Bee Thankful (ESS #135, CR84FN35, PTI: MIM)

I hope you all had  a great day today!  It was finally hot and sunny here in the Pacific Northwest.  I think we actually hit above 80 degrees!  It's ironic that it happened on the first day of summer.  Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come. :)

My card this evening is based on a several challenges.  The first is the PTI Make IT Monday Challenge on Nichole Heady's blog.  It begins every Monday morning and ends the next Monday morning.  This week's challenge was reverse masking.  I punched a scallop circle from my Eclipse art masking tape and temporarily adhered the negative (what was left over) to the circle I die cut with my Nestabilities circle die.  I used the small flower stamp from the Snail & Co. stamp set from A Muse Studio and stamped the flower all over within the mask.  When I lifted it up there was a "flower ball".  I had seen this technique with the "flower ball" before on Julie Ebersole's blog, but I couldn't find the specific post for you.  I used bermuda ink from A Muse Studio for my flower.  I drew the stem with a Copic marker.  The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie paper pad.  The beautiful green ribbon is American Crafts.  The sentiment stamp is one I picked up a couple of years ago from the Stamp Convention and it's from Eccentric Images Rubberstamps.  I bought a couple other ones from them and they are super cute!  I had always wanted to try this "flower ball" technique when I saw it on Julie's blog and I'm really glad I got the chance.

The layout for my card was inspired by this week's sketch at Eat Sleep Stamp.  I pretty much followed the sketch almost to the letter.  I chose to use ribbon where the vertical line on the left is, but decided not to put my image circle over it.  Other than that my card looks like the sketch.  The colors for my card came from the color challenge this week at CR84FN.  The color board is just below.  These three colors were very easy to work with and the first thing I thought of was a flower or something summery.  It could be because the sun is shining outside my window and I have the a/c on for the first time all year. :)  I hope you all enjoy this card.  Once again I tried something new and I really like the results.  Happy Crafting!

I'm Sew Excited!

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day yesterday with your dads or sons.  I had a wonderful afternoon with my FIL.  He came over and my hubby and I bbq'ed for him.  My MIL and the rest of the fam is in Mexico right now, so he was alone.  It was all the better for us because we got to have him all to ourselves.  :)  That never happens, especially on a holiday. 

The card I have for you today is for the I'm So Excited! challenge in the Moxie Fab World.  This card took me out of my comfort zone a bit. 

I used burlap for the first time, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but it didn't really feel like me at first.  I also used fabric for the first time and I even frayed the edges.  I also frayed the edges of the burlap.  Burlap and fabric are not things you would normally see on my cards, but I've wanted to try some new things.  I used PTI's parisian lace die, which I'm totally in love with by the way, to make the doily.  I wanted to make it seem more like a fabric doily so I crumbled it and used a sponge to add some versamagic wheat ink.  I think it makes it look more realistic and more antique.

I don't have a dress form die, so I used a stamp from my Hero Arts Sew Artsy set.  I stamped it on white cardstock, cut it out, and paper pieced it with kraft cardstock.  Before I adhered it to the card I added the fabric and tied a small piece of A Muse Studio sheer polka dot sugar ribbon.  I love the swirliness of the sentiment by Lawn Fawn.  It's perfect for this card.  I thought the card needed just a little something else, so I added the PTI buttons in the lower right corner.  I am really happy with the way this card turned out, especially since it was so out of the box for me. 

Because of challenges like this, I have tried new things and stepped out of my comfort zone more times than I can count.  I'd like to thank all of the owners of the blogs/challenges that I play along with because you have expanded my creativity and made me realize I can do more than I ever thought I could.  Thank you so much for all that you have done for me!  Happy Crafting!

Cosmopolitan Neopolitan Tuesday Trigger

I hope you all are having a great weekend!  It's finally sunny and even a little warm here!  We had no spring at all and it looks like we're finally starting to ease into summer very slowly.  I am in such a better mood and feel a lot better when it's sunny outside.  I don't like it when it's really hot, but in the 70's is perfect for me. 

Anyhoo, on to the card.  I've been waiting for the perfect time to use this adorable sticker from the 5 and Dime collection from October Afternoon.  I pop dotted it on top of a Martha Stewart doily and a lacey circle Nestabilities die cut and embossed from PTI's aqua mist cardstock.  The sentiment stamp, an old one from A Muse Artstamps, was stamped on October Afternoon patterned paper from the Farm Fresh collection.  The pink polka dot patterned paper is from the 5 and Dime collection from October Afternoon, again.  If you haven't seen that collection yet it's the cutest thing ever!  It reminds me of an old fashioned soda shop.  I love everything from October Afternoon!  The cream paper is from Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry collection, and the french roast polka dot patterned paper is from A Muse Studio. 

