February PTI Blog Hop: Marvelous Monograms

Hi, I'm back with this month's PTI blog hop challenge, to create something with a monogram.  For some reason this was a hard challenge for me.  I started in a completely different direction and when that didn't work, went back to the drawing board and finally ended up with this.  For such a simple card, it took a really long time to execute!

I used the vine image from Beyond Basic Borders as the background image.  The letter is from an alphabet set from Impress.

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with Color

Another Monday, another week.  I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I was bound and determined to make at least one project for today's Papertrey Anniversary festivities.  Anyone who has visited my blog before should know I prefer bright colors to soft pastels, so the fact that I chose the 6th color inspiration photo for my card should come as no surprise.

Thanks for stopping by!

PTI Anniversary Sketch #5

My last card for the night.  Sketch #5 was a bit of challenge for me because clean and simple is a hard style for me.  It's easier for me to add layers and embellishments on my cards, though I admire those who can pull of the CAS look.  I think if I had to do this one over I would have selected some slightly larger images to create my border; this card has too much white space for my liking.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a great week!

PTI Anniversary Sketch #4

Several shades of pink, hearts and damask=a perfect Valentine for a girl friend or a sister.  Sketch #4 is my second favorite:

PTI Anniversary Sketch #3

Back once more with my third card for the sketch challenge.  I think this is my favorite sketch of the five:

This was a great opportunity to dig through my scrap folder and find patterns that coordinate together for the chevron strips.  I also broke out the Bits & Buttons set for the first time.

PTI Anniversary Sketch #2

I'm back with my second card for the PTI anniversary sketch challenge.  I think this is my favorite card of the bunch:

This was my first time using the Framed Out #12 set.  I love that little polaroid frame; so many possibilities to add fun things to the center.  And I love the Studio Calico wood veneers.  They are so versatile because you can die them any color you want to match your project.

PTI Anniversary Sketch #1

Happy Sunday!  A weekend of crafting is exactly what I needed.  I cranked out a card for each of the five sketches this afternoon.  Here is my card for sketch 1:

I'm going to send this to a friend who gave me a darling basket filled with Valentine goodies today.

Brimming with Birthday Wishes

One last project to share today.  I remember when Erin first shared the cupcake wrapper card she made using the Cupcake Collection dies.  Such a fun birthday card.  This inspired me to look in my collection of dies to see what else I could find to "stack."  Teacups.  I had die cut and stamped the strawberry and green leaf cups for a previous project and ended up not using them, so they were my starting point for this card:

Lots of  old favorites on this one:  Victorian Lace border die, In Bloom impression plate, Tea For Two Additions and Little Bitty Bird.  Plus all of the bright pink colors that cheer me.

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Pretty Packaging Part 3

Hello once again!  This is my final project in the pretty packaging series today.  I was inspired by this simple brown lunch sack packaging idea from Pinterest:

 

And here is my take on it:

I die cut the top of the bag with the large Edgers #4 die.  I die cut a tag from the Tag Sale #1 die from patterned paper and embellished it with the die cut mug and image from Warm Happiness.  I die cut the longer double edged banner from kraft paper and stamped "Enjoy" from "Enjoy the moment" from Mega Mixed Messages.  The tag is tied  to the bag with some My Mind's Eye baker's twine.

I'll be back with one more project, a card inspired by a one of Erin Lincoln's.

Pretty Packaging Part 2

Hi again!  I'm back with a couple of decorative bags I embellished for Valentine's Day goodies.  I was inspired by this photo on Pinterest:

My first bag features a white paper doily under a die cut stamped with a solid heart image in Berry Sorbet from the Heart Prints collection and the open scalloped limitless layer heart die cut in Berry Sorbet bitty dot patterned paper. I topped off all those hearts with some pink twine and two paper flowers.

My second bag is a mini pink chevron bag from Michaels. I punched out a couple of hearts and adhered them to a doily die cut and then topped that off with some pink and red gems.  Inside are some Dove chocolate hearts.

Thanks for visiting!

Pretty Packaging

Happy Weekend!  I'm back to share some packaging I created for Valentine gifts, which is timely given today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge.  A few weeks ago Melissa Phillips shared these darling decorated mason jars for one of the Senior Design Team tips:

 I decided to do something similar, but rather than decorate the sides with stamped images and paper layers, I decided to pull out some floral stencils and acrylic paints and add a red rose.  I added a Martha Stewart doily accent and punched a heart from cardstock, then stamped "Sweet" from part of a sentiment from the Cupcake Collection set and adhered the whole thing to the lid, then tied a bow with Pure Poppy saddle stitch ribbon.

Here's a look at the top of the jar:

 

I filled the jar with dark chocolate Dove candies.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by.  I have some more packaging projects to share and will be back in a few minutes with those.

Designing with Digital Images Part 6 (Final)

The last image I worked with tonight is the "Love You" sign language tag from Lexi.  I stamped a little heart from the Heart 2 Heart #3 set on the hand in the tag as a little extra detail.  Definitely a clean and simple card.

Sorry for the terrible picture.  Taking photos at night, even with an Ott light, is not ideal.  Thanks for visiting my blog!  Hopefully this series of posts tonight makes up a little for the fewer posts I've had in general.

Designing with Digital Images Part 5

I can never have enough birthday cards in my stash.  The color scheme of this one is perfect for spring or summer.  For Lizzie's image I embellished the candle flames with yellow Stickles for some added pop.

Just one more card to go!
 

Designing with Digital Images Part 4

This card with Maile's digital image is my second favorite of the night.  I love the gradient pink color in the image.  It was a perfect companion to this collection of Basic Grey True Love papers.  Finally using up some of my patterned paper stash.  Too bad this didn't make a dent in my collection.  Sigh.

Just two more cards to go--#5 is next.

Designing with Digital Images Part 3

My third card uses Dawn's digital freebie.  This image made me think of the Green Boutique patterned paper pack and I pulled that out to use some of the paper and printed images.  I also made a 4 x 4 square card, since I had exactly half a sheet of patterned paper scrap.  I think this is a bit busier than I would like but it's still a fun card:

Card #4 is up next!

Designing with Digital Images Part 2

I'm back with my second card of the night.  I think this is my favorite card of the bunch as I'm drawn to the bright colors, cheerful image and anything tea-related is okay in my book!  Melissa Bickford has such a fun, cheery style.  I will definitely be making more cards with this image:

I'll be back soon with my third card!

Designing with Digital Images Part 1

Happy Wednesday!  In the last year or so my blog posts have dwindled down to about one or two a month.  While working full time keeps a roof over my head, my bills paid and funds my creative addiction, it does get in the way of me having time to play!  So when I do get the chance to play, I'd prefer to play more and blog less.

My creative time during the work week is pretty much limited to blog surfing and dreaming up card ideas while I commute to and from work on the bus.  However, the free digital images offered up as part of PTI's anniversary celebration today and the chance to win some customized stamps designed by Nichole were enough of a driver for me to push through the work day fatigue when I got home tonight and I sat down and made 6 cards!  That's more than I make in a weekend sometimes.  Nothing like a little competition to get my creative rear in gear.  Here's my first card, which uses Heather's digital freebie:

 Most of the cards I made tonight have little to no stamping on them.  I did swipe some white pigment ink over the impressed numbers panel to add some interest on this card, though.  I'll be back shortly with another card.  I'll keep the chatting to a minimum, though.  ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!