"We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

Thursday, October 30, 2014

one die... two cards

Hello friends!!   Hope your week has gone well.  Can't believe October is almost over.  We are experiencing our usual drippy wet weather for Halloween!  Oh well... that is how it goes in Western Washington!  The current Make it Monday technique is a really fun (and super simple... my kind of technique, lol!) one courtesy of Laurie Willison... partially stamped die cuts.  After viewing her video I just had to make something and in the end I made two cards!  The colors are based on the current Color Throwdown combo.


I thought about using one of the word dies I have, but as I flipped through my way too huge collection of PTI dies (any one with me on that one, lol???!!) I spotted the Phrase Play #2 die that I had not used yet and decided to go with that.  I stamped flower flowers from the PTI mini set Ruby Reprise using yellow, orange and bright blue inks along one side of white cardstock and then die cut the piece with the Phrase Play die.  The main piece was used to create the first card and then I used the left over pieces for the second.  I did die cut two more of the word "always" from scraps and then adhered them to the stamped to give the word more depth.   Both cards were finished with some orange, yellow and blue sequins.  

Of the two I think the second is my favorite.  I really like the simplicity of it and the fact that you can really see the word "always" so clearly.  I think on the first one I should have used a colored cardstock for the back piece instead of white... live and learn!  Think I will post this second card to the current Addicted to Stamps challenge:  CAS.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Pumpkin Pie, Smoky Slate; Stamps and dies:  PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up! (So Saffron & Pumpkin Pie) and Memento (Danube Blue & Tuxedo Black); Sequins:  Ellen Hutson

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

boo to you...

Hello friends!!  Didn't think I would be making another Halloween card, but I decided last evening to play along with two challenges I haven't had the chance to play in for a looong time:  Less is More (newsprint) and CASology (ghost).  I also used the current CTS layout... so think I will add it to the line up.  Adding this to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:  anything goes.

 
I still had the Reverse Confetti sets Spooky Cuties and Spooky Sentiments out so I stamped the little ghost on some Halloween newsprint paper from the My Mind's Eye Mischievous 6x6 pad and trimmed them out.  Another strip was cut, the sentiment added and then I fishtailed one end.  A strip of black cardstock was embossed with a spider web embossing folder and then I layered everything up.  Finished off with some more of those cute little spiders my friend Lisa gave me.

Thanks for stopping by...
Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white, black and soft stone; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  Reverse Confetti; spider web embossing folder; Stickles;

Monday, October 27, 2014

happy halloween...

Hello friends!  Getting in one last Halloween project before the big day.  This card is for the current AAA Card challenge:  CAS Halloween and used the current Reverse Confetti Sketch for You to Try layout.


My sweet friend, Lisa Lara, has been using washi tape in lots of fun ways lately and it got me thinking about my rather large *cough* stash of washi tape.  I have this fun roll that has a Halloween feel to it so I pulled it out for a play.  All the stamps are from Reverse Confetti (Spookie Cuties & Spooky Sentiments).  The dies are Spellbinders plain circles and the large panel die from the Avery Elle Dotted dies set.  I used a couple of strips of the washi tape to create the bottom panel and then used cardstock for the rest of pieces.   I added some black Wink of Stella to the fence, but you can't see the sparkle in the photo.  I a little bummed because when I cut my white panel the cardstock got warped making the panel look wonky! Hmm... now I'm thinking I should have used yellow cardstock instead of white cardstock... oh well.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock: PTI white, soft stone and black, SU! pumpkin pie; Stamps:  Reverse Confetti; Dies:  Avery Elle & Spellbinders; Ink: Memento Grape Jelly, Tangelo & Tuxedo Black

Sunday, October 26, 2014

trick or treat...

Hello friends!!!  Popping in with a fun little project that I made using the Precious Remembrance Shop set "Beware".   If you hop over to the Precious Remembrance Shop blog you can check out all the Halloween treat projects the design team made using this fun and versatile set!


