Plaid is Rad: Snowy Christmas

Hi all. If you are here, chances are you have come from Poppystamp's November Challenge"Plaid is Rad". (If you're a follower, bless your fuzzy heart. You're also may be wondering who I am, since two years have passed since my last post. Time to get back on the horse.)

Poppystamps has become one of my go-to sources for great dies and an inspiring design team. I just love plaids at Christmas time, so this month's challenge was for me.

Stitched Snowflake Cutouts is a recent acquisition (and it's still on sale for a steal). 

I cut the cream panel twice with this die, and inlaid the snowflakes with gold and green foil paper. The photo to the right is an attempt to show how beautiful the foiled papers are when die cut. It's a knock-out in person. To shake it up a bit, I let the plaid from the background show through in a few spots.

The plaid is a Debbie Mumm paper from JoAnn, and the lovely script "Christmas" is a die from Papertrey.

Thanks for visiting, and I'll be visiting you soon.

Addicted to CAS: Challenge #29 - Die Cuts

You're probably here from the CAS Challenge blog, and that means this is your first time visiting. Welcome!

 I just had to participate, because lately I've realized I'm a bit of a die nut. Sitting around playing with dies, using them to fashion something other than the original shape, really floats my boat. (Hints: the cup is three different sized oval dies; and the four leaf clover is a heart die.) It's a bit early for St. Patrick's Day, but that was my original thought. It also seems appropriate of other occasions as well.

My style is all over the board, so I'm not sure about my having gotten CAS just right. Would you be willing to tell me if my card is CAS, or not CAS? Oh, I would dearly love to know if there is a better spot for my sentiment?!

Thanks so much for visiting and I'll be seeing you on your blog.

Supplies

Papertrey - Fancy Flourishes stamp set, Heart Prints stamp set and coordinating die, Ripe Avocado cardstock and dye ink, Flower Fusion #9 stamp set, Stamper's select white cardstock. 
Sizzix - Big Shot, Oval Nestability dies.
Miscellaneous - Stripped white vellum, gold pearlescent with white dots paper.

Papertrey's Make It Monday #117: Paper Piecing

Something about Nichol's fabulous "Up, Up, and Away" stamp set, always reminds me of July 4th. It was the first set I ever purchased from Papertrey, and has been used more than all the others.

I was going for the feel of a hot summer day, and a more minimized style than I usually do. The card works for me......but something is missing! I've tried out sentiments placed here and there. (By the way, you can do this by stamping on a piece of scrap acetate with non-dye inks, and moving it around the card till you find the right spot.) I didn't find the spot. I tried a long flag from the top of the balloons; looked ridiculous, but even more so with a bird pulling a banner through the sky (think big primordial-bird-size or Godzilla bird)!

Please! If you have any ideas to help make this card work, I would so appreciate them. I love all my comments, but the critiques are the ones that stay with me.

Papertrey supplies: "Pinefeather cardstock" and "dye ink", "Up, Up and Away" and "Garden Variety" stamps sets and "Fresh Snow Pigment Ink"

Thanks for taking the time to visit and jot me a line.

A Card for All Reasons

Hi folks. It's time to play along with Crafty Secrets' Linky Party. I love the vintage look of their Clear Art Stamps, and for this card, the bunnies from 'Happy Easter' are having an outing.

 I was in an Easter mood when I created this, which explains my color scheme for the house.  

However, I think this card could also be a 'Welcome to your new home' or 'Congratulations on your newest family member' or 'Happy Mother's Day' card.

I stamped the rabbits in Stazon brown, colored the images with Prismacolor pencils, and used Gamsol for blending. They were a bit noodgie to fussy cut, but no ears were lost in the process.

The windows and doors are from Papertrey's 'Home Made' stamp set, and they are embossed and cut out. The door is finished with a wreath of ribbon trim glued in a circle with a silk ribbon bow. I already have more plans for cards made with these two sets.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and enjoy your Mother's Day!

Papertrey's April 2013 Blog Hop Challenge - Tilted

This month Papertrey's challenge is to use a tilted image in our card design. 

I wanted to do a Valentine with a sewing theme. The look of white on Papertrey's kraft card stock is one of my favorites, and worked perfectly to show off the embossed stitching and lace.

