This is my thank you card this year. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do, and I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I thought it came out cute. I got to use my new Storybook cartridge. :-) And a Close to My Heart stamp set I purchased at the beginning of December.
Anyhoo...thanks for looking!
Supplies: Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate cardstocks; Making Memories Cosmopolitan Workweek Stripe Pink patterned paper; Hero Arts Art Flowers; Want2Scrap.com pearl; brown rickrack from Michaels; Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream hybrid ink and White Pearls Stamp N Stuff embossing powder; Scor-Pal and Scor-Bug.
It's almost happy new year for everyone! So long, 2009....hello 2010!
Today's card is for my mother-in-law's birthday, just after the first of the year. For Christmas, she gave me some of the punches I requested to make paper flowers. This is my first attempt with them. I thought it fitting that since she gave them to me, she should be the first recipient of something I made from them.
The first one was hard, but once I understood the mechanics, the second one was easier, and I'm proud of the result. Hopefully she'll appreciate this! :-) Now, to figure out how to get it to her without it getting destroyed in the mail.
Supplies: Vintage Cream and Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, Core'dinations cardstock for the flowers; Papertrey Ink Fancy Flourishes stamp; Cornish Heritage Farms Birthday Centers stamp; Adirondack Dye Ink in Lettuce; Martha Stewart border punch and butterfly punch; The Punch Bunch ovoid and sakura punches; Carl Craft sakura punch; Want2scrap.com pearls.
I made these cute little bags for my sons' teachers this year. Back around May/June, I started seeing these cute little paper backpacks popping up on a lot of blogs for end of school year gifts. I've kept the idea in the back of my mind, knowing I'd use it one of these days. Christmas seemed to be a good time to try it out.
I searched the internet for a pattern and found this one at Split Coast Stampers. Since I have a Cricut and SCAL, I decided to convert her PDF pattern to a file I could cut. After working out the design to a cuttable version, including the right sized holes so I could use my Crop-A-Dile Big Bite and its grommets, I cut seven of these.
I realized nothing would really fit in the front pocket, so it's merely decoration. The stamp on the front is from Just Rite Stampers. I bought the set before Christmas last year and just now used them. (I'm really bad about buying stuff then not using it.) The name tags were cut first and then stamped with an Inkadinkado set that also hasn't been used until this year. (See what I mean? Lol.) So, even though the names aren't even, I think it lends a little bit of character to the package. Or maybe I'm just making excuses for myself, lol.
I was told that the teachers really appreciated them. The insides held chocolates and a Target gift card.
Below is the side and back of one of the backpacks.
Yes, I know I'm posting after the fact, but as everyone knows, things get hectic just before the holidays. I was good just to get them all completed and mailed! But now I'm sharing.
I used the smaller two Nestabilities poinsettia dies for the flower. I used Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream for the flower, sentiment and card base. After die cutting the poinsettia shapes, I ran them through my Cuttlebug with the Textile folder. The centers are from Want2Scrap.com.
I also used the Labels 4 Nestabilities for the sentiment and its backing. The backing is Dark Chocolate from Papertrey Ink. The outline around the sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps' Very Vintage Labels No 4 set. The sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink Holiday Wishes set. Both are stamped in Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate. The ribbon is Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream. The inside sentiment was another from the PTI set.
The patterned paper is from a Anna Griffin Christmas Scrapbook Cardstock stack. I used probably six different designs. They came in gold and silver designs, so I had an alternate color scheme of Vintage Cream and Smokey Shadow. I used Basic Basic ribbon from Michaels in a silver color for the ribbon.
Thanks for looking, and I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday!
I don't know why, but I haven't been making cards for my close friends at work. I recently decided to start, and this is one of the first. I did a 40th birthday card for a friend earlier this year, but that was a special occasion. This is a non-milestone birthday. :-)
This friend at work likes birds and bird-watching, so I thought Papertrey Ink's Bird Watching set would be perfect. I colored the birdhouses with my Copic markers and then cut them out with my Nesties. I also got to use my brand-spanking new MS "around the page" border punch, but I didn't go around the page, lol. I'll try that at a later date, because I bought the corner one, too. Anyhoo...I hope she likes it. She's one of the ones who sees all of my cards at work before they're sent to the recipients, and she seems to enjoy them, so hopefully she'll enjoy one of her very own.
