Ah, Spring...

Spring has

FINALLY

arrived here.

It makes me so happy!! I've had the windows open at my desk at school the last couple of days, and the best part is that I can finally start wearing skirts and dresses. I pretty much live in them when it's above 60* out, and it's been in the 70's the last several days! Yay!

These cards, made a few weeks ago and accidentally forgotten about, are the epitome of spring to me. Bright, cheerful pink, pretty kelly green, bright white, florals. I used my new Avery Elle set: Petals and Stems. Such a pretty floral set. Kinda reminds me of Rosie Posie, but definitely has a different feel to it. I also used a new set (new to me, anyway) from Market Street Stamps: Cane Print Background. I thought the clean feel of this stamp would be the perfect complement to the floral stamps. Jelly Bean Green from MFT and PTI's Stamper's Select White were my only card stock colors used, and I allowed my new ink from Close To My Heart to shine with the florals.

I did have to fussy cut the florals, which took a little time, but if there were dies for Petals and Stems, these cards probably would have come together in less than a half hour.

Thanks for dropping by! I'll try not to let such a lapse go between posts next time. :) I've been a little busy the last few weeks.

Supplies Used:

Stamps- Avery Elle Petals and Stems, PTI Mini Blooms, MSS Cane Print Background
Ink- PTI New Leaf, CTMH Blush and Hollyhock

Card Stock- MFT Jelly Bean Green, PTI SS White
Dies- Spellbinders Matting Basics, PTI Double Ended Banner

PTI March Blog Hop

Sequins.

They're not really my favorite.

But, they are super popular right now. They are also the subject for this month's PTI Blog Hop. I found some cute ones by Martha Stewart at TJ Maxx that perfectly matched Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores. They were in the shape of little stars, and I thought they were pretty cute.

A friend of ours is having a birthday party for their son, who is turning three. I thought the stars would be super cute (and appropriate) to accompany a 3 year old boy's birthday gift.

I used my new Birthday Style set from PTI... I just LOVE that little banner at the top. I think this card could be easily adapted to a girly color scheme for a little girl's birthday. (Not that I have any friends with little girls!!!)

I thought the star sequins were super cute, considering the starred exclamation point at the end of "birthday!" I didn't care much for the hole in the center, which would normally be used to adhere the sequins to fabric, so I covered them with some stickles. I intended to cover them with some gems, but I couldn't find any that were small enough.

Thanks for dropping by! I can't wait to see the rest of the entries for the blog hop.

Supplies used:
Card Stock: PTI White, Hawaiian Shores
Stamps: PTI Birthday Style, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday
Ink: PTI Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist; CTMH Slate; Versamark Watermark
Dies: PTI Birthday Style; Spellbinders Matting Basics
Miscellaneous: Clear Filigree Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Sequins, Stickles

Pretty in Purple... and some news!!

One of my closest friend's favorite colors is purple. She's told me that if she ever has a baby girl, she'll paint her room purple. Well, her birthday isn't for another couple of months, but I was in a crafty mood this week and decided to get a jump on her birthday card.

It gave me a chance to use a set that I won from Wplus9... Embroidered Bouquet. I sold my Stitches and Swirls set from PTI (stupid me!), so winning this made me really happy.

 I did a new technique with some of my seam binding: I used a Copic to dye it. (I can't remember if I mentioned this before?) I needed some ribbon that was a bit lighter than my Fine Linen ribbon, and so I colored on some white seam binding with my E42 Copic. I really like how it turned out!

I hope she likes this card! I personally love the sentiment inside... she has come to be such an incredible friend to me, helping me deal with some sucky stuff, and so I thought this sentiment from Stylish Sentiments: Birthday was very appropriate.

I just realized that I forgot to make a coordinating envelope, so I'll have to get on that soon.

Now, for some exciting news!!

For the first time, I submitted a couple of projects to the Papercrafts Magazine call for the September issue coming out this year, and GUESS WHAT?!!?!?!!? One of them was chosen! I am so excited... I may or may not have squealed a bit when I got the email. I'm not allowed to publish my project on my blog until after the magazine comes out, but I do have a reject to write about, which I will do in a couple of days.

Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing in my good news!!!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Wplus9 Embroidered Bouquet; PTI Stylish Sentiments: Birthday
Dies: Lifestyle Crafts doily; Wplus9 Label Layers 3
Card stock: PTI-Vintage Cream, Winter Wisteria
Ink: PTI Fine Linen, Winter Wisteria, Tea Dye Duo
Miscellaneous: Seam binding (Flourishes), Winter Wisteria button (PTI), jute twine, Bisque Liquid Pearls

I was an 18th Century Colonial in a Past Life...

tookSometimes, I really think that I was an 18th century colonial in a past life. Or a wealthy 19th century heiress, circa Jane Austen. There is something so incredibly charming about their clothes, manners, dinner parties, gardening, sewing, etc. I think I'd be in heaven. Except for chamber pots. And only being able to bathe once a week. And being blind. (I have terrible eyesight.)

One of the things I love most about 18th century fashions is the use of toile.... you know, that gorgeous print in a single color on a solid background, that includes incredibly detailed little vignettes of people having picnics, pastoral scenes, women chatting, etc. If I could, I'd have a blue and white living room with a white and cobalt toile couch and beautiful Delft pottery on the mantle. I was inspired by this cake from Pinterest.

Here's my take on it:

I love the subtlety of the pale blue-y aqua of the Sea Glass card stock from Avery Elle in conjunction with the bright white embossing powder. I've been in a CAS mood lately, which is definitely a switch from my recent obsession with shabby chic. Some white pigment ink swiped around the edges of the Photo Finishers die cut and the edge of my embossed panel highlights them nicely, I think. I thought about making a set of these, but this single card took what felt like FOR-EVER. I could probably streamline it a bit more if I were making, say, 8 of them to put in my Etsy shop. What do you think?

Thanks for visiting!!! I'd love it if you became a follower!

Supplies used:
Cardstock- Avery Elle Sea Glass
Stamps- Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage Garden-Flowers; PTI Everyday Photo Finishers
Dies- Spellbinders Matting Basics; PTI Photo Finishers
Versamark Watermark Ink, White Filigree Embossing Powder, PTI Fresh Snow ink

Flowers and Babies and Lace...

Hi there!! This is my gift for the baby of our good friends, the ones for whom I made the Ellie banner! I wanted to make some personalized wall decor for her new nursery, and this is what I came up with:S

Sorry about the glare... it's quite a  challenge to photograph the glass in frames! Plus, it was super bright out that day, so our windows were basically glowing.

I used a variety of Cricut cartridges, including Font Envy, Art Nouveau, and Elegant Cakes. I outlined the silver letters with a pink Copic (I don't remember which color) to make them stand out a bit more, though I think it just mottled the letters a little bit. (Boo!) I used a variety of pinks, some lacy trim from Hobby Lobby, silver matboard, shimmery white cardstock, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, etc. The frame is 16x20, so it's plenty big! I tried to make it coordinate as well as possible with her "Ellie" banner, and I think (hope!) the momma liked it as much as I did!
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Baby Banner Love...

So, it seems like everybody that I've ever known in my entire life is having or has recently had a baby.

Seriously, everybody.

And it seems like nearly everybody that I know (or at least, everybody for whom I would make gifts/crafts) has had boys.

BOYS!

If you've been to my blog previously, you know that feminine, frilly, lacy, flowery, sparkly... those are my favorite. (I just heard Buddy the Elf say "smiling's my favorite" in my head. Teehee!)

FINALLY- one of our friends decided to have a girl!! (like there's much choice in the matter, right?) And they picked out the cah-yutest name for her: Elizabeth Leigh, to be nicknamed Ellie. Isn't that just darling?! And her nursery is going to be one of my favorite color combos-pale pink, white, and gray. Momma specifically requested one of my banners to be used at the shower, then to be added to the nursery decor after Ellie is born. Her stipulations: shabby chic, polka dots, the color scheme, and some chevron. Other than that, her response was "I trust your judgment." Yay!!! Free reign, and as girly and flowery as I can make it! Goody gumdrops!!

Here's what I came up with:

The frames are cut from the Cricut Fancy Frames cartridge, which is my absolute favorite cartridge to use for banners, other than Pretty Pennants. (None of those pennants lent themselves well to "shabby chic.")

 I combined her "polka dot" request with my love of roses. I used the MFT Royal Rose dies in various sizes to fulfill that requirement. I just LOVE how realistic they look! My Cricut can never cut tiny roses well, and they don't have the scalloped edges on each individual scallop, which I think helps to make them even more realistic. 

 The letters were cut with the new Cricut Letter Envy cartridge. I thought that font just screamed "shabby chic." (It will come back in another post when I showcase the baby gift!!) I used Elegant Cakes to cut the little floral garland at the top of each frame, which I thought could have been mistaken for that pretty shabby-chic molding that you find on resin frames and things from the Melissa Frances website. 