My project started with the same mini bags that I used for a project I posted on the PRS blog here.  I stamped the "trick or treat" strip sentiment at a slight diagonal across the bottom of each bag using dark orange and black inks.  I stamped the icons in orange ink and punched them out.  The "open if you dare..." sentiment was stamped in black multiple times, trimmed out, two attached to each icon and then adhered to the bag.  I placed the treat inside each bag, punch two holes in the top and secured with black and orange baker's twine (a gift from my sweet friend, Lisa Lara!).  A little spider (also a gift from Lisa!) finished things off.

Thanks for stopping by... now head to the PRS blog and check out what my fabulous teamies created using this set!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

peace...

Hello... back with a second card for this month's PTI blog hop, as well as the current Merry Monday challenge:  non-traditional colors.

Pulled out another older PTI set Snowflake Serenade.  This set is one of the first sets I ever bought from PTI.  I stamped the three snowflakes using navy, purple and light blue inks and then added hot pink enamel dots to the center of each flake.  The word "peace" was stamped in purple and then the accompany sentiments in the navy and light blue inks.  Hot pink enamel dots were added to the ends of the swirls on the word.  Super clean, super simple and very different from my first hop card!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up! and Hero Arts; Enamel dots:  My Mind's Eye

PTI October Blog Hop...

Hello friends!!  The 25th has rolled around again and that means a new PTI blog hop!  This month we have some wonderful non-traditional holiday/Christmas color palettes to choose from for our projects.   I had a hard time picking one, but finally settled on the combo of Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, Hawaiian Shores and New Leaf and came up with this crazy little card:

I don't own many PTI Christmas/holiday sets (note to self... must change that, lol!), but I do own the cute little set Winter Swirls.  The layout is based on the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  I was going to go with a white on white scheme with the colors being brought in with some stamping, but decided part way through to incorporate colored cardstock, as well.  At the last minute decided to add some clear sequins for a little bit of sparkle.  The card is a bit funky, but I like it!


Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & New Leaf; SU! Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise & Real Red; Stamps:  PTI; Inks:  Stamping Up! and Hero Arts

Friday, October 24, 2014

missing you...

Hello friends!!   Returning to my love affair with feathers I have a card today that I made for several challenges, Time Out (birds of a feather), CAS(E) this Sketch (layout) and Color Throwdown.  ETA:  Realized that I can add this to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to use kraft!


I originally I was going to use my Four Feathers set from Stampin Up!, but after doing a test run I realized that I needed to use clear stamps in order make sure I got the image within the cut out area.  So I went with my PTI Feather Finery set.  I used the smallest feather die to make the cut outs on my kraft panel (I used kraft as a neutral to provide more contrast to the feathers that were stamped on the cream card base) and then stamped the feathers using light yellow and dark orange inks (SU! So Saffron and CTMH Autumn Terracotta).  The sentiment (from the Altenew Label Love set) was stamped using Hero Arts Soft Olive ink and trimmed out. I popped up the die cut panel over stamped images and then adhered the sentiment and two little birds (also stamped in Soft Olive).  A few clear sequins finished things off.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream, SU! kraft; Stamps:  PTI Feather Finery & Altenew Label Love; Dies:  PTI feather dies; Inks:  Stampin Up!, Close to My Heart and Hero Arts; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh

Thursday, October 23, 2014

rosettes...

Hello friends!!!   Today's post is in response to an offer I made in my Precious Remembrance Shop post (found here) to share how I made the rosettes.  Several of you said you would like to know and so I have done a photo tutorial.  A little background first.  A few years into my paper crafting journey I saw how many crafters made rosettes using long strips of paper that they accordion folded and then glued the ends together to make perfect rosettes.  I even purchased a set of dies that were supposed to help me make "quick and easy" rosettes... ha!  Failure every single time!  I was "all thumbs" and just couldn't figure out how to make it work.  Fast forward a few years and I saw this die on the Cat's Pajamas website (you can see it here).  After watching the video I thought "finally something that can actually help me make a rosette"!  But I hesitated to purchase it and the more I looked at the die the more I realized that I had something similar in my die collection that would work just as well... Spellbinders scalloped circle dies and lacey circle dies.  So, I got them out, gave it a try and a rosette was born, lol!   Okay... first thanks for sticking with me this far... now to the tutorial! 
To make the rosette you will need scalloped circle dies (there are many brands out there... you don't need Spellbinders, that is just what I have), cardstock/patterned paper, die cutting, scoring tool, scissors and strong adhesive (I use Scor-Tape).   
Once your cardstock is die cut place it on your scoring tool (I used my Scor-Buddy) lining it up so that you can score between each scallop from one side to the other.   (Sorry the score lines are hard to see... if you click on the photo you should be able to see them better.)