Thanks for looking!
Supplies: Kraft and Stamper's Select White cardstockfrom Papertrey ink; Pink textured paper from a Momenta Tranquil 5 x 7 cardstock pad; MS patterened paper; Bird Watching stamps from Papertrey Ink; MS border punch; Nestabilities: Circles, Labels 3, Ribbon Tag Trio; Copic markers; Offray and Basic/Basic ribbons; Memento black and Versamark inks; Kaisercraft rhinestones
A friend of mine is turning 40 in the next few weeks, so this card is for her. I can't believe all my friends/classmates are turning 40. How/when did that happen? I have until February, and it's not like 40 is bad, just weird. :-)
For this card, I got to use some new goodies, or at least new to me. A couple of weeks ago, I won some great blog candy from Ashley Cannon Newell. One of the things was a wavy paper crimper, which you'll see on the cardstock on top of the "ribbon". I also used a set of stamps from a new stamp company: Stamps of Life. The set is Back2Basics.
Thanks for looking!
Supplies: Rustic cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink and beige cardstock from Bazzill; Back2Basics stamps from Stamps of Life; Versamagic chalk ink and Versamark; A La Mode clear embossing powder; random flower from my stash, Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening buttons; Papertrey Ink cream rustic twine; Martha Stewart butterfly punch; Clinique box (lol -- hey, it was shiny); Offray Verano Tan ribbon; Marvy Uchida wavy corrugator; Kaisercraft rhinestones
I am pretty proud of myself today. The card pictured here uses several things that are new to me, whether it's the product or technique or both.
I have an admission to make. I don't like to practice at anything. I have a tendency to give up on something if I don't get it right away. It's not this way with everything, of course. Just things that don't "matter" in the grand scheme of things, like piano lessons -- I'm not going to die if I don't practice. Of course, I won't be good either, but I HATED practicing piano when I was younger.With schoolwork, "practice" -- aka homework -- is necessary, and you have to work at relationships and such. But crafty techniques...not so important. :-)
So anyway...the card... This one is for a guy at work whose parents will be celebrating their 64th anniversary this year. He had seen some of my cards at work, so he asked me to make one for his parents. When I asked him what they liked, he said his mom's favorite flower is the sunflower since she's from Kansas. I've admired Lori Tecler's use of Kitchen Sink stamps (among other things), and I was pretty sure I'd seen a sunflower a while back, so I headed over to Kitchen Sink Stamps and found the Giant Sunflower set. It seemed a simple enough process. Looks can be SOOO deceiving! :-)
I received my stamps on Thursday and sat down this morning to try it out. First problem -- I didn't have enough colors in the same families. What to do, what to do? I tried it with the colors I had -- it was close, but not close enough. Plus, I was having SUCH a hard time positioning all the layers. So I went searching for tips and found Tammy Hershberger's tutorial. I tried the Kitchen Sink tutorials, but I only "got it" after reading Tammy's tutorial. I tried another couple of times (there's the practice!) and finally got a good one! Yay! The leaves were much easier, and I think that now that I've done one well, I should be able to do it again. So lesson learned: practice can be good! Perseverance, too.
So, I also received my Waltzingmouse stamps today. I was so excited because they came all the way from Ireland and I wasn't sure how long it would take to get here. Laurie Schmidlin and Ashley Cannon Newell had both been showing off cute stuff made with Waltzingmouse stamps, so I had to get some of my own. I had already decided to use my Labels 4, but when I got my stamps today, I knew I could use my Very Vintage Labels No. 4 as well. Yay!
