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

PTI Challenge Day 5- Take 2

Here's my inspiration for this second project:



I needed a tag for a baby shower gift for a baby shower that's coming up in a few weeks. The mommy has requested books instead of cards, but I still needed to make a tag to purty up the package!!

Here's my take on it:

The baby's room is going to be a pretty combination of pink, light gray, and white, and I'm going to make a pretty wall hanging with the baby's name on it, and I have also been commissioned to make a banner for the baby shower. This tag matches all of these!! It's not really that visible in the photo, but the white square has a really pretty shabby chic print stamped on it. It's most visible in the bottom photo. The text was done with the cutest little font set... Avery Elle's Lovely Letters. I loved the white on gray of the initial inspiration photo, and the tiny roses and lace... swoon! Those were the elements I tried to capture in my tag project. What do you think?

Back soon for installment 3! :) (Tolja I was busy today!!)

Supplies:
Dies: PTI Wine Bottle Tag, LL: Squares; MFT Royal Roses
Stamps:Maya Road Doilie border; Flourishes Vintage Wallpaper background stamp, Thinking of You; Avery Elle Lovely Letters
Card Stock: Avery Elle Fog; PTI White, Raspberry Fizz Bitty Dot PP, Sweet Blush Bitty Dot PP; pink shimmer card stock from Hobby Lobby
Ink: PTI Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Fresh Snow; Memento Tuxedo Black
Miscellaneous: vintage lace trim, Sweet Blush buttons, Jillibean Soup gray and white twine

PTI Anniversary Challenge- Day 5

 Hi! I've been a busy little bee today... Cranked out 4 projects today, and they were all pretty darn detailed! The challenge today is to create some kind of wrap, tag, or gift packaging and decorate it inspired with a photo from Pinterest.

Here is my inspiration photo.

I used one of the PTI tins to make my version of the project. I promised a different color combination than my usual shabby chic combo of pink and some sort of blue, so here's some yellow and gray for you to feast your eyes on!

Project 1 of 4! Back momentarily!

Supplies:
Card stock: PTI Harvest Gold, Flourishes Daffodil, Avery Elle Fog, TC Carolina Breeze, shimmer vellum from Hobby Lobby
Dies: PTI MS4, LL:Circle; Lifestyle Crafts doily and doily border, Spellbinders rose
Stamps: MS4, 2011 Holiday Tags
Miscellaneous: Zing! Mustard, Flourishes Daffodil seam binding, Soft Stone buttons

Inspired by Melissa...

A friend asked me to make a Valentine for her 13 year old daughter to give her friend for a Valentine gift exchange. I figured this would be a good opportunity to get another entry in for the PTI Anniversary Day 1 challenge, this time inspired by Melissa Phillips.

I chose the project on the top left from which to work. I loved the stamped panel on the right coupled with the big flowers. My friend wanted a sentiment on the card, so I just shifted the flowers off to the side. 








I was also inspired by this photo from Pinterest:

I know, I know, it's aqua and pink again, but I changed it up a little with the charcoal and the chevron! I used a lot of different stamp sets on this one, from various companies. I think they all worked pretty well together! The sentiment on the front is computer generated, printed onto MFT Cotton Candy card stock. Everything was popped up on the card front to add plenty of dimension, since she's hand-delivering this.

I promise, my next offering will be a different color combo. I had leftovers that were waiting to be used up on my desk, but I promise, something different is coming! And NO Rosie Posie. I think I'm in a Rosie Posie rut... No more! Thanks for putting up with my color rut! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI- Rosie Posie, Chevron, Pretty Peonies (frame); Market Street Stamps Doily; Avery Elle Lots of Love
Dies: Rosie Posie (PTI), Spellbinders Matting Basics
Card stock: PTI White; Avery Elle Fog, Sea Glass; MFT Cotton Candy
Ink: PTI-Fresh Snow, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist

Double Dipping...

Hi again!

I'm double dipping for two different challenges: the PTI Anniversary Day 2 challenge and the CARDS Blog inspiration sketch challenge.

The PTI portion of the challenge came from this freebie download:

The CARDS portion of the challenge looked like this:

Here was my take on both:

I love that Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse combination. In order to remain in keeping with the square CARDS inspiration sketch, I made a 4x4 card. I did some heat embossing on the Spellbinders Labels 1  die cut, put the printed graphic on a die cut doily, pop dotted the whole thing, and voila! Not a ton of stamping, but that's okay sometimes.

Thanks for checking out the fruits of my craft nook!

Supplies:
Card Stock: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate, White
Stamps: PTI Vintage Labels
Ink: Versamark, PTI Fresh Snow
Dies: Spellbinders Labels 1, Lifestyle Crafts doily die
Miscellaneous: Zing! Embossing Powder in teal, freebie PTI graphic

And so it begins...

The Papertrey Ink 6th anniversary festivities have begun!

For the first challenge, we were asked to choose a project from amongst the favorites of the DT. I chose to work from one of Dawn McVey's cards.

I decided to use the middle project on the left side. Something about the layout really appealed to me. I needed to make a valentine for my mom, and this is what I came up with:

I used Turning a New Leaf instead of Harvest Berries (since I don't own that one), Rosie Posie instead of Natural Beauties (because you can never have too much Rosie Posie), and the hexagon border from Rosie Posie instead of the polka dots. I'm sure you're getting sick of my aqua/pink/white color scheme by now, but I'm definitely not. I used Avery Elle Sea Glass CS for the base and MFT Cotton Candy CS for the pink accents. The Sea Glass is a really pretty shade of pale, pale aqua. It's got a bit more blue in it than Aqua Mist, and it's a bit paler. I really love it!! The Cotton Candy is a medium pink, in between Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz. I've been exploring other avenues for CS to try to fill some holes in my PTI color spectrum, and I'm really pleased with everything I've gotten for the most part.

The valentine stamps are from Avery Elle's Lots of Love set. I thought it was whimsical and fun, plus it has a few sentiments on it that are just perfect for my cute hubby!! I can't wait to make his valentine, but I won't be able to show it till after Vday, since he reads my blog. :) The little heart trio was so cute that I just had to include it on the card, so I thought of it as little sprays of berries amongst a bouquet of garden roses, and the fact that they are hearts ties in that pesky "Valentine's Day" theme.

Thanks for checking out my project!!! I'd love it if you decided to become a follower. :)

Supplies:
Card Stock: PTI White, Avery Elle Sea Glass, MFT Cotton Candy
Ink: Ocean Tides, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist
Stamps: PTI Rosie Posie, Turning a New Leaf; Avery Elle Lots of Love
Dies: PTI Rosie Posie, Spellbinders Matting Basics, Lifestyle Crafts lacy border
Miscellaneous: Copics for shading