now your scene can be created by using a stamp and/or stamps or by using some designer paper that has a scene on it.


To make the challenge even more fun, we will be giving out a prize, a $15 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Friday, February 24th at 8 a.m. EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced next Saturday. If you are not using ODBD stamps, please do not enter more than once. Additional entries that are made without using ODBD stamps will not be commented on nor will they qualify for prizes. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Designs images and sentiments on your creations, we would love to see them if you have them. As a way of recognizing those who do use Our Daily Bread Designs stamps, we will again be choosing 1 to 2 creations to spotlight for our Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award, however, you must use Our Daily Bread stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Friday, February 24th at 8 a.m. EST. If you upload your creations to Splitcoast Stampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword is ODBDSLC97. When creating your posts on blogs please include a link to the challenge.  


For my card today I went pretty clean and simple (or as my bloggy friend, Sue, would say "clean and stunning").  I used the ODBD set Porch for my card.  The card base is kraft, as well as the mat because I love that whole kraft on kraft, white on white, etc. look.   The layout is an older sketch from the sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The strips of paper are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Breeze collection.  I stamped the image from the Porch set using kraft ink.  The sentiment was stamped in brown ink.  

Thanks for stopping by... please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Debi, Chris, Kathy, and Sabrina! To join in the fun, please click here.


Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft & cream; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  ODBD; Ink:  SU! Crumb Cake & Memento Rich Cocoa

thanks a bunch!

Hey there!!  Its Friday and that means the weekend!!  I have a card today for the current Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge and the current CR84FN color challenge.   The CR84FN color combo of grey, lavender & chartreuse (I just love that word and color!!!), which made me think of this 6x6 pad of SEI papers I have.  The colors in that pad are chartreuse, grey & lavender...perfect!!

For the card I used two TE set:  Garden Party Blooms & Friendship Blooms.  I stamped the leafy branch from Friendship Blooms on white cardstock using Kiwi Kiss ink (pretty close to chartreuse) and then die cut the branch using the matching TE die.  One of the flowers from the same set was stamped on white cardstock using   VersaMagic Spring Pansy and then I trimmed it out.  I stamped a small flower from Garden Party Blooms in the same ink and trimmed them out.  A tiny bit of Diamond Stickles was added to the center of each flower.  Papers were picked, trimmed, some matted and layered.  Then the branch and the flowers were mounted on the die cut oval and adhered to the card.  The sentiment from Garden Party Blooms was stamped using grey ink, punched out and adhered.   With all that chartreuse... this card just makes me think of spring!!!  Thanks for stopping by....


Supplies:  Cardstock:  Stampin Up! and PTI; PP:  SEI Couture; Stamps:  Taylored Expressions; Ink:  SU! & Tsukeniko; Diamond Stickles; PTI Lavender Moon ribbon

ODBD - For the Love of Blog Hop

Hey there!!!  Welcome to Our Daily Bread Design's Alumni Team's bi-monthly For the Love Blog Hop. This week the Alumni team along with some of the ODBD designers are featuring a hop for the Love of ODBD Borders and Frames! Check out each link and leave a comment. If you get lost along the way, go to ODBD Blog(give link) for the full link list. One of the post is a hot spot and a name will be drawn from that list of comments to win a $15 ODBD store gift certificate. So, all you have to do is hop along and see all the creations and leave a little love! You have until March 14th at 6 pm. We are skipping Thursday, March 1st for a NEW RELEASE Hop! The winner will be announced March 16th! So, get hopping and enjoy all the inspiration using for the Love of ODBD Borders and Frames!   

If you got here from the amazingly talented Angie's blog you are on the right track.  For my card today I used the ODBD Scrolly Borders set, along with a sentiment from the ODBD set Simple Things and the flower from the ODBD set Don't Worry.   The papers I used are from my favorite My Mind's Eye collection:  Lost & Found 2 Sunshine.  I colored the flower with some Copic markers, trimmed it out and applied some Old Paper distress ink.   The rectangular scrolly frame image was stamped on white cardstock using Summer Sky ink, distressed with some Old Paper distress ink and then matted with Spring Rain cardstock.  Your next stop on the hop is the incredibly talented Julie!   Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the hop!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Spring Rain; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  ODBD; Ink:  Memento Summer Sky & Tuxedo Black; SU! More Mustard; Copic Markers; May Arts lace; Brad:  My Mind's Eye Sunshine Col.

Sharing Some Publication Work...

Hey there!!   After I saw the current JUGs challenge to use buttons on your project my thoughts turned to three  sweet little cards that are currently to be found in the March/April issue of CardMaker and I decided to share them with here on the ole' bloggo.

