Card Patterns #128

Card Patterns' sketches are the BEST, aren't they? Here is this week's above, and below is my interpretation (it's mirror imaged):


And here's the inside. The picture is funky, but I'm adding it anyway :-):


This is a birthday card for a friend who has had a rough year. She loves burgundy and green, so this should be right up her alley. :-) Did you notice the scallops made out of vintage book print? I have been on the lookout for a suitably "vintage" looking used book, something whose typeface doesn't look modern, and whose pages do look old. Finally, I found something at Goodwill! It's an old children's paperback on fairies, and I think it'll do just fine for adding that vintage touch! (I also finally picked up a pair of jeans while at the thrift store, to rip to make denim "ribbon." Now to just take the plunge and rip into a pair of perfectly good jeans, LOL! Thank you to Renee for this idea!)

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Giga Guidelines, Make a Wish, Fancy Flourishes
Paper: PTI--Fine Linen, K & Co.--McKenna; stash
Ink: Watermark, Ranger--Old Paper Distress Ink; E.P.--Filigree Clear
Other: Ribbon--Michaels; Flower--Recollections; Gold Pearls--Recollections; Die--PTI Small Scalloped Border

Happy Birthday to My SIL!

My SIL is a graphic artist. Not just a graphic artist, but a GREAT graphic artist . . . so I wanted her card to be special. With a milestone birthday, I had to break out PTI's numbers dies and glitter them up--you'll see more cards using them soon since they are so fun to work with! The paper choices came from the folder I keep large patterned paper scraps in. The colors didn't photograph true--I tried to tweek them, but that's not my strong point. :-) They actually blend nicely in person, and the ribbon isn't so blue, but more greenish IRL too. Oh, and the flowered paper is sparkly. Now that I've told you what you didn't see, here's what you did, LOL!:

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Big Birthday Wishes, Mehndi Medallion
Paper: PTI--Rustic White, Ripe Avocado, Hawaiian Shores, Green Boutique; DCWV--Linen Closet
Ink: Memento--Tuxedo Black; Watermark; Versacolor--Bamboo; E.P.--Filigree Clear, Stamp Diego Ultra Detail White
Misc.: Dies--PTI Numbers and Edgers #1; Seam Binding--Etsy; Rose--Prima (thanks to Lorraine!); Decorative Scissors--Fiskars; Glitter--Filigree; Rhinestones--Recollections; Corner Chomper

Paper Dolls Challenge #41

Hey all! I'm playing along with the Papertrey Paper Dolls Challenge #41. Why? Because I happened to see the card Jen made for it on her blog . . . and that the challenge was to use twine . . . and I LOVE using twine! Here's my entry, a birthday card I made for a friend:


I think where and how I used the twine is self-explanatory, LOL, so I'll just get on with the supply list! :-D

Supplies
Stamps: Impression Obsession--Borders
Paper: PTI--S.S. White, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores; DCWV
Ink: Watermark; Fresh Snow; Embossing Powder--Stamp Diego Ultra Detail White
Misc.: Twine--The Twinery; Die--C.C. Designs; Floss--DMC; Stickers--Stickopotamus; White Pen--Inkssentials

Post It Birthday--Danielle W.!

I'm a couple of birthdays behind in posting cards for Post It celebrations! Here is Danielle W.'s:


I would love a bite of that cupcake right about now! It's been awhile, but I hope it was a great birthday for you, Danielle!

Supplies
Stamps: Verve--Carpe Cupcake
Paper: PTI--S.S. White, Kraft; stash
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Ranger--Milled Lavender Distress Ink; Embossing Powder--Filigree Clear
Misc.: Dies--Spellbinder--Eyelet Circles, Classic Circles; Glitter--Palette Ultrafine Prisma; Stickles--Yellow; Ribbon--Michaels; Copics--E47, E71, BV00, BV31; Rhinestones--Recollections; Corner Chomper

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Although it was actually on the 14th, we celebrated my mom's birthday today. She's a little under the weather, so it was just a quiet (okay, with a 4 and 1-year-old, it's never quiet, LOL!) get together at home and we'll take her out for some more fun when she's feeling up to it. Here is the card I made for her:


