CardPatterns #74

Hi there, and happy Friday to you! Just a quick post today, as housework is calling me! Well, my stamps are calling me too, but I'm trying my best to ignore them for the moment!

Today's card is for CardPatterns sketch #74. Lots of layers on this one, which made it a real challenge for me! Check it out:

This card took much longer than I anticipated. I was determined to mix and match some patterned papers, but that is always much easier said than done! I see so many talented crafters out there who seem to match up papers flawlessly every time, but it's a real struggle for me. But, I am pretty happy with how this turned out. It's bright and cheery and would be perfect for a child's birthday.

I used papers from October Afternoon's Road Map and Ducks in a Row collections, along with PTI's Vintage Cream, Harvest Gold, and Ocean Tides. The sentiment is from The Paper Company Studio, and I just inked up a few of PTI's Polka Dot Basics to add the dots on the focal panel. It was looking a little plain, so I remembered a recent post by the super talented Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) where she used chalks instead of inking to sponge on color. I hadn't used my chalks in forever, so I broke out a set to add the yellow "halo" around the sentiment while the square was still in my Nestie.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream, Harvest Gold, Ocean Tides)

Patterned paper: October Afternoon (Road Map, Ducks in a Row)

Stamps: The Paper Company Studio (Cupcakes), Papertrey Ink (Polka Dot Basics)

Ink: Clearsnap (Cranberry)

Tools: Spellbinders (square die), Fiskars (border punches), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (buttons, jute twine), EK Success (chalk), thread

And here's a peek at the inside:

So glad you stopped by today! I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Curtain Call Act 40 & Sweet Sunday Sketch #79

Hello! How are things in your corner of the world? We have one more day of heat and humidity before we're supposed to get some relief, just in time for the weekend! I, for one, am looking forward to cooling off for a few days!

On to today's card, which is for two challenges. First is the fabulous color combo that Stacey chose this week for the Curtain Call Color Challenge. Isn't it fun? Okay, I admit it scared me a bit at first, but once I started working with this combo I really loved it! It gave me a chance to try out PTI's Simply Chartreuse cardstock.

I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch of the week. I think the oval shape can be incredibly versatile using one of the many available label dies, which is what I decided to do.

I was dying to play with my newest stamp set, PTI's Distressed Stripes. I made the striped paper by stamping three different stripes in red, black, and turquoise. This was totally inspired by PTI's Beautiful Blooms patterned paper with a similar color combo. I stamped the black cardstock with the larger bloom and leaves from Delightful Dahlia in white ink. The label die and stamp are PTI's Fillable Frames #4, and the sentiment is from Mega Mixed Messages. I finished things off by die cutting and stamping the smaller dahlia and leaves and layering them over the label. The red ribbon is from my stash.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, True Black, Simply Chartreuse, white)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Distressed Stripes, Delightful Dahlia, Fillable Frames #4, Mega Mixed Messages)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores), Clearsnap (Cranberry, Black), Jo-Ann (white), Versamark

Tools: Papertrey Ink (Fillable Frames #4 die, flower and leaf dies)

Accessories: ribbon

And to finish off the inside, I added more of those fun stripes and a punched border strip in chartreuse, to pull in all of the colors from the front.

That's all for today! I'm trying to get back to posting comments more regularly, so be sure to leave me a comment here so I can visit you, too! Thanks for stopping by today!

Taylored Expressions Sketch #122

Hello again! If you missed my post about LeAnne's birthday blog hop, be sure to scroll down to my previous post!

Up next is my take on Taylor's latest sketch, which is super fun!

I just picked up this lovely patterned paper from Jillibean Soup and based my color scheme on that. I originally tried to incorporate the butterflies from the sketch, but it just wasn't working for me. So I took my inspiration from the paper and punched six little flowers, which I layered to make three blooms, then added a brown center with a Copic marker and some sparkle with a Spica glitter pen.

I stamped a branch from PTI's Turning a New Leaf and cut it out to layer under the flowers. The circular element in the sketch became the button, which looks super cute with PTI's New Leaf saddle stitch ribbon.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist), Bazzill (Pollen)

Patterned paper: Jillibean Soup (Old World Cabbage Soup)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf), WPlus9 Design Studio (Funky Foliage)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Hampton Art (green), Copic marker

Tools: Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate), Marvy Uchida (flower punch)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (ribbon), Spica glitter pen, button, DMC floss, thread

The sentiment is from WPlus9 Design's Funky Foliage, and it is one of my faves! I ran the Aqua Mist panel through my Big Shot with the Linen & Canvas impression plate after stamping. Some machine stitching around the edges finished off the front.

