Poppy Seed Challenge #2

Happy Sunday! Hope you had a good weekend. I spent most of mine crafting, which always makes for a good weekend in my book! I saw Lisa Johnson posted her second Poppy Seed Challenge on her blog, so I was excited to play along! I actually made three cards for the challenge, which was to include at least one button, polka dots, and a light moss green in your creation.

My first two cards here are similar in layout and elements. I was really proud of myself for recycling packaging and incorporating them into my cards. I recently bought a couple of cartons of cute soaps to put in my Easter baskets for my family and friends. One carton had bunnies, the other carton had duckies. These tags show they are "baby" soaps, but I think they're fun for just about everyone, and a good alternative if you don't want to put candy in your Easter baskets. As I unwrapped the soaps from their packaging, I was about to toss the tags into the recycle, when I stopped and thought, "these would be fun on some springtime or baby cards," and carefully stashed them away. I knew they would come in handy, I just didn't think it would be so soon!
I'm going to send this card to my friend who is about to become a grandmother for the second time. The baby is due in early April, and it's a boy. She told me she saves all of the cards I make and send her in a special box, so I know she will appreciate this one!
I think the little duck in the picture just has a ton of personality. He's adorable. I will have to save one of the ducky soaps and package it up to give with this card, along with some fun baby socks that look like high top sneakers. I've given these as baby gifts several times, and everyone just loves them. They are too cool! I wish they came in adult size, as I would totally wear them!



I tried out the paper piercing technique on this last card. I have a template that has a swirly line of dots, so it made it super easy to poke the holes for flight paths for the butterflies. These butterflies are included in the new Embosslits Beautiful Wings Sizzix die for Stampin' Up. I love it, because you get five different sizes of butterflies, and each one has a different pattern imprinted on it. Too much fun. I know I will get lots of use out of it. I've become infatuated with the Berry Sorbet color from PTI. It's just so bright and cheerful. I want to use it on everything, and goes with so many other colors. If you don't have it, you NEED to get it! I hooked a friend of mine on it, and she uses it all of the time now, too!

Thanks for looking! Have a good week! My latest order from PaperTrey Ink is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so that's definitely something to look forward to on a Monday!!

Card Details: Card 1: Cardstock, designer paper, scallop border die, ink, stamp and button from PaperTrey Ink; polka dot ribbon from American Crafts; string; tag from soap packaging; Martha Stewart tulip punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Card 2: Cardstock, scallop border die, Ocean Tides ink, sentiment stamp and button from PaperTrey Ink; Versamark ink; polka dot background stamp from Hero Arts; ribbon from American Crafts; string; tag from soap packaging; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Card 3: Cardstock, flower stem stamp and buttons from PaperTrey Ink; polka dots background stamp from Hero Arts; sentiment stamp by Savvy Stamps; Beautiful Wings Embosslits butterfly die from Stampin' Up; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello! In anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, I whipped up a couple of cards. I'm not Irish, but hey, I'm always up for a celebration, so bring on the green! This first card was inspired by an idea I saw at Impress, but I put my own spin on it, and I think it turned out to be a fun card. Perfect for my Irish friend, Kelly! Impress actually released the "Be Merry Be Green" sentiment last Christmas, but I think it works equally well for this holiday too. The green foam for the beer was colored in with a Copic marker, and then I went over it with a green Spica glitter pen, just to give it some pizzazz.

This next card is actually pretty cute in real life. I cut out the shamrock using my Slice and the Spring cartridge, and stamped the "Sending you a wee bit of luck" sentiment on it. I then outlined it with a green Spica marker. I punched out a bunch of tiny shamrocks with a teeny Punch Bunch punch, and tossed them into the glassine envelope, then adhered it to a striped green background scrap. As a fun little surprise, I tucked an individually wrapped organic mint tea bag inside the card for the recipient. Gotta have some sort of green beverage on St. Paddy's day, right?

Thanks for looking! Hope you remember to wear your green, otherwise you might get pinched!

Card details:

Card 1: note card by A Muse; paper from my stash; stamps by Impress, Art Impressions, 100 Proof Press; ink by Memento; Copic and Spica markers; circle punches.
Card 2: note card by A Muse; paper by Making Memories; glassine envelope from Impress; ink by Memento; Spica marker; Making Memories Slice machine and cartridge; punch by Punch Bunch.

Spring is in the Air

After a crazy Monday at work, I was so glad to get home this afternoon and just play! I wanted to participate in the spring card challenge on Nichole Heady's blog, and once I decided on my color scheme it didn't take me too long to figure what stamps to use (I've quickly learned that my inventory of PaperTrey Ink spring-like stamps is sorely lacking; I will need to fix that!) and my card layout. I had a chance to practice my Copic blending, and I really like how the tulips turned out. The basket was a bit more of a challenge with all of those polka dots!