After scoring is completed cut on one of the score lines to the center of the circle and begin folding on the score lines.. (I guess it would be considered a "peak and valley" fold since the first fold makes a "peak" and the next a "valley".)  Repeat with the second circle.  This will give you the two halves of the rosette.

I suggest adhering the rosette with a strong adhesive like Scor-Tape otherwise the rosette may pull apart.  Apply the tape to one of the halves and then adhered together. 
Finish by adding a stabilizing circle to the backside of the rosette using a hot glue gun and then embellish the front as you would like.
From start to finish I think it took me about 15 minutes to put these rosettes together.  I hope this all made sense to you!!  Thanks for stopping by...

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

happy wednesday...

Hello, friends!!  Popping in to let you know that I have a post up over that the Precious Remembrance Shop blog.  I hope you will check out my fun Halloween project.  Here is a little peek:


Thanks for stopping by...

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

miracles happen...

Hello friends!!  Popping in with a card I made for the new color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.  It is a fun combo of aqua, red and kraft... love anything with kraft.  I picked up my new Stampin Up! goodies from my demo this morning and had a play with them this afternoon.  Here is what I made:


I did some collage stamping using my current favorite Stampin Up! set, Kinda Eclectic and then layered on the three die cut feathers.  I added the little button/twine embellishment and the sentiment and I was done.  The main panel was die cut using my Avery Elle Dotted die.  I think I will pop this into the current Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge as that is anything goes!

Thanks for stopping by... and thank you to everyone who wished me well!  I felt so encouraged after reading your sweet comments!!  Started physical therapy and I'm happy to say that I am feeling a lot better!!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Rustic White; Stampin Up: Crumb Cake; Inks:  Stampin Up! Coastal Cabana, Real Red and Crumb Cake; Memento Tuxedo Black; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Dies:  Stampin Up! (feathers) and Avery Elle; Button:  PTI; Twine:  The Twinery

Sunday, October 19, 2014

my blessings...

Hello friends!!  Popping in with a very simple card that I made a few days ago.  The last few weeks have been a bit rough for me, physically, and that means paper crafting falls mostly to the wayside.  Things have slowly gotten better and should improve more as I will be starting physical therapy on Monday.  As a general rule I don't like to talk about things that are getting me down here on my blog because this is a blog about paper crafting, but these last few weeks have been hard and blogging about it (just a little) is another form of therapy.  I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who left me lovely comments on my "cover girl" post.  Each and everyone of them brought a smile to my face and lifted my spirits!  So this card is for you...


Playing along with the current MIM challenge, Gold Dipped Die Cuts, as well as the current Freshly Made Sketch.  My first attempt at gold dipped die cuts was a complete disaster, but my little butterfly turned out fairly well.  I paired it with two flourish images and a the sentiment from the PTI set Fall Elegance.  The patterned paper is from Autumn Abundance.  Cardstock is PTI Lemon Tart and Rustic White.  I finished the card off with some sequins on the butterfly and a bit of burlap twine.

Thanks for stopping by...  :)

Supplies:  Cardstock and patterned paper:  PTI; Stamps and dies:  PTI; Ink:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Sequins:  Lawn Fawn; burlap twine

Friday, October 17, 2014

Eeekkk.... I'm a Cover Girl!!!