Here's a peek at the inside, too! Quick and simple.

Before I go today, I just wanted to give a shout-out to the wonderfully talented Jen Carter. Recently I was fortunate enough to win a contest on her blog for one of her super-cute button rings. Let me tell you, it is absolutely adorable and so beautifully crafted! She is selling these beauties in her Etsy shop, Jen's Ink Spot, along with some of her lovely cards. She has lots of designs and will custom make one to your specifications. Be sure to check out her shop!

Thanks so much for stopping by, friends! Hope the rest of your day is a good one!

Happy Birthday LeAnne!

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (white, Hibiscus Burst), Bazzill (kraft)

Stamp: Fiskars (Year-Round Greetings)

Ink: Martha Stewart (Hibiscus)

Tools: Papertrey Ink (scallop die), ProvoCraft (embossing folder)

Accessories: crochet flower, button, twill ribbon, thread

Good morning! Have you heard the news? It's LeAnne's birthday! Some of her friends have organized a blog hop to celebrate, so be sure to hop around and see what everyone else has cooked up. Also don't forget to stop by LeAnne's blog and wish her a very happy birthday!

clean&simple FTL #100

Hey friends, I'm back! Did you miss me? *wink* I had a lovely visit with family and friends, and my kiddos were absolute dolls for most of the long car ride. Thanks so much for all of your well wishes!

It is so good to be back home, but I have been feeling thoroughly exhausted and burdened by the return to reality! So I decided to try and ease back into crafting today with sketch FTL #100 at the clean&simple blog. This is my first time participating in one of their challenges, but I will definitely be doing more!

On my drive home, I just had to stop at my favorite scrapbook store from my days in northeastern Ohio: Archiver's. I picked up this lovely cling rubber stamp from Hero Arts called Garden Bouquet. I inked it up in green first, then added the yellow to the flowers. The result is perfectly imperfect and so pretty in person. Unfortunately it was difficult to photograph and the stamped image is a little washed out in the photos.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Rustic White, Harvest Gold)

Stamps: Hero Arts (Garden Bouquet), unknown (sentiment)

Ink: Martha Stewart (Meyer Lemon), Hampton Art (green), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Clearsnap (Creamy Brown), Versamark

Tool: Fiskars (border punch)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (ribbon), thread

That's it for me today! I hope to get back in the stamping groove again this week. So glad you stopped by!

2 Sketches 4 You #57

Happy Friday! I hope you're looking forward to the weekend as much as I am. Today I just wanted to post my take on Kazan's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You. I've been making these crocheted flowers while on vacation, so I was looking for an excuse to use them on another card and saw the perfect opportunity with this sketch!

I wanted to keep the overall design very simple to let these little beauties shine, so I paired them with a basic sentiment and some pretty (but not busy) patterned paper. This paper is just lovely in person, with just a bit of glitter to make it sparkle. It's from DCWV's The Linen Closet stack, which I finally found in an 8 x 8 size (1100 miles from home, of course!).

I mentioned in a previous post that these flowers are from a pattern on Nichole Heady's blog, but did you notice those adorable crocheted leaves? I promise to share the link to that pattern soon, I just don't have it in front of me at the moment. Needless to say, I was excited to find a pattern that so perfectly complements these little blooms.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (white), Bazzill (kraft)

Patterned paper: DCWV (The Linen Closet stack)

Stamp: unknown

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Clearsnap (Creamy Brown)

Tool: Papertrey Ink (scallop border die)

Accessories: buttons, DMC floss, thread

That's all for now, as I must get some sleep before another day of driving tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Curtain Call Act 39 & Sweet Sunday Sketch #78

Hello friends! I have just a quick post for two more challenges. First is this fabulous color combo from Stacey for the Curtain Call Color Challenge. What a soothing, fresh combination of greens and neutrals. I paired them up with the Sweet Sunday Sketch of the week.