The other thing my friend from work was thinking was to have a sky and I started thinking of Kansas' rolling hills. Kansas is flat, but I never really knew flat until I moved to Florida, lol! Kansas is NOT flat! So I decided to give the front some rolling hills. I freehanded some curves and stitched them with my sewing machine (another first for me). Next, for the sky, I was thinking maybe I could finally make use of my Copic Airbrush System. I practiced on scrap paper, and came up with what I thought might look sort of like dusk. I hope I was successful in representing that.
Last new thing was including the butterfly charm hanging from the bow. Michaels has a bunch of stuff on clearance, and I got several cards of charms, thinking I could do exactly what I did with the butterfly.
Anyhoo...it took a while, but I'm pleased with the result. Thanks for looking and reading my rambling. This experience was great in terms of showing me exactly why practice can be so helpful. (Not that I didn't know, but it's good to be reminded every so often.) :-)
Supplies: (There are so many I hope I don't forget anything!) Paper: Rustic White, Dark Chocolate, and Lemon Tart from PTI, green from Bazzill; Dark Chocolate ink and Vintage Touch Tea Dye Duo from PTI, Versamagic chalk ink in Thatched Straw, Mango Madness (stamped off), Pumpkin Spice (stamped off), Sage, Spanish Olive, Hint of Pesto, Sahara Sand, and Jumbo Java; Labels 4 and Ribbon Tags Nestabilities, Copic Airbrush System and Copics (sorry, don't ask what colors!); Plaid Petals a Plenty charm; Rustic Cream Button Twine from PTI.
My friend Vicki at work just got married. I made this card for all of us to sign. She really appreciated the effort, and my co-workers thought it was pretty, too. :-)
Supplies: Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White and Smokey Shadow cardstock; American Crafts Wedding, Papertrey Ink Fancy Flourishes and Polka Dots 2 stamps; Versafine black ink; Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow ink; Perfect Medium; Kaleidoscope Stamp n Stuff embossing powder; Quickutz Retro Diamons embossing folder; Basic-Basic silver ribbon; Holiday Trim-It-Up silver cord; unknown buttons; Rectangle Nestabilities; EK Success embossed scallop border punch.
This one is for another nephew. Still feel for the same sister -- this nephew is EIGHTEEN! She's neck deep in college applications and planning at this point, lol. He's a talented performer, so I went with "rock star" on this one. This one was pretty quick, but hopefully still appreciated.
Thanks again for looking!
Supplies: Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White cardstock base and Star Prints stamp set; Colorbok Deluxe Textured Cardstock (aqua); Versafine black ink; Fiskars extra large star punch; unknown DP (pack from Target); Martha Stewart border punch; Versamark and A La Mode clear embossing powder (click the photo and you can hopefully see the stars in the background).
This card is for one of my nephews. He turns sixteen -- SIXTEEN! -- this year. :-) My poor sister, lol. Nothing super-special about this card, so thanks for looking!
Supplies: Kraft cardstock, white Rustic Twine, Vintage Touch Tea Dye Duo (for distressed edges) and Scarlet Jewel buttons from Papertrey Ink; Inkadinkado Birthday Fun stamp; Versamark Chalk Ink; Martha Stewart border punch; EK Success corner rounder; My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy 2 Enchanting "You and Me" So Cloase/Red Hot Paper.
Well, I can't believe my youngest turned five this past week. He's getting so big! And he had a great time at his party. I think he even appreciated this card, lol! He said, "Look at the puppy!" That's not much, but at least it got a comment, like many of the cards didn't! He, um, hasn't learned to at least pretend to look at the cards yet...just digs in for the presents, lol.
I got to use one of my new Cuttlebug folders from a set I bought from HSN. I also sort of airbrushed the color on the dog with my Copics and used a Spica pen to color the puppy's tag. The "Make a Wish" is a rub-on from Three Birds' Perfect in Platinum rub-on set that I got on clearance from HSN. The party hat is the other impulse buy from Michaels I mentioned in my last post. The "paper" across the bottom was actually from a sheet of KI Memories Sheer Delights that I got on clearance from Two Peas. (I luuuuuurv clearance!)