 Now, the rosettes on either end are one of my most favorite elements of the banner. I usually use styrofoam balls (cut in half) to make hydrangeas with stick pins. This time, I wanted more of a full bouquet look rather than the somewhat flat-looking hydrangeas-surrounded-by-roses look that I've done on previous banners. I ended up cutting a few dozen roses in various sizes with PTI's Bitty Dot patterned paper in Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, and Sweet Blush. I cut several daisies out of white shimmer card stock from the Flower Shoppe cartridge and attached them with some cosmetic foam to add dimension. I punched some hydrangeas out of pink shimmer vellum from Hobby Lobby and attached them with yellow stick pins. I think the combination of all of these flowers creates a really pretty and full "bouquet." I put some lace trim from Hobby Lobby in pleats around the bottom of each bouquet. A gray and white chevron bow with a button finished them off.

Banners are one of my absolute favorite things to make, especially GIRL banners (yippy skippy!). I hope you've enjoyed reading my book of instructions on how to make these. (Sorry about that!) This banner took me about 10 hours to make, between all of the die-cutting, rose-rolling, Cricut cutting, bouquet-making, and paper-gluing... Time well spent, though, in my opinion! Everybody at the shower just loved it, and the momma is super excited to have it hang in little Ellie's nursery!

I will be back tomorrow with another post to show the baby gift that I made for her. If you've made it this far, thanks for dropping by!!

TTFN~ 

Emily

My love affair with Mini Blooms...

So... PTI came out with a set called Mini Blooms. It seriously has become one of my most favorite floral sets...ever. It doesn't rank quite as high as Sweet Life or Rosie Posie, but it's still up there. Typography with banners and florals are so popular right now. They are ALL over Pinterest (and I do mean ALL over). A friend asked me to make a set of thank you notes for her daughter, and her only stipulation was that they have blue and yellow. This was the beginning of my love affair with the Mini Blooms set that was released this past month from PTI. I seriously adore that set. And I haven't even used the dies yet!!!

I've been really digging white space lately, and I wanted them to be easy to mail, so here is what I came up with:

The banner set from Wplus9 is perfect for those vintage-y prints with a typography feel. My only complaint is that the sentiments in the set are not curved to fit in the banners... It's a little difficult to get them perfectly lined up in the space provided. I really like how clean this card is, but it still definitely has a girly feel to it (a pre-requisite for 98% of the cards that I make). I can't wait to play with this set some more!!

Thanks for visiting me! I'd love it if you became a follower. :)

Supplies:
Card stock: PTI white
Stamps: PTI Mini Blooms; Wplus9 Written on Ribbon
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI-Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, Lemon Tart, Harvest Gold, New Leaf
Dies: Spellbinders Matting Basics
Miscellaneous: Pop Dots

PTI Blog Hop-v.3

Here is my final submission for today, and somehow it's my favorite:

This card is totally not my style at ALL. It's so... simple. I usually like lots of layers and pearls and lace and probably a button with some twine on it... Not to mention that this color combo is not one that I would normally choose. But I got out my new Birds and Blooms anniversary set from PTI, because I was desperate to play with it, and I had a Kraft card base on my desk, and this card is what happened! The white letters really pop on that somewhat dull background with the help of some pop dots, cut extremely thin. (I am just in LOVE with the lines on those letters...so clean. They provide such a lovely foil for my exceptionally-girly projects!!) I needed to follow my "rule of three", so I added some white berries to the wreath with my Sakura white gel pen. A white 1/4" silk bow finished it off.

This one is definitely my favorite of the three that I made today, and it was a totally unexpected creation! I love it when that happens!!

I have a baby card swirling around in my head with the branch, nest, bird, and egg images that I can't wait to try out!! I need to finish a few baby shower projects before I can get that one going, though. I'm about 2/3 finished with one, but I haven't done anything but sketch out the second one. Hopefully, I'll get some time this week to work on them!