For the focal image, I stamped a few images from PTI's Life set in two different colors of green (they are not an exact match for the challenge colors, but they're what I had on hand!) and added a sentiment from Mega Mixed Messages. The Spring Moss cardstock layer is impressed with the Linen & Canvas plate. These photos are a bit washed out, but in real life I think this card turned out quite pretty.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss, New Leaf, white), Bazzill (kraft)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Life, Mega Mixed Messages)

Ink: Clearsnap (Lettuce, Creamy Brown), Hampton Art (green), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate)

Tools: Spellbinders (square, scalloped square dies), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (ribbon)

I have a post scheduled for tomorrow while I'm still on the road, so I hope you'll stop by again! Thanks so much to all of you who have left such sweet comments lately!

Waltzingmouse sketch #6 & ColourQ #42

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week so far! I'll be hitting the road tomorrow, weather permitting, and not home until Saturday. I hope to get a couple more cards done before I leave to post while I'm gone, but if not, I promise to return soon!

Today's card is for another new challenge (for me, anyway!), the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge. I've been admiring the Waltzingmouse stamps for some time, especially those that coordinate with the Spellbinders Nesties. There are quite a few sets on my wish list!

I already had in mind what I wanted to do with this sketch, and then the new color challenge at ColourQ went live and fit my idea perfectly!

As you can see, the sketch made me think of the sun, so I cut part of a circle from PTI's Orange Zest and stitched some red and yellow semicircles on it. I then ruffled a yellow satin ribbon under the curved edge. The red flourishes are from Autumn Leaves, and the sentiment is from PTI's Signature Greetings (I know, I've been using this set a lot lately!). The only thing I wish I could change about this card is to move the sentiment down a little bit, but otherwise it's a fun departure from my usual style!

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, white)

Stamps: Autumn Leaves (Flourishes v.2), Papertrey Ink (Signature Greetings)

Ink: Clearsnap (Cranberry), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate)

Tools: Spellbinders (circle dies)

Accessories: Michaels (ribbon), DMC floss, thread

Thanks so much for stopping by, folks! I've had fun visiting family, but I can't wait to get back to my crafty space at home. Thanks for all of your encouragement here on the blog-o!

PDCC #38 & EBTKS sketch #19

Hi there! I'm back with a card for a challenge that's new to me: the Play Date Cafe Challenge. I really enjoy color challenges in particular, so when I saw this one I knew I'd like to try it out. I paired it up with the sketch at Everything but the Kitchen Sink, which is a fantastic clean and simple design.

I just found these gorgeous mulberry paper mini roses at Michaels, and I knew they would be perfect for this color challenge. I stamped an image from PTI's Turning a New Leaf and added three of the blooms. I stitched a strip of Lavender Moon punched with my favorite EK Success border punch behind the focal image. The kraft background is embossed with PTI's Woodgrain impression plate and sponged lightly with white ink to bring out the pattern. I truly love this plate!

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Plum Pudding, Lavender Moon, white), Bazzill (kraft)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf, Signature Greetings)

Ink: Ranger (Eggplant), Hampton Art (green), JoAnn (white)

Tools: Spellbinders (square, scalloped square dies), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories: Michaels (paper roses), thread

I really love the simplicity of this design and how it turned out! I'm so glad you stopped by today! Thanks for all your kind comments!

CardPatterns #73

Hi friends! Well, it's the start of another week. I only have three more days before I'm on the road again, headed back home. I'm enjoying the time visiting my family, but I really miss my hubby and my own bed!

Today I've got a card to share for the sketch at CardPatterns. This was a bit challenging, because I wouldn't normally use a diamond shape, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I immediately thought of using PTI's A Little Argyle, so I started by stamping the smallest diamond pattern in turquoise and spring green on white cardstock. I used my Nesties to cut out a frame from Hawaiian Shores cardstock, then popped it up a bit on foam adhesive. The label is PTI's Fillable Frames #5, and the sentiment is from Signature Greetings.

The Spring Moss background is stamped with an argyle pattern in white, then wrapped with Hawaiian Shores ribbon.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss, Hawaiian Shores, white)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (A Little Argyle, Fillable Frames #5, Signature Greetings)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores), Clearsnap (Lettuce), Jo-Ann (white)

Tools: Papertrey Ink (label die), Spellbinders (square, scalloped square dies)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (ribbon), buttons, DMC floss

So glad you could stop by today! I haven't had as much time to leave comments lately, but I hope to get caught up soon! Thanks so much for all your words of encouragement--I look forward to them!

ColourQ #41 & Taylored Expressions #121

Hi there! Just a quick post today to meet the deadline for the color challenge at colourQ. I also used the sketch at Taylored Expressions.