 A no-brainer was to use the Papertrey's fabulous 'Button Boutique' set and button dies. The heart shaped buttons and all the patterns on the buttons are from Papertrey's 'Heart Prints' set, and all buttons are die cut from their paper coasters. (I love the coaster's thickness. It allows a hefty cardboard shape to be cut, and it even plumps up a bit after being crushed by the machine. At $1 for  twenty-five coasters , they're a big bang for the buck.)

'Pure Poppy' ink was an ideal match to accompany my recolored Queen of Hearts image from the internet. (This picture was taken on one of those crummy, dark, rainy days. I make sure to do that, so I can claim how much prettier it is on a sunny day.) ;>

Non-Papertrey items used include:  Darcie's large background lace stamp, Limited Edition's 'Ribbon Lace Strips' (white ric-rac), Hero Art's white embossing powder, and Crafty Secrets 'Antique Trims' stamps (lacy border).

Thanks for visiting!

 

Sequins On my Mind & Cards - Papertrey March Blog Hop

Come on Spring! We have had enough snow in the Boston area to last us till next winter. It's time for thoughts of flowers and sequins, and that's just in time for Papertrey's Blog Hop this month.

According to the gals at Papertrey, using sequins is the latest trend. I have always had a mild sequin addiction, fueled by the fabulous finds, online, at Cartwright Sequins, Beads, and Buttons. Her motto really should be, "If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist!".

I made a very simple (possibly painfully simple?) card using the fabulous Papertrey anniversary set 'Birds and Blooms'. I've yet to purchase the dies, but they are next on the list.

I stamped the wreath image loosely with 'Spring Moss' topped by a layer of 'Simply Chartreuse', and then stamped over that with some of the individual sprigs in 'Avocado'. I love the true-color punch of  Papertrey's dye inks. My small sequin flowers and hearts were glued on with 'Liquid Pearls'. (If I'm neat enough, the Liquid Pearls come up through the holes and form the flower centers.)

 

I decided to use a sentiment from the wonderful 'Mini Blooms' set.  I don't know where the font for that set originated, but it seems to go with just about any image. A little sheer bow, and voila....or maybe not. I tried making the card narrower, and putting a pink gingham strip of paper down each side, but it still doesn't seem right to me. I even considered using one of the great birds perched on top of the 'T', but what color ink would I use? If you have any insights, please leave me a comment. (I'd even love a comment if you are as baffled as I am.) One brain is always better than none, or something like that.

Other  supplies include Ranger's 'Liquid Pearls' in Cantaloupe, Versa Mark's 'Water Mark' ink pad, Ranger's 'Fine Gold Embossing Powder', and Papertrey's 'Vintage Cream Cardstock'. The fun pink frame, at the top of the post, is from the maven-of-all-images-vintage, 'The Graphic's Fairy". You can find the frame in black here.

If you enjoy sequins on Easter projects, you might also enjoy my posts here and here. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and happy spring!

Papertrey March Blog Hop - Easter Egg Balloon with Bunnies

Who is this cute bunny and what is he waiting to do?

If you want to find out, grab a cup of coffee or tea. This is a bit longer than my usual post. (More pictures; not more text. Whew!)

He's the new die cut bunny (with extra details) from 'Papertrey Ink', and he will be riding in an Easter egg hot-air-balloon with this friend!

 

Papertrey's February release was a blast, and when Easter goodies came in the mail, they just begged to be put to use - immediately! The biggest thrill was the Shaker-like basket die. The basket is a breeze to make, and Nichole Heady has designed the die to make two different sizes.

I've always loved the vintage Easter postcards, with decorated eggs playing the part of a hot air balloon. With dies for a basket, bunny, clouds, and butterflies (all from Papertrey), and a 4&3/4" Styrofoam egg, I decided to whip up a ride for the darling rabbits.

I started by covering the large egg in blue felt.

The felt was trimmed to the circumference of the egg, divided into four equal sections, and pined around the center and pinned together at the 'poles'.

The excess felt was cut away,

and the seams sewn together with a whip stitch. (You can even just pin the seams in place if you cover them with ribbon afterwards.)