I based it around PTI's Lavender Moon color. I love a good lavender-y pink and Lavender Moon is lovely--I need to use it more often. It matched some patterned paper I had in my stash perfectly, and when I decided to use the gardenia flower, the color combo had created itself! The Labels 2 panel is embossed with a Waltzingmouse stamp in watermark ink. I also stamped a strip from WM's Text It along the bottom in Lavender Moon ink and did lots of shading with Ranger's Victorian Velvet Distress Ink to tie everything in together. I used a bit of Scrapper's Floss for the first time, along with some pearl trim and seam binding to decorate, and stamped the sentiment on vellum for a soft look.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Damask Designs; WMS--Vintage Labels 2 & Text It
Paper: PTI--Rustic White, Lavender Moon, New Leaf; vellum; stash
Ink: Watermark; Staz-On--Jet Black; Memento--Tuxedo Black; Ranger--Victorian Velvet Distress Ink; Embossing Powder--Filigree Clear
Misc.: Ribbon--Etsy; Gardenia--Prima; Scrapper's Spool--Karen Foster Design; Pearls--Hirschberg Schutz & Co.; Border Punch--EK Success; Die--Spellbinders Labels 2; Corner Chomper

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad is the best. I'm definitely a daddy's girl, still, and I don't plan to change! :-) His birthday was Tuesday, and this is the card I made for him. I wanted to do a retro card--in fact this is the main reason I bought Ad Sense! It's such a unique stamp set. He loved it, and put it next to last year's (which he refuses to take down, LOL!).

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Ad Sense, Polka Dot Basics, Simple Alphabet
Paper: PTI--S.S. White, Terracotta Tile, stash
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Watermark; PTI--Terracotta Tile, Enchanted Evening
Misc.: Dies--PTI Ad Sense; Embossing Folder--Cuttlebug; Embossing Powder--Filigree Clear & Stamp Diego Ultra Detail White; ScorPal (embossing around edges of dark blue card base)

Card Patterns Guest Designer & More Good News

Guess what? I'm the Guest Designer this week at Card Patterns! I know, I can't believe it either, LOL! Isn't the sketch gorgeous? So many pretty possibilities . . . For my card, I flipped and mirror-imaged the sketch. I thought it looked fun that way. :-) I made the card for a friend's 50th birthday. I had NO IDEA that she was turning 50--she looks 40 at most--so I wanted to emphasize that fact with one of Papertrey Ink's sentiments from Big Birthday Wishes and young, light-hearted colors. I'm giving it to her tomorrow and hoping she likes it!

I have had the coolest couple of weeks in papercraft blogging land! A Stampin' Sisters in Christ Shining Star, an Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light award, a Waltzingmouse Stamps Top Mouse award, a Card Patterns Guest Designer gig, and just this morning, a reader alerted me to a shout out from Cath Evalson on the Moxie Fab Blog! What? Am I having a really long dream or something?? I don't want to wake up, LOL! Seriously, it has been one thrill after another around here lately, and I am so incredibly grateful! I have a feeling that times like this are very few and far between, so I am enjoying the abundance while I can.

In celebration of my good luck and also of passing 100 posts here on the blog, I will be giving away some blog candy soon! Stay tuned for some pics and info in the next week or so. And it's almost July. You know what that means . . . Jill's 2nd Annual Christmas in July Challenge!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Big Birthday Wishes
Paper: PTI--Vintage Cream; My Mind's Eye--Life of the Party; stash
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Ranger--Worn Lipstick Distress Ink; E.P.--Filigree Clear
Misc.: Embossing Folder--Cuttlebug; Border Punch--EK Success; Ribbon--American Crafts; Button--American Crafts; Twine--The Twinery; Glitter--Doodlebug Design Sugarcoating; Dies--PTI Number Dies; Glitter Dots--Recollections; Corner Rounder

Another Post It Birthday Card!

Here is the card I sent the talented Jen--check out her blog here (Only Love Is Real! Papercrafts). I adored making this--all that glitter . . . the gorgeous blue of the PP . . . and inside, a matching cupcake--which I forgot to snap a photo of, but you can see a snippet of it in the pictures. :-)

Supplies
Stamps: Verve--Great Friend, Carpe Cupcake
Paper: PTI--Soft Stone; DCWV; Graphic 45
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Versacolor--Celadon; Embossing Powder--Super Fine Detail Clear
Misc.: Glitter--Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter in Crystal; Copic--BG09; Rhinestones--Recollections; Die--Spellbinders Fancy Tags; Corner Chomper; Leaves--stash; sewing machine

Post It Birthday--Denise

This card was for sweet Denise. I used one of my all-time favorite PTI images--the cupcake from Baby Button Bits. LOVE. I had this on display in my craft room before I sent it (late, of course) and a friend saw it and went crazy for it. She said it was made in "ice cream colors" and she wants one just like it for her birthday! Well, that's one card I won't have to brainstorm. :-D