I combined several stamp sets for this card, and I'm not sure what I think about the results. I'm definitely still struggling to find my groove while I'm away from home. But this is a really lovely color combo that I will have to try again in the future!

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow, Sweet Blush, white)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Beautiful Blooms II, Turning a New Leaf), WPlus9 (Mehndi Medallions), Stampendous (Music Score)

Ink: Versamark, Jo-Ann (white), Clearsnap (Black)

Tools: Papertrey Ink (flower dies), Spellbinders (circle dies), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (buttons), Michaels (rhinestones), DMC floss

Sorry for the short post, but we're visiting with family today. Thanks for stopping by today!

2 Sketches 4 You

Hello again, friends! As promised, I'm back for my second post today. If you missed my earlier post, feel free to scroll down to check it out!

This card is for Laura's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You this week. It's another fun one!

I decided I wanted to play with more of October Afternoon's Fly a Kite paper. I just love this line! I added a sentiment from PTI's Signature Greetings and a flower from Beautiful Blooms II. I thought the shape of the petals and the stitched look were a good complement to the details of the papers. As a finishing touch, I just stitched a few more lines underneath the sentiment to ground it a bit.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream)

Patterned papers: October Afternoon (Fly a Kite)

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Signature Greetings, Beautiful Blooms II)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate)

Tools: Spellbinders (circle, scallop circle die)

Accessories: Michaels (ribbon), Papertrey Ink (button), DMC floss, thread

We're visiting with family most of the day, so I don't know if I'll have a chance to meet any more challenge deadlines today, but I will if I can! Thanks for stopping by!

Curtain Call Act 38 & TESC #120

Happy Friday, folks! I'm hoping to get a few cards done today for some upcoming challenge deadlines, but as I'm on vacation I'm definitely struggling with a loss of mojo! The motivation is there, but my creativity must not have taken the trip with me! Anyway, please forgive the poor lighting and photos during the next week. I'll also do my best with the color challenges, but I have only a limited amount of supplies so we'll see what I can come up with!

First up is my card for the latest Curtain Call Color Challenge. Challenging combination, to say the least! I paired it up with Taylor's sketch, which is super cute and will definitely be going in my inspiration file!

For the focal image, I stamped a birthday phrase that I love from Fiskars and paired it up with a little cupcake. I stamped the cupcake bottom onto patterned paper from October Afternoon with Dark Chocolate ink, then added a little bit of shading with Creamy Brown chalk ink. The top of the cupcake was stamped with Hibiscus ink onto Vintage Cream cardstock, then sponged with Hibiscus and Carnation inks from Martha Stewart. I popped the top half up on foam adhesive.

I had an especially hard time using the green on this card, so all it has is a cute little button I used as a flower center with some looped purple floss.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream, Plum Pudding, Orange Zest)

Patterned paper: October Afternoon (Fly a Kite)

Stamps: Fiskars (Make a Wish Quotes), The Paper Company Studio (Cupcakes)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Martha Stewart (Hibiscus, Carnation), Clearsnap (Creamy Brown)

Tools: Spellbinders (square, scalloped square die), ProvoCraft (embossing folder)

Accessories: button, floss

Okay, I'm off to find my mojo! I hope to be back later in the day, so be sure to check in! Thanks so much for stopping by, and for your patience during my absence! I have really missed this little blog and all of YOU!

Papertrey Posse Parade of Blogs

Finally, I'm back! I've been on the road for the last 4 days, but I finally reached my destination and hope to get my fingers inky again today!

Today's card is the last of a set I shared last week, but it was actually the first of the set that I made. Color challenge #2 at Papertrey Posse inspired the entire project! The challenge was to use Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Melon Berry, and Dark Chocolate.

I started with this gorgeous patterned paper from American Crafts. I really wanted that elegant pattern to take center stage, so I kept the other elements fairly simple. The sentiment is Fiskars and the butterfly is from PTI's Butterfly Dreams, colored with a couple of Copic markers.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, white)

Patterned paper: American Crafts

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Butterfly Dreams), Fiskars (All Year Greetings)

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Copics

Tools: Spellbinders (circle, scalloped circle dies), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories: Papertrey Ink (button), Queen & Co. (pearls), Michaels (ribbon), DMC floss, thread

I'll keep the details to a minimum so you can check out the rest of the creations from the Papertrey Posse! Thanks for stopping by today!