 The cards were made using the following sets:  Waltzingmouse Frame It and the PaperTrey Ink mini set Whale  Wishes.  Each little card required me to glue 16 buttons inside the frame and then adhere the little whales on top.  When I initially decided to make this particular card to submit I was only going to do it in one color, but then I thought why not make a boy version, girl version and gender neutral version.  I submitted all three never thinking that they would accept all of them.  I honestly thought they would only take one!!  So I was extremely surprised, but pleased when all three were accepted for publication.

This Easter card was also accepted for publication in the March/April issue, but ended up as an online bonus project.   The stamps are from Stampin Up! and the entire card is made using the Spellbinders Lablels 21 dies.  I really love how it turned out.   I must admit, though, that I was a little bit sad that it didn't make it into the actual magazine.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white, spring rain, lemon tart & sweet blush; Stamps:  SU!, Waltzingmouse & PTI; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Sky & Angel Pink; SU! So Saffron; Spellbinders:  Labels 21 dies; PTI whale die; PTI Buttons; Rhinestones:  Hero Arts; Copic Markers

I Cherish....

Hey there!!   Here with a card for the current Flourishes challenge.  I haven't done a Flourishes challenge is ages, but that is all going to change!  I'm determined to participate in the weekly Timeless Tuesday challenge on a more regular basis!  This week the challenge hostess is the super talented Maki Jones and she has challenged us to have a bird somewhere on your project.  The only Flourishes set I have that contains a bird image is "Humming Along" so I pulled it out and got to work.

The layout for the card is from this week's Sketchbook Saturday sketch.  I did have to tweak it a bit... moving the image from one side of the card to the other to accommodate the little hummingbird.   I wasn't too sure if the card was going to turn out the way I hoped it would and so I was pleasantly surprised that when I got it done that it did!! Yay!!!   The woodgrain image is from WPlus9Designs Woodgrain Silhouettes set.  I stamped it using Memento Angel Pink and then stamped the floral image on top using Tuxedo Black.  The image was colored with Copic markers (YG03, YG06, R81 & R83).  The bird was colored with W1, W3 & B00.  He was then trimmed out and some Old Paper Distress ink was applied.  I inked the edges of the main panel as well and then I adhered the little bird with pop dots.   The sentiment is from the Flourishes Gerbera Daisies set.    Because I used a friendship sentiment  and flowers on the card I will also be popping this into this week's Our Creative Corner challenge to make a card for a friend.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Gable Green; Stamps:  Flourishes & WPlus9Designs; Ink:  Memento Angel Pink & Tuxedo Black; Copic markers

Less is More - Stripes

For my ODBD Shining the Light post, please click here.

Hey there!!!  Back with my card for the brand new Less is More challenge.  This week it is a one layer card challenge and we are to use stripes on our card.   Now... when I started out thinking about what I was going to do I had originally planned to use my PTI Distressed Stripes set.  But after doing a test run I didn't like how things were looking using the various stripes in the set.  I had planned to pair it with an image from the WPlus9Design set Woodgrain Silhouettes set.  As I was looking at the Woodgrain Silhouettes set I realized the perfect image for the challenge was right there!  However... I will admit that I'm stretching the idea of stripes a bit!

So I inked up the long woodgrain image from the set using SU!'s Certain Celery and stamped it across the card as you see.  I then stamped the floral image over that using SU!'s Pear Pizzaz.   The sentiment was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black.   After I finished the card I went to take my photos of it and as I was choosing which one to use I realized that something was definitely missing on the card.  I needed some rhinestones in the upper corner to complete the eye-pleasing design triangle!  Once I did that things looked much better.   My card layout is based on the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch.

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  WPlus9Design; Inks:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Rhinestones:  Hero Arts

ODBDSLC96 - Heart Challenge

Hey there!!  Happy Saturday... time for another Shining the Light challenge.  This week the challenge is to create a project using at least three items, materials or techniques that begin with letters from the word HEART.  

To make the challenge even more fun, we will be giving out a prize, a $15 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Friday, January 13th at 8 a.m. EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced next Saturday. If you are not using ODBD stamps, please do not enter more than once. Additional entries that are made without using ODBD stamps will not be commented on nor will they qualify for prizes. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Designs images and sentiments on your creations, we would love to see them if you have them. As a way of recognizing those who do use Our Daily Bread Designs stamps, we will again be choosing 1 to 2 creations to spotlight for our Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award, however, you must use Our Daily Bread stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Friday, February 17th at 8 a.m. EST. If you upload your creations to Splitcoast Stampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword is ODBDSLC96. When creating your posts on blogs please include a link to the challenge.  

