Hi there! I can't believe it...the twins turn 3 today. You saw Grace's card the other day, and this is the one I made for Jack. I had no idea that he actually likes owls! Who knew? (I couldn't resist.) Hope your day is a good one. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...M
Hi there! As promised, here's what I consider a 'quickie' card. My littlest nephew turned one last week and I needed a card to go with his gift. I've had these cute papers and cardstock stickers laying around for a while now. Ok...it's been years. They're just so cute I didn't want to use them. Yes, I have a hoarding problem. What? You don't? Anyhow, quickie for me means that I used papers and cardstock stickers from a matched collection (Creative Memories).
Not much thinking required! I just cut, layered, crumpled, stitched and stuck. Done! Oh, and since the gift I purchased was small in size (a keepsake Bible with a cool basketball-themed cover) I was able to use another 12x12 sheet from the same paper collection to wrap the gift. I just added some blue polka dotted ribbon and I was off to the party. It was a fun barbecue, too. All of my side of the family was there and the little ones played in the sprinkler. And guess what? My sister had me paint their faces! I had an absolute blast! Actually, the adults probably had too much fun because after I did the normal flowers and hearts, etc. my sisters had me paint moustaches on all of the kids...and a goatee on little Jack, too! Good times, good times. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey select white
Other: sewing machine, unk paper collection from Creative Memories (retired kit)
Happy Mother's Day! I am fortunate to have many mother figures in my life and so I'm thinking of all of them today and wishing them well. This particular card was inspired by a recent visit to a local Mexican restaurant. The wall colors and decorations are so bright and welcoming and they reminded me that I've had this K&Co. mat pack sitting unused. The focal image is from Penny Black, the sentiment is Papertrey, and I colored it with SU markers. Again I outlined the colored image with the W1 Copic marker. It's amazing what outlining your image can do! I used my small rectangle Nestabilities to cut/emboss/mat the main image and used my Sew Mini to stitch around the edges. Some May Arts ribbon and SU buttons with linen thread finish off the design. Thank you for visiting - be sure to check back throughout the week. We're on track to reach a modest visitor milestone this week and to celebrate and say 'thank you' I'll be giving away a pack of blog candy.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU basic brown
Cardstock: Papertrey white, K&Co happy trails mat pack
Stamps: Penny Black Fresh New Day, Papertrey's Pond Life (sentiment)
Other: May Arts ribbon, SU markers, Copic W1 warm gray sketch marker to outline, linen thread, SU buttons, sewing machine, small rectangle Nestabilities
It's a little chilly tonight so I was thinking cocoa. As in hot cocoa with tons of marshmallows. In the end I went straight for some Hershey's milk chocolate (oops) and made a hot cocoa card. Maybe I'll feel guilty tomorrow and make a lettuce card. (Not likely!!!) The base of this card is SU! pretty in pink and I layered SU! patterned papers onto a matting of Papertrey white. I stitched around the edges, wrapped the center in some truly luscious May Arts satin ribbon, and added mini brads in each corner. The focal piece is an A Muse image that I stamped in basic brown and colored with SU! markers. It's hard to see in the picture but I gave each cup a clear top layer with my glaze pen. I used Marvy scalloped punches on both the piece of PTI white and close to cocoa and sponged the edges with close to cocoa ink. The final act was to add it to the card using foam dimensionals. Thanks again for visiting!
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU basic brown
Cardstock: PTI white, SU close to cocoa and pretty in pink, SU designer pattern papers
Stamps: Three Cups by A Muse
Other: sewing machine, American Crafts mini brads, May Arts satin ribbon, SU markers, Marvy punches and foam dimensionals
Check out the latest card from Fran! I don't know anyone else who could put yellow and orange together and make it look fantastic. Did you see that she popped the claws and body up on dimensionals? I love it.
And with summer fast approaching I think it's time to consider clearing the leaves from the deck and planning our next seafood feast...Fran - are you reading this????
Until next time...M
I came home today to find this beautiful card in my mailbox. I had it open and out of the envelope before I was halfway up the driveway. I'm always so excited to receive one of Fran's cards! I recognize many of the materials and stamps used - I see Sweet Love by Papertrey, Prima blossoms, SU ribbons, a Sakura stardust glitter pen, versamark ink, SU kraft cardstock and small rectangle Nestabilities. I know she's shown me the swirl stamps before...I can't remember for sure where she picked those up. But check out the design - isn't it perfectly weighted? I never would have thought to have the top flower separate from the other two. Fran does neutrals and pastels better than anyone else I've ever seen. Know what else she does better than anyone else I know? Crab parties! And today's weather has me imagining a crab party with Fran on her deck. I can't wait for summer!
Until next time...M
Today's card was inspired by one of 'my' students. Every year there are one or two that just leave a mark on my heart.
