PTI September Blog Hop: Inspiration from My Fellow Crafters

Hi and Happy Saturday! This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is to share a project inspired by another stamper. One of the fun things I have learned while practicing this craft is to infuse something unexpected or unique into a creation. I can't give credit to one specific individual, I get inspiration from EVERYONE! So, my card is for YOU and for all that you bring to this great hobby.

I'm participating in a Fall/Halloween swap on the PTI Forum, and this is the card I made for my recipient Jill (I hope it arrives in the mail today so I'm not spoiling her surprise!)

My picture doesn't show it well, but the ghost with the googly eyes is popping up out of the pocket! I attached him using some fine gauge wire I wrapped around a pencil so it had some spring. Inside the pocket is a Ghirardelli extra dark chocolate square as a special treat.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Card Supplies:
Stamps, cardstock pocket die and patterned paper by PTI; EK Success (circle) and Marvy (scalloped circle) punches; Memento ink; wire; googly eye accents; candy.

What's Perking?

When Paper Crafts magazine put out a recent call for projects for an upcoming stamp technique issue, I decided to submit this card in the marker category. I am by no means a Copic professional. I've taken only one Copic marker class at a local stamp store which introduced me to the basic blending techniques and rule of three markers (pick out one of each marker in light, medium and dark tones). I came away with a good understanding, but I would definitely like to take my skills to the next level. It was probably a bit ambitious on my part to submit a card in the color marker category, and my card wasn't picked, but oh well. Nothing ventured nothing gained!

The What's Perking set from Hero Arts is one of my favorites. It's definitely good for practicing paper piecing and coloring, plus it's just so bright and cheery. It was fun to pair the set with PTI cardstock and buttons, along with some patterned paper from October Afternoon's Thrift Shop collection.

Thanks for looking and have a good week!

Card Supplies:
Stamps from What's Perking clear set by Hero Arts; patterned paper from October Afternoon; PaperTrey Ink ocean tides cardstock, lemon tart and ocean tides buttons, button twine; Memento inks; assorted Copic markers; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Thank You, Nichole

This card is for Nichole Heady, one of the co-founders and owners of PaperTrey Ink. A bunch of us on the PTI forum decided to participate in a blog hop especially for her in appreciation for all she does. Words can't express how much Nichole and the rest of the PaperTrey team have influenced me. I know I'm a better crafter because of them, that's for sure. The inspiration Nichole and the PTI design team provide is endless, and just when I think things can't possibly get any better, they prove me wrong!
Nichole, I am in awe of your talent, both as a crafter and as a business person. How you find the time to do it all, I will never know, especially because you make it all look so easy (and I am sure it is not at all easy to be a wife, mother, business owner and crafter in addition to all of the other hats you wear!), but you have my utmost respect and admiration.
I will keep this short because you have many more fans who want to share their appreciation with you, but I just want to say thank you for all you do. You are simply the best! You can continue to count on me as a loyal customer always.

Card details:
Paper, stamps, ribbon, button, die and impression plate from PTI; Memento ink; Copic markers; 1.75" circle punch from EK Success.

PTI August Blog Hop Challenge: Brown Bag

Hi there! I hope you're having fun with this month's PTI Blog Hop Challenge! I decided to transfer an ordinary brown lunch bag into a wrap for one of four loaves of my banana bread I made recently (this is the last loaf I have left that I pulled out of the freezer; they've been popular!). I trimmed a strip of Summer Sunrise cardstock and stamped one of the large polka dot border stamps from Polka Dot Basics II on it in coordinating ink. I then made the "handmade bread" label using several stamps from the Just For You stamp set. I slipped the loaf inside the bag, turned down the top edges of the bag a few times, then wrapped my decorative belly band around the middle. I tied a length of dark chocolate polka dot ribbon around the ends of my plastic bag that encases the banana bread, and I was done!

Thanks for looking! Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Project Supplies:
Brown lunch sack; Ribbon, cardstock, stamps and ink by PTI; Circle punch by EK Success; Scalloped circle punch by Marvy.

Make Your Own Doily

Happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is off to a good start. We are experiencing very warm weather here in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Temps are in the 90's and it is hot! Thank goodness for air conditioning! I've spent the day inside staying cool and working on different projects in my craft room, one of which is the card you see pictured.

Ever since Betsy Veldman posted the tutorial last week on how to make your own doily, I've wanted to try it! It's pretty simple to execute, but it does help if you have images that coordinate well together and you want to make sure you get your images aligned. I think the circles that I used to create the outer layers were a bit too big. One thing I learned as I went along is to make sure I clean off my stamps in between uses, as it was sometimes hard to tell which part of the stamp I had previously inked, and when I stamped my image some of the residual ink from my previous stamping also transferred to the paper. Grr... I started another doily, but that one wasn't going well, so I decided to be satisfied with my first one and try to mask my ink boo-boos with the sentiment strip!

Are you looking forward to PaperTrey's release tonight? I am! So many neat new things to add to my collection! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments!

Card supplies:
All stamps and Simply Chartreuse green cardstock by PaperTrey Ink; Memento ink in Paris Dusk; Patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely collection. Yellow and green pearls by Queen & Co. We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Paper Crafting Trend: Doilies

Greetings! I hope your month is off to a good start. A former co-worker of mine invited me to the opera recently, and I wanted to send her a thank you note, so I decided to ink up one of my newer stamp purchases, the circle doily from Hero Arts. I'm sure you've seen that doilies are a hot trend in paper crafts right now. Thanks to Betsey Veldman's recent post on crafting your own, I'm inspired to try my hand at making my own version using stamps already in my stash, but that will have to wait for a bit. I've got several projects in queue already, including making 16 calendars for Christmas gifts!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good week!

Card details:
Kraft note card, circle doily stamp and latte chalk ink by Hero Arts; Martha Stewart paper doily embellishment; circle border and friends stamps, Melon Berry paper and ink, Chamomile ink, Simply Chartreuse grosgrain ribbon by PaperTrey Ink; Making Memories paper flower; rhinestones by K & Co.; french background stamp by Stampin' Up; Versamark ink; maize cardstock by Memory Box; Rich Cocoa ink by Memento; EK Success circle punch.

Happiness Is An Afternoon with a Friend

Hello and Happy August! It's hard to believe how quickly summer is passing by! I took Friday afternoon off from work to have lunch and spend time with a dear friend who was in town for the week. Robin was my manager when I worked at a non-profit about six years ago, and we quickly became friends and have stayed in touch despite our careers taking us in different directions.

Robin's birthday is later this month, but I decided to give her my gift in person, rather than mail it off to Japan. This is the birthday card I made for her, which was inspired by Dawn McVey's series of embellies made with the Martha Stewart paper doilies seen here. For Robin's gift, I made her a set of witty kid quotes note cards and packaged them up in a coordinating file box using the Filed With Flair template. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the finished set.

This card is one of my favorites. I adore the bright colors and unexpected splash of blue. Dawn is great for inspiring one to use unique color combinations. I will definitely be using this one again!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great August!

Card Details:
All cardstock, Pure Poppy ink, Raspberry Fizz felt, button, twine, flower dies and stamps by PaperTrey Ink; Martha Stewart paper doily; EK Success border punch; K & Co pink rhinestone; Tuxedo Black Memento ink; Red felt from Michaels; EK Success 1 3/4" circle punch; Circle Nestabilities die. We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.