For my card I used the following letters of E (embossing), R (ribbon) and T (twine & tag) from the word HEART.  The stamps used are from the ODBD set Faith.  The butterfly branch image was colored with Copic markers and then die cut using the matching ODBD butterfly branch die.   The papers are from the My Mind's Eye Paris & Co 6x6 pad.  The circle die cut was made using the ODBD Crocheted Circle die.  The layout for my card is from this month's Something for You to Try sketch, so I will be popping the card into that challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by... now please take some time to check out the beautiful projects created by my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Debi, Chris, Kathy, and Sabrina! To join in the fun, please click here.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Fine Linen; PP:  My Mind's Eye Paris & Co 6x6 pad; Stamps:  ODBD Faith; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Markers; Ribbon:  PTI Fine Linen; Buttons:  Stampin Up!; Twine:  May Arts; Dies:  ODBD Butterfly Branch & Crocheted Circle; Provo Craft embossing folder

Good Luck....

Hey there!! Happy Friday!!  Have a quick post with a card for one of the Flourishes release week noontime challenges.  I didn't get a chance to make anything for the first challenge, but did get a card done for the "Framed" challenge.  

At the end of last year I finally got the Flourishes Irish Blessings set.  I inked it up for the challenge.  The frame was created using Spellbinders Labels 10 dies.  I colored the image with the Flourishes Spring Green Copic collection of YG00, YG03 & YG06 and E50 & E53.   The little tag is from the PTI Tiny Tags die set.  The embossed frame was created using the Stampin Up! Framed Tulips embossing folder.   A bow tied with some green baker's twine finished things off.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stampin Up! gable green; Penny Black green; Stamps:  Flourishes; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers; Spellbinders dies; Bakers Twine:  Impress Rubber Stamps

It Is a Sweet Thing...

Hey there... here with a quick post.  I made this card for the Flourishes release week challenge to use black and white and as pop of one color.  The layout is from this week's Sketchbook Saturday sketch.  Love this super versatile sketch that Chupa came up with!  

Because the challenge is to make a card that is black and white with a pop of color I thought I would use the Gerbera Daisy set from Flourishes because that image seemed to lend itself to this challenge.    I stamped the image using Memento's Tuxedo Black ink and then die cut the squares with a Spellbinders square die.  I made sure that one of the squares contained a full flower for me to color which I colored with the following Copic markers:  R24, R27, R29 & R49.  Then all the squares were placed on the white cardstock that was embossed with the Quatrefoil die.  The sentiment was stamped using Stampin Up! Cherry Cobbler ink.  The card base is black and the mat is Cherry Cobbler.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & black; SU! cherry cobbler; Ink:  memento tuxedo black & SU! cherry cobbler; dies:  Spellbinders & PTI; Copic Markers

Hello, Valentine...

Hey there!!  I have a little card for some challenges.  PaperTrey Ink is turning five this month and having a big celebration with all kinds of fun contests.   I must admit that I didn't think I would be able to participate in any of them, either.  But today Nichole offered up some freebies created by all the talented PTI stamp designers and with that kind of deal I just couldn't resist having a go.  So, I downloaded the images and printed them out on some PTI Stamper's Select cardstock, of course!  I decided to go with the sweet image that Maile Belles designed.

Now I as indicated this card is for more than just the PTI challenge.  It is also for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge to use the colors of kraft, grey & pink, as well as hearts.  My super sweet blogging friend, Sue, is now a design team member for OCC and so I just had to give their challenges a try.  I am stretching the challenge requirements a little bit as the hearts on my card are two little heart shaped rhinestones and the stylized hearts in Maile's design.  Anywhoo... I hope this is okay.  I used my Quatrafoil die (love that die!!!) to emboss the grey cardstock and then added a strip of scalloped pink cardstock.  The card base is 4 x 5.5 and so the pink/grey cardstock piece hangs off the edge by a quarter of an inch to bring the overall card side to 4.25 x 5.5.  The little image was colored with Copic markers.

Supplies:  Cardstock: PTI kraft & white; SU! pink & grey; Stamps:  PTI Tiny Treats: Valentine; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Image: PTI

Some of My Favorite Stamps...