This card just makes me so happy and anxious for spring to arrive! Here in Washington we have an annual tulip festival each year up north in the Skagit Valley. Although I am a Seattle native, I'm ashamed to admit I've never attended it. Perhaps this year. There are just fields and fields of gorgeous tulips all over. A true visual feast for the eyes.

Thanks for visiting! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Card details:
Cardstock and designer paper by PaperTrey Ink, Neenah (Classic Crest White); ribbon and stamp images by PaperTrey Ink; ink by PaperTrey Ink and Memento; button from my stash; Karen Foster pink floss; Copic markers; Stampin Up! label punch; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Poppy Seed Challenge #1

I love challenges and missed being able to play along and post my creations while my computer was down. Lisa Johnson from PaperTrey Ink is now hosting bi-monthly challenges on her blog. Please play along if you're so inclined! For this first challenge, there were three "seeds" to incorporate into your creation: a flower stamp, crystals, and light yellow.

Hero Arts has released some fun cling stamps over the last few months, and I picked up a couple of them. The loopy flower (which is part of a two stamp set) and damask background were among the first of my purchases. I used cardstock from PaperTrey Ink for my card base, the lavender mat layer and the label. The flower was colored in with Copics and a clear Spica glitter pen, and then the flower center was enhanced with three lavender rhinestones.

Thanks for looking! Have a great week!

Card Details:
Cardstock by PaperTrey Ink, Neenah; all stamps by Hero Arts; ink by Versamark and Memento; Copic and Spica markers; rhinestones from K & Company; label punch by Stampin' Up!; satin ribbon by Waste Not Paper.

I'm Baaack!!

Wow! Almost three months since I last posted. It wasn't intentional. My computer crashed--AGAIN! Rather than put another "Band-Aid" on my old one, I finally bought a new computer and it is so much better! It's faster, sleeker and takes up less space than my old one. I'm a happy camper.

I found a cool site online by accident that offers blog backgrounds for free! shabbyblogs.com. I love this blue damask wallpaper. If you want to spruce up your own blog, pay them a visit!

One of my friends that I met at my previous job recently got engaged, so I made her this card. I love the Making Memories Wedding line that was released last year. A few pieces of designer paper and a coordinating pin, and you have a lovely card for the happy couple!

You'll see more of me around here again regularly. I promise. There was still a lot of crafting going on behind the scenes while I was technologically disconnected, so I have a lot of card postings to catch up on!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Card details: Shimmer white note card from Paper Zone; designer papers and stick pin from Making Memories Wedding collection; silver sheer ribbon from Ben Franklin Crafts; curly label punch from Stampin' Up!; sentiment stamp by Anna Griffin; ink by Memento.

Be Merry!

Christmas is just ten days away. Are you ready? I am! This week's Chicka Challenge was to make a card with a Santa stamp. Well, I don't have many stamps of Santa himself, but I do seem to have several of his hat! This hat by PSX (retired stamp company) is one of my favorites. There is so much detail to it and it looks so realistic. By stamping it on to kraft paper and coloring it in with pencils, it made the white trim really pop. A small jingle bell tied to the ribbon was the finishing touch, and reminded me of the classic book and movie "The Polar Express."

I am getting one of my Christmas presents early. I know what it is, but I'm not ready to share the surprise with you just yet. Hopefully I'll be back this weekend or early next week with a photo of my special delivery!

Happy Holidays!

Card details:
Santa hat stamp by PSX; sentiment by Hero Arts; Memory Box notecard; A Muse polka dot ribbon; Prismacolor pencils; jingle bell accent; Nestabilities.

Cats Never Bark Up the Wrong Tree

I had fun making this card for the Chicka Challenge, which was to make a card with a cuddly animal. Among many of my rubber stamp addictions are these fun kid sayings from Inkadinkado. I have most of the entire collection. Bad, I know, but they're just so clever! My sister and I are six years apart, and I remember some of the funny things she would say when she was little. For example, a napkin was a "nack-in," and Mary Jane shoes were called "pahty shoes" (yes, that did sound like "potty"!). My mom tells me I had my share of funny words, too. I couldn't say "Christmas" when I was really little, instead it was "Chrim-sas."

Hope you had a good weekend. Are you done with your holiday shopping? I've started, but I still have more to go. My big project this week will be making 10 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange I'm attending on Friday. Thankfully I've already done a test batch, and they've passed inspection!

I hope you have a good week and take time to enjoy some of the pleasures of the season!

Thanks for stopping by!

Card details:
Sentiment by Inkadinkado; girl with cat stamp by Creative Beginnings for Me and My Big Ideas; Memento ink; Copic markers; Bazill green cardstock; PaperTrey Ink red and terracotta cardstock; Amuse woodgrain cardstock; Memory Box notecard; Marvy scalloped punch.