Supplies: Unknown dots dp, yellow and green The Paper Company cardstock, KI Memories Sheer Delights "Birthday", Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Cuttlebug (I think it's Harlequin?); Three Birds Perfect in Platinum rub-on; K&Company Layered Accents "Party Hats"; Sandylion puppy stamp from "Boy Clear Stamps" set; Colorbok orange brads; Memento ink; Copics and Copic Airbrush System; Martha Stewart zigzag rotary cutter.
I posted a card just a few weeks ago for my mom's anniversary, and this one is for my dad's anniversary. I recently received Papertrey Ink's Sign Language stamp set, and decided to use it on this card. The designs are so freaking cute, but alas, it didn't come with an anniversary sentiment. Probably too long to fit the sign, lol. Anyhoo...
It's also the first time I inked up my Polka Dots II set, and the first time I used my full-sized Vintage Cream ink pad. I was really tired of trying to get everything covered with the little cube, so I broke and bought the full size.
Thanks for looking!
Supplies: Papertrey Ink cardstock in Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides; Papertrey Ink ink in Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate; Copic Spica (flower centers are glittery); generic rhinestones; Scor-Pal; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Papertrey Ink stamps: Sign Language, Damask Designs, Polka Dot Basics II; square and square scalloped Nestabilities
It's not often that I get to do little girl cards. I have two young boys, so we tend to go to boy birthday parties and HAVE boy birthday parties and such. Our new neighbors (received the bird box way back when) have a daughter who just turned six, so I got to make a girly, blingy card! Yay! ;-)
The cupcake is from The Paper Company's Cupcakes collection. First I stamped it in Memento black and colored with Copics (just a teensy bit shaded). Then I covered it with 3D Crystal Lacquer and dusted some glitter on top. Then I stamped the cupcake again in Versamark and heat embossed in silver. Once the lacquer was dry, I cut out the cupcake part as well as the solid silver hear from the silver version, and stacked it all together. Added a rhinestone and had a cute, girly cupcake! I also used my Copics to airbrush the Labels 4 diecut. You can barely see a bit of yellow and pink behind the cupcake and sentiment (from Hero Arts). Nana's Kids papers, a Papertrey card base, and American Crafts ribbon finished it off.
It's my understanding from her mom that she really liked this card and she wants to scrapbook it. :-) Her mom is allergic to cats (I have four), so I'll be bringing my goodies next door sometime soon to help them with their scrapbook. I don't scrapbook, but there's no reason my schtuff can't be used for someone else's scrapbook, right?
Thanks for looking!
This birdhouse is based on a pattern from Nichole Heady's blog. I made an SVG out of it and made a couple of improvements. At least they're improvements for me because I couldn't figure out how to close it without closing it permanently. And then the recipient would have to ruin it to get what's inside. I'm sure there's something I missed, but I made it work for me.
I added a couple of notches in the bottom to thread the ribbon through so it would stay in place. Likewise, I cut notches at the sides of the roof to hold it in place, and I included my holes at the top in my SVG file so I could use my Crop-A-Dile gromlets and not have to cut the center out by myself.
Then I cut the house pattern and roof using SCAL and my Expression. I won't be able to share my pattern (it's not mine to share -- you can go to the blog entry to get it), but it was a PDF, so that's how I was able to make it. It didn't import to Inkscape perfectly, but it's still a shortcut to designing it myself! (Not that I'd come up with the idea.)
I used Papertrey stamps for everything: Polka Dot Basics for the polka dots on the sides and back, Faux Ribbon for the background design on the front, Wishing You for the flowers, dragonfly and sentiment, and Background Basics: Retro for the "tiles" on the roof. I used Colorbox and Versamark chalk inks, Memento (for the sentiment and dragonfly), and Versamark for the roof tiles.
I thought it came out cute! We have new neighbors, and this will be a "welcome" gift to them. I'm debating on whether to put birdseed in a baggie to enclose, or whether to do chocolates or something. Not knowing whether they have a bird feeder, I'm leaning toward the candy. :-)
Thanks for looking!