Hey there... the weekend is over and so is the Super Bowl.  And the winning team??? The New York Giants!  Hubby was very happy about that because he participated in a football pool at work and picked the Giants to win... not sure if he won anything, though.   But I digress...I should be talking about some of my favorite stamps which happen to be from My Favorite Things!!   I have talked in weeks past about how much I love the Pure Innocence line from MFT, but there is another line of MFT stamps that I love just as much.  The super cute a la Modes!!   So... I a card using the sweet PI set Blowing Bubbles and another using the cute ALM set Birthday Girl to share with you.   First up:  Birthday Girl:

I made this card for the weekly sketch challenge that MFT hosts over at Splitcoaststampers.  Every Wednesday a new sketch is revealed.  So far this year I have been able to participate in every sketch challenge.  For this card I used some 6x6 Teresa Collins papers "Carolina Breeze".  I just love the color combo of yellow, white, grey and black and so when I saw these papers I had to get them.  I did a bit of paper piecing, as well as some coloring with Copics.   The sketch was a bit tricky for me, but in the end I got it figured out to my satisfaction.  The sentiment was stamped on a little banner die from MFT.  A second banner was die cut from yellow cardstock and used to mat the white one as you see.

Every month MFT announces a guest designer contest and the winner of that contest get $200.00 worth of MFT stamps and dies, as well as the opportunity to showcase the brand new MFT stamps and dies during the following month's release festivities!  Now who among us wouldn't want to have a chance to win that fabby prize??? I certainly would!!!  This month the challenge is to use hearts on your project.  The papers for this card are from the Authentique Uncommon 6x6 pad.  I stamped the sweet little PI from Blowing Bubbles on cream cardstock, colored portions of her with Copic markers and then paper pieced her little outfit.  I die cut a heart from cream cardstock and stamped it with the little bubbles image and then sponged on some Old Paper distress ink.  The heart was then matted with a scalloped heart cut from patterned paper.  I trimmed out the PI and adhered her to the heart.  Some Diamond Stickles were applied to the bubbles.  

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white, cream and yellow; PP:  Authentique & Teresa Collins; Stamps:  MFT; Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Dies:  MFT, Spellbinders & Memory Box; Copic Markers; Rhinestones; Stickles

You Must Allow Me....

Hey there!!   I'm back with my card for this week's Less is More challenge, as well as this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge.   This week Less is More is officially one year old!!!  Congrats Chrissie and Mandi for bring us amazing challenges week after week, as well as providing us with fabulous inspiration!!  Ladies you ROCK!!   The Less is More challenge take us back to where it all started, a color challenge, and the color this time is aqua.   Now, the challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays is to make a card inspired by your favorite movie.  Well... my all time favorite movie is the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice.  Absolutely love, love, love that movie!!    And thanks to PaperTrey Ink I now have the perfect stamp set to make my Pride & Prejudice inspired card.

In January, PTI release a set called Simply Jane, as well as matching dies. This set was inspired by Jane Austen.  For my card I used the Quatrefoil die (as it was intended to be used) and die cut a piece of Aqua Mist cardstock.  This was adhered to the front of a white cardstock base.  I then die cut the oval using the Simply Jane oval die and stamped the beautiful filigree-like frame on it using SU!'s Pool Party (an almost dead ringer for Aqua Mist).  I then stamped the sentiment on a piece of white cardstock using black ink, trimmed the ends as you see and then folded it.  The little bouquet image was die cut and then stamped with the corresponding stamps.  I love how ease it is to stamp  the PTI images on the die cut piece.  Every thing was layered up as you see it.  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I like the little bouquet where I placed it, but that's okay.    Once, again, I have created a card that doesn't have a lot of white space, but hopefully Chrissie and Mandi will give me a pass!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & aqua mist; Stamps:  PTI Simply Jane; Ink:  SU! Pool Party, Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Simply Jane dies & Quatrefoil die; Diamond Stickles

ODBDSLC95 - I Thank

Hey there!!! Its Saturday and time for another Shining the Light challenge over at the ODBD blog!!  February is here and this month we here in the US take time to acknowledge national heroes (Presidents Day) or people who are special to us (Valentine's Day).   So... the team is challenging you to acknowledge and CASE a crafter  that you admire or a creation you admire changing just two elements to make it your own.

To make the challenge even more fun, we will be giving out a prize, a $15 gift certificate to be used toward stamps at the Our Daily Bread Designs store!! Entries for the prize must be submitted by Friday, January 13th at 8 a.m. EST. One random winner will be chosen and announced next Saturday. If you are not using ODBD stamps, please do not enter more than once. Additional entries that are made without using ODBD stamps will not be commented on nor will they qualify for prizes. While it is not required to use Our Daily Bread Designs images and sentiments on your creations, we would love to see them if you have them. As a way of recognizing those who do use Our Daily Bread Designs stamps, we will again be choosing 1 to 2 creations to spotlight for our Shining the Light Award. In order to qualify for this award, however, you must use Our Daily Bread stamps and have your submission added to Mr. Linky by Friday, February 10th at 8 a.m. EST. If you upload your creations to Splitcoast Stampers or any other online gallery, please use the keyword is ODBDSLC95. When creating your posts on blogs please include a link to the challenge.  