The card base is a 4.25" square of Papertrey white. The sentiment is from an old DCWV vellum quote book and I layered it onto a piece of soft sky cardstock. I used my sewing machine and stitched the two together, then distressed the edges of both. The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Periphery collection, the dew drops are from Robin's Nest's water collection and the flowers are by Prima. Check out the luscious ribbon! I love this ribbon and it's by May Arts. My Sew Mini is defective - the tension isn't ever right. I have decades of experience with "real" sewing machines so I'm aware I should have sent this mini back. However, I kind of like the randomness of the stitches and I'd never be able to achieve this on purpose. And so the defective mini stays.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Cardstock: PTI white, SU! soft sky, Basic Grey Periphery papers
Other: Prima blossom, Robin's Nest water dew drops, May Arts organdy ribbon, DCWV vellum quote book, Janome Sew Mini, SU! distressing tool
Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. Today I thought I'd share one of my Papertrey Ink (PTI) guest star stamper entries. I didn't win last night (bummer!) but I had a lot of fun trying. This particular card was my attempt at more of a shabby, romantic look. The base is PTI white and onto that I layered the pieces of PTI patterned paper. (These are from the 6x6 pink patterns collection.) The sentiment from PTI's Mixed Messages set was stamped in close to cocoa ink onto a piece of sweet blush that I punched with my SU! tab punch. The chocolate twill was purchased from Ellen Hutson and I frayed the ends on purpose! The buttons are Paper Bliss and I stamped the leaf image from Boxes Bags and Tags in spring moss along the edge of the twill to give the look of a lace edge. The final touch was to wrap it in sweet blush satin ribbon.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU close to cocoa, PTI spring moss
Cardstock: PTI white, sweet blush
Stamps: PTI Mixed Messages and Boxes, Bags and Tags
Other: PTI sweet blush satin ribbon, pink patterns papers, Paper Bliss buttons, twill from Ellen Hutson, LLC
Well here's something different! Not my normal style, not my normal colors - what do you think? It just kind of happened this afternoon after work. I stamped the image from Papertrey's anniversary set Simple Little Shapes in basic black ink onto stamper's select white. Then I colored the image using my SU! real red marker and my Sakura stardust glitter pen. Check out the centers of the images - - - those are more pearl Bella's baubles. I adhered those with Tombo multi adhesive and guess what? I think I prefer the Tombo multi over glue dots when it comes to adhering baubles/dew drops. I layered the design piece onto a mat of basic black, secured it to my Papertrey stampers select white cardstock base and wrapped the top in red SU! grosgrain ribbon. I'm not sure what type of card this is, so I couldn't decide on a sentiment. I decided to just let it be.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU basic black
Cardstock: SU basic black, Papertrey Ink stampers select white
Stamps: Papertrey's anniversary set Simple Little Shapes
Other: SU marker, SU grosgrain ribbon, Sakura stardust glitter pen, pearl Bella's baubles
Where did my Sunday go? I feel like I blinked and it went from noon to nine! It seemed like the entire neighborhood was buzzing today - I think everyone on our street spent at least a few hours on yard work. Even I did chores! So many chores, in fact, that I had to dig these two cards out of my stash so that I'd have something to share with you tonight. I was trying for a 'clean' look with these. Both are from a few weeks ago when I was in the middle of that 'Bella attack'. Both are bases of Papertrey white with Basic Grey Lily Kate papers layered on them. The bella images were stamped in SU! basic black onto Papertrey white and then colored with my SU! markers. The first card features a glitter dot center 
and spring moss twill ribbon for 'leaves'. The second card has the twill leaves but I used a Robin's Nest dew drop for the center. I used my Sakura stardust glitter pen to accent the ribbon on the gift and the cake plate and candle. The sentiments are both from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set. I think I use that set almost every day - I highly recommend adding it to your collection if you haven't already.