Thanks for dropping by (possibly again)!! :)

Supplies:
Card Stock: PTI Classic Kraft, white
Stamps: Birds and Blooms (PTI)
Dies: Headline Alphabet (PTI)
Ink: PTI- Dark Chocolate, Autumn Rose, Raspberry Fizz, Scarlet Jewel
1/4" silk ribbon (PTI)

PTI Blog Hop-v.2

Here's the second in my little trifecta:

I found a pretty picture of some wedding invitations on Pinterest that had bright pink roses and gray wood  grain. I think the wood grain gives kind of a rustic, country feel, especially with that addition of the burlap on the button. I embossed the new Boutique Borders with silver embossing powder from Filigree, but for some reason it's not showing up in the picture very well. I try to stick with the "rule of three" design principle that Nichole taught us in a MIM... Again, you can't tell very well, but that button is actually a very pale gray. I love the combination of the swirly, frilly letters from Avery Elle and the straight, modern lines of the Headline Alphabet set.

Thanks for looking! Back in just a second with my last post (and my favorite card from today!!)

... I promise, I am at my craft table quite frequently during the month, despite the fact that I only seem to blog when there is a PTI challenge of some sort...

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI- The Sweet Life, BB:Farm and Barn, Boutique Borders; Avery Elle Lovely Letters
Card Stock: PTI White, Sweet Blush; MFT Spearmint
Ink: PTI-Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz; Poptone Spearmint; Memento London Fog
Dies: PTI-The Sweet Life, Boutique Borders; Spellbinders Matting Basics A
Miscellaneous: Silver Filigree embossing powder, Hibiscus Burst satin ribbon, Soft Stone button, twine

PTI Blog Hop-February 2013

Hi there!!

Today is the monthly blog hop at PTI. The theme this month is "monograms," something I love, though I don't have many (but I did make them all myself!!). I made a trio of cards today, all with a different feel to them.

 My first card is the one that I thought would be my favorite when doing my sketches at school (darn work gets in the way of my stamp-playing time!), but it turned out to be my least favorite card of the trio. I used my new Mini Blooms stamp set, as well as the new Headline Alphabet set, and an alphabet set from Avery Elle.

I really am liking this color combo. Purple is not something I use very often, in my clothes or in my crafting, but every time I use it, I wonder why I don't do so more often!!

Be back momentarily!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI Mini Blooms, Headline Alphabet; Avery Elle Lovely Letters
Card Stock: PTI Rustic Cream
Ink: PTI Plum Pudding, Winter Wisteria, Lavender Moon, Royal Velvet, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides; Memento Tuxedo Black

Final Installment-Color Challenge

This is my final installment of the PTI Color Challenge. This one was a little more my norm: Lemon Tart, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss. Very pastel-y, very me. :) It's a little simpler than my normal shabby chic, but again, running out of time before my self-imposed bedtime!

Thanks for checking out my submissions for today's contest!! I appreciate all comments so much more than you know, and I'd absolutely adore having more followers!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Life, 2012 Birthday Tags-PTI
Dies: Sweet Life, LL:Oval-PTI, Spellbinders Matting Basics
Card stock: Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush Bitty Dot PP, Spring Moss- all PTI
Ink: Lemon Tart, Harvest Gold, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss
Miscellaneous: Watermelon Liquid Pearls

Color Challenge #2

This challenge was another unique one that I don't usually play around with much:

Harvest Gold, Enchanted Evening, and Blueberry Sky.

This card ended up very different than I had initially intended... There were supposed to be roses on there, but the Sweet Life large rose clusters were too large and covered up the sentiment, and I didn't have time to cut more. So I just made lemonade with my lemons (if only the challenge had included Lemon Tart lol!), took some of the pretty decorative brackets from Over Under Easy et voila! This will serve, I think, as some simple commissioned cards for a friend's daughter. I hope....

Back momentarily with Installment #3!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Table Service, Over Under Easy-PTI
Ink: Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening-PTI
Card Stock: Harvest Gold, Blueberry Sky Striped PP-PTI
Dies: Spellbinders Matting Basics, PTI's Double Ended Banner

Color Challenge #1

Hello, friends!!

Today is day 7 of the PTI Anniversary countdown, and the focus for the challenge was COLOR!! One of my absolute favorite aspects of being crafty. When I dream crafty dreams, I dream of beautiful color combinations and fantastic patterns in those beautiful color combinations.

I started my new job today, and I was a bit nervous about it last night, so didn't get the best night's sleep, so these are going to be quite brief. Sorry about that!!


This was one of the prettiest color combos given today: Melon Berry, Scarlet Jewel, Fine Linen, Kraft, and Soft Stone. I needed another Valentine's Card, this one for my sister, and so thought this sentiment was just right. Not too mushy, not too distant.