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Baby Button Bits & Vintage Picnic
Paper: PTI--Kraft; Kim Hughes--Mocha Chica
Ink: Versafine--Vintage Sepia; Ranger--Frayed Burlap Distress Ink; Embossing Powder--Ranger Super Fine Detail Clear
Dies: PTI--Mat Stack 3; Spellbinders--Labels 8
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug
Ribbon: PTI--Sweet Blush saddle stitch
Button: PTI--Sweet Blush
Misc.: Pearls--Zva; Copic--E47 (for pearls); Corner Chomper

Post It Birthday--Anne

This is a fun card I made for Anne's birthday. It was a little late. :-D But it made it all the way to New Zealand safely--whew! I embossed the edges of the Labels 10 die cuts with crystal powder (looks greenish here?), and just kept bending up that ribbon! The hat is from a set by K & Co.--I fell in love with it and this is the first card I used one of them on. It won't be the last!
Happy Birthday again, Anne!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Birthday Bash Sentiments
Paper: PTI--S.S. White, Lemon Tart, Orange Zest & Hibiscus Burst
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; PTI--Hibiscus Burst; Watermark; Embossing Powder--Stampendous Crystal
Dies: Spellbinders--Labels 10
Ribbon: Michaels
Party Hat Sticker: K & Co.
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug

Happy Little Bitty Bird Birthday!

Here is a card I made for a friend who loves to sing. I think she'll get a kick out of it. :-) I've had the Beautiful Blooms II paper for awhile . . . and I finally used it! I just got Little Bitty Bird, and I've already used it! I'm so proud of myself, LOL. Here are the details:

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Little Bitty Bird, Birthday Basics, Background Basics: Sheet Music
Paper: PTI--S.S. White, True Black, Beautiful Blooms II
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Versacolor--Bamboo; PTI--Chai Tea; Embossing Powder--Super Fine Detail Clear (Ranger)
Dies: PTI--Little Bitty Bird; Spellbinders--Big Scalloped Squares
Buttons: PTI--True Black
Ribbon: PTI--Pure Poppy
Misc.: Rhinestones--Andro; Copics--YG91 & YG93; Smooch--Pool; Brads--American Crafts

SSIC #72: Happy Birthday

Hello! Firstly, thank you so much, all who commented on my last post, the sympathy card! Each of you brightened my day immensely by your generous remarks! (And it actually got awarded a Shining the Light award!!) Everyone of you please consider yourself hugged!

Today I am happy to post a card I made for my sister's birthday. I used one of the most beautiful stamp renditions of a rose ever--Papertrey Ink's Year of Flowers: Roses. It was a joy to color! I'm entering it in Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #72, which has the theme of "new," interpreted how you'd like. The scripture is 2 Cor. 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." My "new" element for this challenge is the self-adhesive crocheted trim. It's so cool! You don't have to worry about adhering it, just cut to size and stick on--yay! :-) I will be buying more, I'm sure!

I also want to mention the wrinkled seam binding I used on the card. I won it as blog candy awhile back, and I just had to show you how deliciously it was packaged. Here's how the goodies arrived, in decorated box with card:


Sorry, not the best picture, but you get the idea. And when I opened the box up, look at what was inside:


Isn't that clever?? She (Michele) calls it "Ribbon Candy!" I just love the cleverness and care with which this selection of ribbon is packaged & presented. You can find some yourself at Willy Nilly Art & Whimsy on Etsy. (I have no affiliation with Michele, I just loved her product!) Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--YOF: Roses & Birthday Bash Sentiments
Paper: PTI--Vintage Cream; October Afternoon--Thrift Shop; Melissa Frances--Kitschy Kitchen
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black
Embossing Powder: Ranger--Super Fine Detail
Ribbon: Willy Nilly Art & Whimsy
Trim: Hero Arts
Copics: R20, R22, R24
Misc: Sewing Machine

Happy Birthday D!