I'm a little late posting this, but I finished it up last minute and didn't get a picture of it until just a few days ago. :-) This is the card I made my son for his seventh birthday. He actually asked me to make his card this year. Isn't that sweet? He's a boy, and I really didn't think he cared, but he asked me to, so of course I'm going to!
So...the little robot guy is from a Sandylion Boys acrylic stamp set. Actually all of the picture stamps are. I colored in the little guy with Copics. The "happy birthday" sentiment is from Hot off the Press Expressions. The sentiment inside was made (I should have taken more time!) with my Just Rite rectangular stamper and my Brayton font.
I used Inkscape to create the planet terrain, including the crate
rs. I actually cut that separately with my Cricut and SCAL and used it as a mask to ink onto the planet. I poked holes around the edge and used my white gel pen to simulate stitching. The white stamps on the front are embossed with clear. And the borders inside are both from EK Success.
I think he really liked that I took the time to make it for him!
I recently purchased the Papertrey Ink set With Sympathy strictly for the graphics. I absolutely love the huge vine stamp. When I received it, I actually thought to myself, boy I hope I don't need these sentiments. I mean, we all have people in our lives who lose loved ones, but you never WANT to make a sympathy card.
Well...a friend's father passed away last week. They sort of knew it was coming, and since he was in such extreme pain, perhaps it was for the best for him to pass. This weekend I made this card for her. It was the first card I made with this set. I took it to work today and asked the rest of my team to sign it and we gave it to her. Hopefully it lets her know we care!
Supplies:
Paper: random card blank; Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream; Bazzill
Stamps: Papertrey Ink With Sympathy
Ink: Versamark, Colorbox Chalk, Memento
Tools: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Labels 4; Martha Stewart border punch; EK Success corner rounder
Embellishments: Paper borders (a freebie with my order from Cutter's Creek); toffee organza ribbon from C. O. D. Wholesale
Well I'm hoping my mom doesn't read my blog, or that she can at least follow directions (per the title). I had fun making this one, and it sort of evolved. I knew the stamp set I wanted to use. Heck, I bought the stamp set specifically for Mother's Day. I just wasn't sure how I was going to use it, and ths is the result.
Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Mother, Damask Designs
Paper: Generic card blank; The Paper Company white cardstock; Papertrey Ink Bitty Dots; Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate; Paper Wishes brown iridescent paper (sorry, not sure of collection)
Ink: Papertrey Ink Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate; Tim Holtz Distress Inks Antique Linen
Tools: EK Success corner rounder; Martha Stewart border punch; Cuttlebug; Swiss Dots embossing folder; Making Memories slot punch
Etc: Lace from clearance at Joann (sorry! it's the ones on the bolts, not on a spool); Prima flowers; pearl brad
Well, my mom always taught me it was polite to send thank you notes. Of course, she never required hand-made thank you notes, but these days, people kind of expect that from me. :-)
So, it was my son's 7th birthday celebration last weekend, and as with many seven-year-olds, he got lots of stuff. I made these thank you notes for him to give to his friends and to send out to family. Now, I just have to get him to write them. :-)
Supplies:
Stamps: Sentiment from Papertrey Ink Beyond Basic Borders; star from Sandylion Boy stamps
Paper: Various Papertrey Ink cardstocks (Perfect Match 2008 colors, Kraft, Vintage Cream); DCVW Nana's Kids striped paper
Inks: Memento, Versamagic, Cats Eye Chalk
Tools: Cuttlebug; Spellbinders labels die; Fiskars crimper; EK Success corner rounder
Etc: generic square antique silver brads
Wow, it's been a while. Things have been busy around here, with birthdays and family in town and whatnot. I've been doing some crafting; I just haven't gotten around to posting.
So here's a card I made for my really good friend. Her birthday is May 14, and I really hope she likes this one. I hope y'all do, too!
Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Life, Birthday Basics
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Kraft, The Paper Company (green), Martha Stewart Candy Shop Floral Tile
Inks: Memento
Ribbon: Papertrey Ink Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitched Ribbon (5/8 inch)
Tools: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Martha Stewart butterfly punch; EK Success corner rounder punch
Etc: Recollections adhesive backed rhinestones
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