Hello!!!  Have some fun and exciting news to share!!  As the title of my blog post indicates a card I submitted for publication made it on the cover of that publication!!  When I got the email from Tanya Fox, the editor of CardMaker magazine, back in early September letting me know that they had picked my card to be on the cover of the Winter, 2014 issue I about fell over!  I have had cards published in CardMaker many, many times (you can check my publication page to see), but I have never had the honor of being on the cover.   It is truly a great honor and I can,t tell you how happy I am to have achieved it.   So... here is the cover of the Winter, 2014 CardMaker:


The stamps I used are from the Reverse Confetti set Tinsel n' Trim.  The tag die (one of my favorite dies) is from the Reverse Confetti die set Tag Me.   CardMaker is a great paper crafting magazine and one that you can still get an actual copy of at the store so I hope that you will check it out!

Thanks for stopping by...

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

trick or treat...

Hello!  Our wild and crazy October weather has arrived so that means lots of wind and rain!  Oh well... we had such a nice summer so I can't complain too much, lol!  Anywhoo... have a card to share using the current layout from CAS(E) this Sketch and the current ColourQ combo (haven't played along with them in AGES!)


When I saw the CTS layout I thought of only one stamp set to use "Beware" from Precious Remembrance Shop.  I stamped the icons in yellow, orange, black and the dark raspberry ink and punched them out.  My white panel was trimmed down on one side and the icons adhered. After that I added the trick or treat sentiment.  Some black polka dot washi tape was adhered to the card base and the main panel adhered.   Simple, simple!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Punch:  Fiskars 1" circle; Inks:  Stampin Up! and Memento; My Mind's Eye washi tape.

Monday, October 13, 2014

hello...pumpkin

Hello!!   Thought I would pop in with a simple little card that I made for the current AAA Card challenge:  Autumn Colors, as well as the current a2z Scrapbooking challenge (use 2 Hero Arts products).   A sweet bloggy friend, Barb, is a member of the a2z design team and so I thought I would finally play along with one of their challenges.

 

I love pumpkins and so when I saw the inspiration photo for the AAA Card challenge I just had to get out my "oldie, but goodie" Hero Arts Bold Pumpkin wood mount stamp (my first Hero Arts product used) and do some paper piecing.  I stamped the pumpkin on some Crate Paper Farmhouse patterned paper three time and then trimmed out the full pumpkin and two partials.  The stem was also stamped on patterned paper and trimmed out.  Then I layered everything up using foam dimensionals.   The pumpkin was stamped again on some off white cardstock, a strip of patterned paper was adhered and then the paper piece pumpkin added.  I finished the strip off by adding the sentiment (from the Hero Arts set Congrats - another oldie and my second Hero Arts product used). 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft & rustic white; Stamps:  Hero Arts; Inks:  Memento; paper: Crate Paper Farmhouse

Sunday, October 12, 2014

joyful tidings...

Hello!  Popping in with a card that I made for a couple of challenges:  Festive Fridays (inspiration photo) and Freshly Made Sketches.


The current inspiration photo for Festive Fridays really caught my eye and I just had to make something.  Love the beautiful white chairs accented with that gorgeous red ribbon and pinecone treatment. I just recently got the Simon Says Stamp/Clearly Besotted stamp (Autumn Blessings) and die (Full Wreaths) set and so I used that to create my take on the photo... a lovely little wreath.  I pulled out my fibre paste, created a stencil using the MFT dispersed dots die and applied the paste to some white cardstock.  After applying the paste I added some ultra fine glitter.  Once the paste was dry I put my card together based on the layout from Freshly Made Sketches.  The sentiment is from the Stampin Up! set Christmas Messages.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp & Stampin Up!; Dies:  Simon Says Stamp and My Favorite Things; Fibre Paste:  Golden; Glitter:  Ultrafine Art Glitter; Inks:  Close to My Heart and Stampin Up!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

love...

Hello!  Hope your week is going well.  I'm popping in with a card that I made for this week's PTI Make it Monday:  dry embossing over heat embossing.   Every week I check out the new MIM video and every week I think to myself that I will try to make something and then it never happens.  So I decided to make sure that this week I did get a project made!  I'm also posting this to the current Less is More challenge since the colors I used are decidedly autumnal.