Hello! Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? I did, although our guests left me with something to remember them by--a cold! Ugh, I hate being sick and thus I am the worst patient in the world. Reeeaaally cranky and whiny. You may have guessed that by now, LOL! The card I'm presenting today is one I made for my SIL's birthday. Her name starts with a "D," hence the ghost letter, and otherwise it's just strips of paper, stamps, and impression plates. I made the balloons by cutting small ovals with Nesties and then attaching little hand-snipped triangles to the bottoms. The tag is a punch. Please forgive the infamous kitty condo--I still haven't gotten the light box out again! :-D

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Background Basics: Tin Types & I honestly can't remember the set the "Happy Birthday" is from, but it's PTI!
Paper: PTI--Dark Chocolate, Green Tea Leaves; stash
Ink: PTI--Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry, Fresh Snow
Dies: Spellbinders--Classic Ovals
Impression Plates: PTI--Tin Types; Cuttlebug--Polka Dots
Misc.: Ghost Letter--Heidi Swapp; floss--DMC Ecru

I'm Back!

Hello! Remember me? LOL! I'm back to blogging tonight with a card I made for a friend's 80th birthday. That's kind of a big deal birthday I'd say, and I wanted to make something special. My friend loves pink almost as much as I do, so it was a no brainer to choose it as the dominate color of the card! I tried a first for me--the cupcake liner flower/backing for a flower. I didn't really know what I was doing, I just distressed and folded the liner until I liked the look. I haven't made another one since. But I sure hope to as a LOT of liners came in the package, LOL! The cute crocheted flower is courtesy of Lisa V. (visit her blog here). I won a package of these lovely, almost Berry Sorbet colored flowers (she has them in an online store, although I think she is out right now) and am stretching them out for as many cards as possible! I also bought some basic crocheting supplies and intend to learn how to make them. It can't be that hard, right? Even for a complete crocheting novice? Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath. :-D So, anyway, hopefully I'll be back soon to post a few more cards I made while I was busy letting life overwhelm me. It's nice to be back!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Birthday Bash Sentiments
Paper: PTI--Vintage Cream & Berry Sorbet; October Afternoon--Cherry Hill: Recipe Box; Mellissa Frances--Kitschy Kitchen
Ink: Ranger--Antique Linen & Tea Dye distress inks; Versacolor--Pink
Border Punch: Recollections
Tag Punch: McGill
Dies: Spellbinders--Labels 9
Ribbon: Etsy Shop
Cupcake Liner: Wilton
Crocheted Flower: Lisa V.
Other: Sewing Machine

Happy Birthday Coffee Queen!

Today is the birthday of a very special person--my mom, the Coffee Queen! (I'm just the Coffee Princess.) She loves lavender, frilly, bling, and of course, coffee so this card came together pretty easily. I used a sketch, and I can't remember where from. Maybe Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge? Anyway, thank you anonymous sketch donor! ;->

I also used a very special product: see that lovely, scrunchy, hand-dyed seam binding? I won the most delicious package of it on fellow Papertrey Pixie Michelle Phillipi's blog giveaway. I will be taking a picture of the packaging soon because you won't believe how clever and gorgeous it is, but in the meantime, I would love to direct you to the Etsy shop of the creator, Michele: this good day. I am doing this on my own, she hasn't asked me for any favors, but I am doing YOU a favor if you love this very popular embellishment. Hopefully you can see in the picture that it's variegated, unique, luxurious, and so, so beautiful! It comes in lots of luscious colors too. I dare you to look at that Etsy shop and not drool!

I can't believe I actually used some and didn't hoard it. Well, for Mom . . . Otherwise, this card is pretty self-explanatory. Coffee cup stamp, patterned paper, stamped paper, dies, embossing folder, bling. If you look reeeeally closely, you can see that I even used something totally new for me: a stick pin! It's stuck in the knot of the bow, but you have to search it out because it's partially hidden. :-)

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Background Basics: Retro; Verve--Big Wish; Stamps 'N More--coffee cup
Paper: PTI--Plum Pudding & Lavender Moon; stash
Ink: Versafine--Onyx Black; Ranger--Milled Lavender Distress Ink; PTI--Fresh Snow; Watermark Frost
Punches: Corner Chomper--Cloud & Round
Ribbon: this good day seam binding
Rhinestones: Kaiser
Pin: Maya Road
Flower: Prima
Dies: Spellbinders--Classic Circles; PTI--Medium Scallop

***Just a reminder: I'd love to have you join my Christmas in July Challenge! There are two prizes up for grabs, $25 PTI gift certificates! The details are right here.

Petite Posse Challenge #3

Popping in to post a quick card. This one I made for the Petite Posse Challenge #3--thanks gals for letting me play along with you! It was also supposed to be for a Color Throwdown challenge, but I didn't get it posted in time for that one. I have intended to enter a Throwdown challenge many times now, but I'm always late--it must have to do with my schedule versus when the challenge posts or something like that.