Now for the fun part, decorating. I chose to pin on the clouds and butterflies.

The butterflies were a bit plain so I added sequins. (Cartwright Sequins is bling heaven. If you can't find your sequins there, you probably can't find them.) Thick black button thread forms the antennas.

Now on to the basket; the small version of Papertrey's new 'favor die' basket. All the parts were cut from felt, and a heavy weight paper basket bottom, made stitching the sides to the base much easier. A strip of felt (on the inside where the brads are inserted) added reinforcement and structural support for that side.

Next, the passengers. Papertrey's new bunny die, slays me, but it needed a front as well as the cute back. The eyes are just leftovers from die cutting felt, the nose is a little brad, and the arms (drum roll please) are from a large snowman die. (If your bunny's going to ride, it needs to be able to hang on, right?)  Attach the tail to the back side, eyes and nose to the front and button hole stitch them together.

The arms are actually attached to the inside of the basket with the toes hanging over. When you sew the bunny body to the basket, it will hide the sewn on arms.

This side has a scared bunny holding on with both paws. A length of bakers twine is sewn on to the two long sides of the basket (and topped with four small Mokuba ribbon flowers),

and hung over two small buttons pinned to the balloon sides.

Now to fly it and enjoy an Easter ride.

Bye for now, and thanks for going along for the ride.

Please leave a comment if you liked this post, so I know if I should do more.

Papertrey Ink Supplies: Shape Up Series: Snowman Die Collection, Polka Dot Parade #1 Die, Favor It Box 9 Die Collection, Beautiful Butterflies Die Collection, Heart-2-Heart #6 Die Collection (clouds), Lovely Layers Die Collection, Felt - Harvest Gold

Other supplies: Rayon/wool felt, small brads, Mokuba ribbon flowers, turquoise baker's twine, white trim, sequin pins, Plasteel 'Dylite' large egg, and all sequins from Cartwright Sequins

Papertrey's MIM #103 - Die Cuts Within Die Cuts - Take 2

This is take #2 for Papertrey's latest 'Make It Monday'. Betsy Veldman challenged us to make die cuts within die cuts. For my first attempt here, I made a three panel card, and had so much fun,I decided to try it again, but this time I made the folds accordion style.

I again used Papertrey's 'Limitless Layers: 2 1/4" Hearts Dies' with the next size smaller die from 'Heart Prints'. The white embossed 'Valentine' is from Papertrey's holiday sentiment set (with one of my all time favorite fonts) 'Happy Day'.

I finished off the inside using Papertrey's 'Fancy Flourishes' stamp set, and the sentiment from their fabulous bonus set 'Natural Beauties'.  I'm not so sure the inside works, because of the sentiment being so close to the bottom. Do you have any suggestions of a better layout, while still allowing the flourish to show through the die cuts?

Thanks for stopping by and leaving suggestions, and good luck with all the contests for Papertrey's 6th Anniversary.

Papertrey's MIM #103 - Die Cuts Within Die Cuts

Hi folks. If you've landed here, chances are you are participating in Papertrey's 6th Anniversary or their 'Make It Monday #103'. The wonderful Betsy Veldman has a video showing how to make cards with die cuts used inside other die cuts, supposedly a fad at the moment, and what I think is just plain fun. You can find the post and video here.    

I chose to do successive die cuts through the layers of the card as well. My first card (to the right) is a two fold card, with the middle panel forming the back of the card. It has a bit of difficulty standing up when it's closed, so this shot is of it slightly open. (The heart at the head of the post is the closed version.)


The new Limitless Layers: 2 1/4" Hearts Die Collection is a scaled down version of the earlier Heart Prints Die Collection, which makes them ideal for layering together. Each fold of the card gets progressively smaller.

 Here I've opened them up so you can see what they look like. On the very back of the card I put a pink and white gingham heart just because I loved the look of it. I will be hand writing the sentiment "I love you to the bottom of my heart, Valentine".

I used papers from various sources, and of course Papertrey's Limitless Layers: 2 1/4" Hearts Die Collection and Heart Prints Die Collection.

Thanks for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment. I read and savor each one. Good luck, too, if you've entered one of Papertrey's contests.