Tuesday Trigger: Cosmopolitan Neopolitan

I chose to use brown, cream, and pink patterned paper and in the order I assembled them to resemble the neopolitan ice cream pops in the Trigger picture.  When I saw the Trigger picture I knew I wanted to use the colors and I wanted the card to be about ice cream, so I picked the October Afternoon sticker I had been saving.  This Tuesday Trigger: Cosmopolitan Neopolitan from Moxie Fab World is one of my faves!  Not just for the picture, but for how my card turned out.  How do you think it turned out? 

My layout was inspired by last week's sketch challenge at Card Positioning Systems.  I didn't finish my card in time to enter it, but I still wanted to show it to you.  This sketch was a great one!

CPS #221

I hope you all enjoyed my card for you today.  Have a great week and try to sneak in some creative time for yourself.  Happy Crafting!

Sorry For Your Loss (Colour Q #88, CAS FTL #143)

I hope you all had a great week!  I made this card for a dear friend of the family and her husband who lost their dog while on vacation.  They were on a European trip of a lifetime and got word that their Pomeranian had passed away.  They don't have children of their own, so Rainy was like their baby and they were/are devastated.  Those of you who have dogs or pets know exactly what I'm talking about.  I only hope this card will ease a tiny bit of their pain by knowing that I'm there for them. 

Now let's get down to the details of the card.  The layout was inspired by this week's sketch at Clean and Simple Stamping.  I turned the sketch upside down because it worked better for me and for the card. 

CAS FTL #143

The bone patterned paper is from Doodlebug Design and the brown polka dot patterned paper is from the Lime Twist collection from My Mind's Eye.  The Lime Twist collection is one of my very favorite collections!  I am just in love with it!  Lately My Mind's Eye has put out the best collections of paper.  They are just soo cute!  The dog house stamp is an old stamp from A Muse Artstamps.  The sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts.  I used the Fiskars apron lace border punch on the brown cardstock that edges the bone patterned paper.  I broke out my Nestabilities classic rectangles large to die cut and emboss the cream cardstock rectangle panel.  I tried to keep the card rather embellishment free and toned down because it's a sympathy card.  I chose the colors because of this week's challenge at ColourQ and because I didn't want any loud colors or bright colors on this sympathy card. 

I really hope this card helps ease my friends' grief in some small way.  I also hope maybe it helps you with some ideas for your sympathy cards.  If you're hurting at all today, I send you hugs.  I hope you all have a great evening!  Happy Crafting!

CPS #220 Expecting Joy

Can you believe it?  I have another card for you today!  I think I'm just making up for the fact that I didn't post for a couple weeks.

The stamps for this card are old A Muse Artstamps rubber stamps, but they are some of my faves that I turn to over and over for baby shower cards and cards for friends when they first find out they are expecting.  I colored the image with Copic markers and did my best to shade the dress around the belly where it naturally would be shaded.  That's still something I am learning and practicing.  All the paper is from A Muse Studio, along with the beautiful ribbon.  I can't tell you how beautiful the heather purple ribbon is in person.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  The purple gems are from Hero Arts. 

I was inspired for the layout of the card by this week's sketch at Card Positioning Systems, but I decided to turn the sketch on it's side. 

CPS #220

I really like how the card turned out.  I used purple and green because my brother's girlfriend is having a girl and she decided to do her room in purple and green because she hates pink.  I also did the baby shower invites and did them in purple and green and wanted the card for the shower to somewhat match.  Here's what the shower invites look like:

I needed them to be very simple because I had to make 22 of them.  Luckily my brother and his girfriend loved them!  I hope you thought they were cute too!  Have a great night!  Happy Crafting!

Just For You Violets (WMSC #49, Moxie Fab: Tuesday Trigger Classically Modern)

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  Today's card was made "just for you"!  The sentiment stamp is from the Essential Sentiments set from A Muse Studio, the flower is from the Year of Flowers: Violet set from PTI, and the label stamp is from the Vintage Labels set from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  This was the first time I used my Vintage Labels set and I really like how it sets off the sentiment.  I don't have any other stamp sets like it and I might have to get some more.  The label dies are Nestabilities labels four and labels four small.  I border punched the bottom of the card with my Fiskars scallop border punch.  The beautiful green satin ribbon is from American Crafts.  They have some of the best ribbon!  The blue cardstock is blueberry sky from PTI.  The white cardstock is sugar and the pink is bubblegum, both from A Muse Studio.  I really love A Muse Studio cardstock because it has a white core so it makes turning it into cards super easy.  I also love PTI cardstock because it's super thick and when you make a card base from it it actually stands up, plus it comes in some really great colors.  They are both super affordable and really great to work with. 

The layout for my card was inspired by this week's sketch from Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge and this week's Tuesday Trigger:  Classically Modern in the Moxie Fab World.  The Trigger inspired my card in several ways.  The pattern on the back wall in the photo was so prominent I felt it needed to dominate my card and be in the same colors.  I put in a splash of pink like the tulips.  They are the only other splash of color besides blue and white in the picture.  The pink label represents the tulips and the green ribbon represents the leaves and stems.  I hope you enjoy the card I made "just for you" and have a great rest of your week!  Happy Crafting!

Tuesday Trigger:  Classically Modern