Anyway, thanks to the Papertrey Posse I thought way back to my first PTI order--the challenge was to tell how you discovered PTI, what your first stamp set was, and then to use that set. Well, I discovered PTI reading Erin Lincoln's blog one night (back when it was on CK's website--she's one of my scrapbooking idols) and she blogged about how her husband had asked her to make him some thank you cards for people at work. She pulled out a stamp set (Out On a Limb) and made the most amazing cards. They weren't cutsey! They were gorgeous! I *had* to know more about this company. I clicked on her link, and the rest is history. ;-D I had a very hard time deciding on my first order, and there have been so many since then (ahem) that I'm not 100% sure if this is what I got that first time, but I think my first order consisted of Out On a Limb, Butterfly Kisses, Borders & Corners: Square, and Borders & Corners: Circles.

So I pulled those sets out and ultimately chose to use Butterfly Kisses and Borders & Corners: Squares on my card. I intended to use a butterfly image or two, but somehow I couldn't make them work, so I used a sentiment--I still love the fonts in this set! And the dots in a square, of course. I knew when I saw them that the Borders & Corners sets would get lots of use by me and I was sure right! At the time, no one else that I knew of had anything like them and they gave me an inkling that PTI was going to be my "go to" stamp company. It think it's a great "testimony" (I don't mean to be irreverent) for PTI that I am still using my very first sets from them two years later! Anyway, I'm getting a bit long-winded here, sorry about that! For this card, I also made my first homemade ribbon flower embellishment. I've been meaning to try to make one for months and I finally did it! This one is my second try, actually. [Anjillic Tip: Hold onto one end of the stitching on the ribbon so you gather the ribbon instead of simply pulling the thread out!] This card is for one of my very few "in person" crafting friends. She's a great scrapbooker and just starting to get into cards. I knew when I saw the color combo on the Color Throwdown blog that it would be just right for her birthday card because they remind me of her.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Butterfly Kisses & Borders & Corners: Square
Paper: PTI--Vintage Cream, Enchanted Evening, Berry Sorbet & Simply Chartreuse; stash
Ink: PTI--Enchanted Evening & Simply Chartreuse; Versacolor--Cinnamon
Ribbon: PTI--Berry Sorbet
Brad: Making Memories
Pearl: Recollections
Punches: EK Success, Fiskars
Die: Spellbinders
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug

Gray Hares

This is a birthday card for a friend for later this month. It's admittedly not the most sophisticated card, but my friend will appreciated it--she LOVES lavender, and will get a kick out of the sentiment (another Skipping Stones Design set)! Nothing tricky about it--paper pieced hare, hole punch for the ribbon top and bottom, and yes, that is stitching along the bottom--you can tell I did it because it's crooked! Oh, well, I'll just insist that it's charming! :-) Oh, and I used PTI's new Sunshine impression plate--I am loving it!

Supplies
Stamps: SSD--Gray Hares
Paper: 100% stash--i.e. I have no idea where I got them!
Ink: Versamark--Onyx Black
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Misc.: Die--Spellbinders; Ribbon--Michaels; Rhinestones--Recollections; Scallop scissors; Copics (balloons); Flower punches--EK Success; Impression Plate--PTI Sunshine

Friday Sketch Challenge

Today's card is one I made for Amy R's Friday Sketch at Prairie Paper & Ink. Hers is one of the blogs I like to follow, and this sketch was similar to an idea I had in my head for my friend's birthday--a group of us always get together for birthdays and only funny cards are allowed!--so I decided to use the sketch to guide me. I first saw Skipping Stones Design on Jackie Pedro's blog. Boy do they have some great funny stamp sets! (Stay tuned for another one in a few days.) I paper pieced Prince Charming, and used Smooch to give him a gold crown. Otherwise, it's just paper, ribbon and teeny tiny rhinestones. Oh, and a gold glitter button. Don't want to forget that. :-D Update: My mom is still in the hospital, but continues to recover. Your prayers and well-wishes have been much appreciated, THANK YOU! (Hug)

Supplies
Stamps: Skipping Stones Design
Paper: PTI--Dark Chocolate; stash
Dies: Spellbinders
Buttons: American Crafts
Rhinestones: Stamper's Dream
Ink: Tsukineko--Onyx Black & Vintage Sepia; Ranger--Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Ribbon: Michaels
Floss: DMC
Paint: Clearsnap--Smooch