And so I wish you best wishes for a great week. Thanks for stopping by.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU! basic black
Cardstock: PTI white, Basic Grey Lily Kate papers
Stamps: Stamping Bella, PTI Mixed Messages
Other: Prima blossoms, Robins Nest dew drops, PTI spring moss twill ribbon, SU! markers, watercolor wonder crayons, aquapainter, Sakura stardust glitter pen
Aren't Saturday's the best? Weekends in general...no time in the office...48 hours of uninterruped time that I own and control. We've planned so many fun things for this weekend that it almost outweighs all of the cleaning we're doing. I'm using the 'we' terminology loosely when it comes to the cleaning. So far the husband has vacuumed and steam cleaned the carpets and taken out the garbage. I've...well...I cooked a large breakfast for him, made this card (and am posting early!) and snuck out for a pedicure. I'll be paying the price for that shortly, I'm sure! As for this card, it's my second attempt at Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I like this one better! It's another 4.25" square and this time I embossed it with my script Cuttlebug folder. Most everything is obvious, but the sentiment was stamped with PTI's Out on a Limb set and then punched out with SU's large oval punch. I free-handed cutting an oval mat out of aqua mist and then distressed the edges of the mat to cover up any cutting imperfections. Sneaky, but effective.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU close to cocoa, Papertrey Ink spring moss, aqua mist
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink spring moss, aqua mist, white, everyday blessings patterned paper
Other: Papertrey Ink aqua mist twill ribbon, Bella's pearl baubles, Prima blossom, Sakura stardust glitter pen (flower center in sentiment), SU large oval punch, Cuttlebug script folder, sewing machine, SU distressing tool
Happy Friday! Tonight I spent some time playing around with Beate's weekend sketch challenge (#43). I can hardly believe I didn't fit any ribbon in the design. I did manage to dig out some neglected papers and my Maya Road velvet blossoms. And somehow I kept running this card through my sewing machine! I started with a 4.25" square of blue bayou, layered on some Porcelain Prints designer paper and wild wasabi cardstock and used glue dots to secure the flowers. The sentiment was stamped in chocolate chip ink. I thought it could use some spark, so I scribbled on the blue mat under the sentiment and on the wasabi strip with my clear Spica glitter marker.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU chocolate chip
Stamps: SU Stem Silhouettes
Cardstock: SU blue bayou, wild wasabi, Porcelain Prints designer papers
Other: Maya Road velvet blossoms, Robin's Nest dew drops, clear Spica glitter marker, sewing machine, SU distressing tool
Hi there. Can you believe the weekend's almost here? It's a good thing, too, because I'm running out of cards to share! I'm calling this one showers and flowers because I Cuttlebugged the background to look like rain and, well, I added flowers. Not very profound today, am I?!? I was going for texture on this card and started with a base of aqua mist. I used my sewing machine to stitch on a scrap of patterned paper and then ran the whole thing through my Big Kick with the embossing folder. It's different, I'll say that! Next I wrapped it in spring moss grosgrain, tucked in the semi-distressed piece with the sentiment, and added the Primas. My 'neglected' items today are the Bella's baubles I used for flower centers. These are the pearl ones and I chose glue dots to secure them to the blossoms. Thanks for stopping by and have a happy Friday.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU basic brown
Stamps: SU vases in vogue
Cardstock: Papertrey white and aqua mist, SU designer paper from 'Fall Flowers' collection
Other: Papertrey spring moss ribbon, Prima forever flowers, Bella's baubles, SU distressing tool, Cuttlebug embossing folder, sewing machine
Today's featured 'neglected' item is my berry sorbet cardstock from Papertrey. I'm not sure why I don't use it more because it's a great color. I used a berry sorbet base for this card and embossed the bottom portion with my 'swirls' Cuttlebug folder. The focal image is from Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses set and is stamped with sweet blush and berry sorbet inks. The bling is a ton of platinum ice stickles glitter glue that I think I spent a year dabbing on! I mounted it onto a piece of sweet blush cardstock that I'd distressed and then wrapped the card in sweet blush satin ribbon. To keep the swirl theme going I added the Making Memories circle clip for decoration. The sentiment is from Papertrey's anniversary set, Simple Little Things. My set just arrived today! (Was there really any doubt as to whether or not I'd bought enough PTI stamp sets to qualify for the free anniversary set???) I'll be playing with it tomorrow after work and will hopefully end up with something to post for you.
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: Papertrey sweet blush, berry sorbet, SU! basic black
Cardstock: Papertrey white, sweet blush, berry sorbet
Stamps: Papertrey Ink's Butterfly Kisses, Simple Little Things
Other: Papertrey sweet blush satin ribbon, Making Memories circle clip, SU distressing tool, platinum ice stickles glitter glue, Cuttlebug swirls embossing folder
So today's post features another neglected item in my craft room: background stamps. I have had this particular wire one from CHF for a while but never put it to use. My issue with background stamps (and by this I mean the large ones) is that I can't stand cleaning them afterwards. They're so hard to fit into my stamp scrubber that there's not much room to 'scrub'; I have tried rubbing baby wipes across them but the wipes shred and get stuck on the stamps...nothing was satisfactory. Until I pulled out a brayer along with the baby wipes. What a difference! Just lay the wipe on top of the inky stamp, hold one edge with your other hand and then brayer away.
The card base is confetti white, the focal image is on kraft that's matted on really rust, I used watercolor crayons
and SU! markers to color the image, the button is SU! and the ribbon is Papertrey's spring moss satin. The focal image was stamped with basic brown and the wire background was inked using close to cocoa (a current favorite!). I did use my small rectangle Nestabilities to emboss the kraft stock.
So go dust off your 'backgrounders' and get to stamping!
Until next time...M
Supplies:
Ink: SU basic brown, close to cocoa
Cardstock: SU kraft, really rust, confetti white
Stamps: SU Best of Cluck, CHF wire backgrounder
Other: Nestabilities, watercolor wonder crayons (white, close to cocoa), aquapainter, SU markers (really rust, ruby red, more mustard), SU button, Papertrey spring moss ribbon, SU slot punch