Papertrey's MIM #94 - Detail Glitter Technique

Just had to play along with Papertrey this MIM. A little glitter goes a long way, and you can see just how far here. The new Spellbinder's Poinsettia Die is sooo beautiful and I love the Papertrey dies for the vases and some of the greenery.

That gorgeous "Merry Christmas to You" sentiment, is an altered version to fit. (That font is too perfect not to have used it.)

I need to post before the opportunity passes by. Please leave a comment and tell me if you like the white embossed background on the second card, better than the very plain one of the first. I couldn't make up my mind.

Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Supplies from Papertrey: Winterberry Die, Mega Gracious Vases Die, Believe Stamp Set, Think Big Favorites #20 Mini Stamp Set, Cream Cardstock,  Pure Poppy Cardstock, Mega Mehndi Medallion Stamp Set

Others: gold glitter, old gilded wallpaper from the 1940's, Spellbinder's Poinsettia Die, Quickie Glue Pen, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, Brilliance Pearlescent Brown, Gold Holographic Embossing Powder, misc scraps of paper

Papertrey Ink October 2012 Blog Hop Challenge

Over at Papertrey, they are having their October Blog Hop with Christmas on their mind. 

They have all sorts of beautiful non-traditional color palettes to try out. I started with the color combo above,  but my ink pad of melon berry is really more a 'dirty pig' pink. (From what I've read, this color mismatch is one that in being addressed with the manufacturer.)

Here begins my adventure. I decided to replace the 'Melon Berry' with 'Autumn Rose'. Looked OK when I stamped a sample with the others using the  'Happy Harlequin' stamps, so I stamped in the background. NOT!!! Oh, my heavens. The 'Harvest Gold' looked like it had been through the washer too many times! What to do? I over stamped those diamonds with 'Ocean Tides' and the background seemed OK again, not

great, but passable. Now I had had a blue green and a blue pink with a yellow green and a yellow pink. I'm still not sure this color combo works, but it has grown on me - sort of like lichen. This for me, is part of Papertrey's magic - they make it all look so simple.

If I covered up my harlequin background, maybe I'd get away with my colors. I found a layout here at  Sept 2011 - Card Maps, that would help me, and the inspired poinsettia idea was Lizzie's. (If you haven't been to Becky Fleck's Page Maps, you are missing a major treat and resource!)

One last note - actually a question. I am using a laptop these days and I'm relatively new to it. I try to color correct my photos, but I can never tell if I get it right. Do you have any tips about how to standardize color adjustments with a screen that can be at any angle, and in any light, at the time I'm working? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for visiting today, and have a happy and creative Halloween.

Supplies are all Papertrey unless noted:
PAPER: vintage cream card stock, Paper Source's gold card stock
STAMPS & DIES: Happy Harlequin stamps and die,

INKS: spring moss, berry sorbet, harvest gold, autumn rose, ocean tides, VersaMark's 'Dazzle Watermark - Champagne'

Papertrey's July Blog Hop

The color palette for the blog hop over at Papertrey is divine. I don't know about other people's experience, but I find PTI's colors to be more WOW! in person, than on my computer screen. This challenge left me thinking there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished if I just used wonderful 'Summer Sunrise' ink.                                                                        I just went for two tags. Tags are small experiments I can handle. For both tags I mixed and matched sets. The pinks and yellows reminded me of a 'gold flame' honeysuckle in my backyard. 'Mat Stack 5 provided the die-cut and most of the stamps. I used one half of a ornament stamp from the set to make the leaves, and for the stem, the dashed stitches from button boutique. 'Happy Birthday to you!' is from Flower Fusion #9 done with StazOn 'Timber Brown' because black was too severe for the palette I thought.

The second tag I'm not so happy with, but I just can't put my finger on why. I tried after the fact watermarking with VersaMark 'Dazzle Champagne' to give a bit more interest...toooo subtle. There was a discovery though; watermark ink on dye ink will slightly deepen to hue, just as it does on colored paper. All except the Happy Birthday stamp (from 'Happy Day'), the images are from 'Iconic Images', one of my go to sets. The die is 'Mat Stack 3'. A little DecoArt 'Glamour Dust' and glue pen were used to finish off the pair.