I pulled out my Beautiful Brushstrokes set and stamped the largest flower using SU!'s So Saffron for the base layer and Pumpkin Pie for the next.  The final layer of the image was stamped using VersaMark watermark ink, gold embossing powder applied and then heat set.  I followed the same steps for the leaves and stems.  The sentiment was also stamped in VersaMark, black embossing powder applied and heat set.  Once everything was heat embossed I ran the entire piece through my Big Shot using the PTI quatrefoil cover plate.  The piece was adhered to the card base and a few of the rain drops from the Beautiful Brushstrokes kit were adhered.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft and white; Stamps and dies:  PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up!, VersaMark; Embossing powders:  Ranger gold and Filigree black; rain drops

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

prs {create it... wednesday}

Hello... just popping in with a quick post to let you know that I have a fun little Halloween idea up on the Precious Remembrance Shop blog today.  Here is a little peek:


I hope you will check it out!  Thanks for stopping by...

Saturday, October 4, 2014

happy halloween...

Hello... Have a quick little card that I put together using the current layout from CAS(E) this Sketch as well as the Color Throwdown combo.  It is world cardmaking day and there are lots of things going on and I didn't have any intention of making anything paper crafty, but I found myself with a bit of time so decided to make a card.


I used the newly released Precious Remembrance Shop set "Beware".  I'm not hugely into Halloween, but I absolutely love this fun little set and have lots of ideas as to how I can use it.  Stay tuned... I will be sharing one on Wednesday on the PRS blog!   I cut a piece of kraft cardstock and stamped it with the chevron image from the PRS set DIY using black ink and then added the "Happy Halloween" sentiment also in black.  Two of the icon were stamped in orange and grey inks and punched out with a 1" circle punch.  I did some partial embossing using a spider web embossing folder and then added the two icons.  A few enamel dots provided a little finishing touch (so I will add this to the SSS Monday challenge:  finishing touch).

Thanks for stopping by... and happy world cardmaking day!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & kraft; Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Inks:  VersaFine Onyx Black, SU! Pumpkin Pie and Smoky Slate; Enamel dots:  My Mind's Eye; Embossing folder:  Cuttlebug

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Merry Christmas...

So... yesterday I had a little crafty session yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) and made several cards.  The first two cards turned out rather nice and they are posted in my Splitcoaststampers gallery (they were made for two SCS challenge... you can see them here and here).  But the third card was, well... I'm going to be nice and say it was "awkward looking".   I'm not sure why, but I kept forging ahead with the card this morning.  I guess I thought I could somehow make it look better, but that idea was killed when I stamped the sentiment crooked!   Ever done that?  Keep trying with something even though you know it is a lost cause?  Anyway... thankfully I came up with this card instead.  It is for the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge and the AAA Cards "MacGyver" challenge.   ETA:  I just noticed that this card also works perfectly for the current Merry Monday challenge: polka dots and/or stripes!


The MacGyver challenge involves using kraft, vellum, glitter and a stamp on your holiday (pick any holiday... I went with Christmas) card/project.  I think it was the vellum that tripped me up on the "awkward" card.   But thankfully the new Freshly Made Sketches layout was posted and I found the perfect way to use vellum!  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye (All is Bright 6x6 pad) and I cut it so the word "merry" just peeks out from underneath the vellum and the glitter snowflake.  My stamping is the word "Christmas".   I made the glittery snowflake by die cutting the snowflakes using Penny Black dies, covering them with glue and then pouring on the glitter. The top portion of the kraft cardstock piece was partially embossed for a subtle "falling snow" sort of effect.  Layered everything up and added a wee bit of Christmas washi tape to finish things off.   Oh... I just remembered the current Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge is "finishing touch".  Hmmm... think I will post this to that challenge, as well.



Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & kraft; Vellum:  Close to My Heart; Stamps:  Hero Arts Decorate Your Holidays; Ink:  Stampin Up! Cherry Cobbler; Dies:  Spellbinders plain circle die; Penny Black snowflake dies; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Glitter:  Art Glitter; Washi tape