Back with installment #2!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hanging By A Thread (PTI)
Dies: Spellbinders Matting Basics; Hanging By a Thread and Aida IP(PTI)
Ink: Melon Berry, Scarlet Jewel, Kraft (all PTI)
Miscellaneous: Kraft Twill ribbon, Melon Berry button, Jute twine

PTI Anniversary Challenge, Day 6

Hola friends!

Today is the 6th day of the PTI Anniversary festivities, and we were challenged to make a project that was inspired by one of these 6 sketches:

I chose to work from sketch #1:


I flipped it on its side and did some stamping.

I intended to have the stripes going vertically, stamped them 3 times horizontally before I realized what I was doing, flipped it over, stamped them all vertically, messed up on the last one, then decided that it was going to be horizontal stripes or nothing. I need to just work on a diagonal with those monster Super Stripes... they're almost too long to be able to handle well. I thought this sentiment was adorable, and it would be perfect for my good friend for Valentine's Day with some chocolate covered strawberries.

Thanks for checking today's project!! I'd love it if you followed me. :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Super Stripes, Strawberry Patch, Strawberry Patch Sentiments (all PTI)
Dies: PTI-Strawberry Patch, Perfect Patches; Spellbinders Matting Basics
Ink: PTI- Pure Poppy, New Leaf, Smokey Shadow, Tea Dye Duo
Card Stock: Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream, Kraft
Miscellaneous: Jute twine, Pure Poppy button, Sakura Stardust gel pen.

Final Installment

    And now, for the piece de resistance...

My inspiration photo:



My version:

This project took me the longest of all four. I started with a color combo that has been ruminating in my head for about a week and a half: mint green, Fine Linen, and Vintage Cream. There's something so deliciously shabby chic about it. I got some Brown Sugar Zing! Embossing Powder that's almost a perfect match for Fine Linen, and that was what started it. I knew I wanted to use my Flourishes Lace Trim set with the Brown Sugar EP, but I didn't have a project in mind yet. Well, I definitely found one today. I made a 4x4x2 box with my Martha Stewart Score Board, heat embossed the Lace Trim on the edges of the box, then created a panel of striped Vintage Cream card stock with my Super Stripes stamp set. The frame from Simply Jane provided a perfect backdrop for a beautiful resin cameo embellishment sent to me by my crafty pen pal. (Thanks, Leah!!!) The mint green frame was embossed with the same Brown Sugar EP, and I used some toffee brown crocheted ribbon around the top of the box. Some minty green seam binding from Flourishes, a Spearmint button from MFT with some jute twine, and some resin roses finished it off.

This project is seriously one of my favorites that I've ever done, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. I don't want to give it away, because it will just get thrown away, and I don't really want to sell it, but I also don't want it to just sit in my craft nook collecting dust. Thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by! (again... and again... and again... ) :) Hope everyone is enjoying the PTI Anniversary festivities. I know I am.

Supplies:
Card Stock: MFT Spearmint; PTI Vintage Cream, Fine Linen
Stamps: Flourishes Lace Trim; PTI Simply Jane, Super Stripes,
Ink: Versamark, Fine Linen, Tea Dye Duo
Dies: Simply Jane
Miscellaneous: Brown Sugar Zing! EP, Crochet Lace ribbon from Hobby Lobby, resin embellishments from Leah, Spearmint Buttons from MFT, Jute Twine, Spearmint and Hot Chocolate Liquid Pearls

Take 3

Today's challenge really inspired me. I spend way, way too much time on Pinterest, and so finding inspiration was ridiculously simple. Here's my next inspiration:

 I loved the white on kraft, and the fabric rolled roses were so pretty! I decided to add a little bit of color in the form of Aqua Mist. Here's my 3rd project:

I stamped some Lace Bouquet on a Kraft Front and Center #2 in Fresh Snow. I then made some rolled roses from Fresh Snow felt and added some vintage lace trim from my stash. (My great grandmother was quite the seamstress, and my grandma gave me a big box of vintage trim and seam binding and lace!) Some MS 6 die cuts and a cute paper bow made with mini bow dies from MFT were the final touches!

I'll be back momentarily with my final (and if I may say so, my best) project from today!

Supplies:
Card Stock: PTI Kraft, Aqua Mist, White, Aqua Mist Bitty Dot PP
Stamps: PTI Lace Bouquet, Think Big Favorites
Dies: PTI MS 6, Front and Center #2; MFT Royal Roses
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Aqua Mist, Kraft
Miscellaneous: PTI Fresh Snow felt, vintage lace trim, Aqua Mist button, jute twine