For my card I chose to CASE a super sweet fellow crafter and "friend I haven't met, yet" named Brenda Urbanik.  I "met" Brenda through the Hero Arts Flickr group and over the last year or so we have exchanged many cards and emails.  I can always count on Brenda to leave me a lovely comment on whatever I post on my blog.   As I was cruising through Brenda's blog one day a few weeks ago I came across a beautiful Valentine's card that Brenda had created for a challenge.  The card is a perfect example of  CAS (clean & simple) one of my favorite ways to make a card.   I immediately knew that was the card I wanted to CASE.  Brenda's card uses a simple frame, a heart die cut and a sentiment.  I changed the heart to a butterfly and added a couple of layers to my card, but still kept things pretty simple.  I used the ODBD sets God's Love, Flourished Christian Symbols and Grunge Butterfly.  The frame was created using Spellbinders Square Plain & Scalloped dies.  The color combo comes from CR84FN and so I will be popping my card into that challenge.   I hope you will take the time to click over to Brenda's blog and leave her some love! 

Please make sure you check out all the beautiful projects my fellow "sticks" Lori, Jan Marie, Jan, Debi, Chris, and Kathy,  To join in the fun, please click here.


Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & spring rain; SU! Riding Hood Red; Ink:  SU! Pink Pirouette & Real Red; Memento Summer Sky; Spellbinders dies; Stickles Diamond Glitter Glue; ODBD stamps; ODBD Grunge Butterfly die

I Love You....

Hey there!!!   Gotta card today for a couple of challenges:  CASE Study and the Shabby Tea Room.  The Shabby Tea Room challenge this week is to make a card based off of another beautiful inspiration photo and to incorporate mail or postage elements.   I think I got that aspect of the challenge covered, hee hee!!   With the beginning of a new month, there is a new muse over at CASE Study and this month the muse is an amazingly talented crafter named Karola Witczack.  I stumbled across Karola when I saw on a blog somewhere the most beautiful papers from a company called The Scrap Cake.  Karola was the designer of these gorgeous papers and once I saw them I had to have them!  Thank goodness I found a US based website called the Flying Unicorn that carries them.  I used some of those papers on my card.  Karola's inspiration card is absolutely GORGEOUS!!

For my card I used a Hero Arts/BasicGrey set called Carte Postal and a sentiment from the Year Round Sentiments set.  I stamped the stamp images on a piece of paper from The Scrap Cake 6x6 Cozy Xmas pad and then trimmed them out.  They were then distressed a bit.   Some additional paper from the Cozy Xmas pad was used as a mat for the cream cardstock piece that was stamped with additional postage elements in kraft and red inks.  The edges of this piece were light inked with Old Paper distress ink.  I finished the card off with some crocheted lace, red ribbon and three small pink roses.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft & cream; PP:  The Scrap Cake Cozy Xmas; Ink:  Stampin Up! Crumb Cake & Riding Hood Red; Stamps:  Hero Arts; Lace Ribbon:  May Arts; Grosgrain Ribbon:  Stampin Up!; Roses:  Flying Unicorn

The Mighty Sea

Hey there!!  Hope your week is going well... so far so good for me.  Really looking forward to Friday when I take a short road trip with my friend, Cindy, to the first Hobby Lobby to open up here in Western Washington!    Today I have a card for the current Paper Players challenge... the challenge this week is a really neat sketch.  I haven't done a Paper Players challenge in ages and thought it was about time I dive back into their fabby challenges!

For my card I used the brand spankin' new Our Daily Bread Designs set "The Mighty Sea".   The artwork is absolutely gorgeous... unfortunately, you can't see alot of it because I covered it up with the sentiment.  But, not to fear I will be making other things with this wonderful set in the future.  If you want to see some truly amazing works of art using this new set and the other new releases from ODBD check out the design team blog hop... if you leave some love there are prizes to be won!!  But you must hurry... the hop ends on 2/2/12!  The papers I used are from the My Mind's Eye Breezy collection.  I roughed it up a bit to give it a more masculine feel.  I flipped the sketch on its side because that orientation suited the main image better.

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft & Fine Linen; Stamps:  ODBD; Ink:  Stampin Up! Early Espresso; Punch:  Stampin Up!; Twine:  May Arts; Robin's Nest Dew Drops; PP:  My Mind's Eye