Birthday Wishes

Good morning!!  Well, it's Monday, but it's a short, fun week and there's no staff meeting tonight :)  I had a lovely day in the studio yesterday...making cards for a few new challenges I've been following.  This card is for the Card Positioning Systems sketch this week.  I enjoy their sketches and they offer prizes too!!  As I've mentioned before, the draw is random so everyone has the chance to win :)  I {heart} that.  I don't make too many long cards like this, but it was fun.  I've had this Amy Butler paper in the back of my mind for awhile and thought the larger canvas could handle it.  I dug through my scraps bag and pulled out some yummy berry sorbet bitty boxes dp :)  That led me to the guava strip and the only colour (IMHO) of ribbon that looked perfect with this was Raspberry Fizz :)  Two little bits of bling for a bit of sparkle and there we are :)  I took a bit of liberty with the sketch...moving the ribbon over to the other side...or maybe I just flipped the sketch...yeah, that's what I did....hehe. I hope the week is starting out well for you...perhaps I should make a few Easter cards this week and give those Verve Easter stamps some love :)  Thanks for visiting :)

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Big Wish

Ink: versafine onyx

Paper: PTI cream, melon berry, bitty box dp, Amy Butler dp

Accessories: fiskars border punch, gemstones, PTI ribbon

Enjoy Your Day

Good morning, everyone. Wow, blogland seems very quiet this weekend.  Have you noticed that?  Today's card is for the new Embellish Colour Challenge.  The requirement this time is stitching.  I love the colours this time...ones very familiar to me :)  The flower is crimped and then inked with hibiscus burst.  That's about it for today...it's been a quiet, restful weekend.  Enjoy your day :)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve Big Wish, SU French script
Ink: versafine sepia, versamark, PTI hibiscus burst
Paper: PTI kraft, cream, pretty pastel dp
Accessories: crimper, stitching, SU birds and bloom die, PTI button and ribbon, gemstones

To Love and Be Loved

Good morning!!! It's FRIDAY!!!!!! The end of my work week and the Viva La Verve challenge day:) I've so enjoyed my stint as "Guest Sketch Diva." Thanks so much to Amber and all the divas for all their lovely comments. I'm a work in progress ;) I was so excited when Amber said we could look for our own inspiration photo. I love googling images!! I had about 5 photos saved when I had to stop myself. I decided to use this one as I love the pink, yellow, and gray colour combo. The fabric on the chairs reminded me of one of my favourite papers from last summer. I was so sad I had only bought one piece of it until I found it again in a paper pad at Michaels (no less!!). And I'm still using my new Verve...can't put it down... my blue binder that stores all my Verve stamps has been open on the studio floor for 2 weeks straight!! LOL The sentiment panel was a bit plain and I thought of every possible embellishment or stamp that could fill up the white space around the sun. I finally settled on some pink floss. I kind of like it :) I know you will have fun with this one...all I did to search for photos was Google, "kitchens," and then click on images. I even narrowed my search to "retro kitchens," "shabby chic kitchens," "modern kitchens," "colourful kitchens," etc, etc. If you don't want to do that, you can even be inspired by your own kitchen, or elements in your kitchen!! Maybe an appliance!!! Now that I think about it, I could've used my pink Kitchenaid mixer!!! Hehe!!! Can't wait to see what you find. Have a fabulous Friday (is there any other kind? lol)

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve feel the sun
Ink: Versafine onyx
Paper: PTI cream, SU gray, mustard, cosmo cricket dp, basic grey dp, DCWV dp
Accessories: cuttlebug ef, pearls, satin ribbon, PTI button, floss, SU curly label punch

Buttons, Buttons, and more Buttons

Good afternoon! Welcome to my entry for the Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop. Last year after I registered my new blog...I hoped I hadn't been too crazy to use 2 embellishments that would soon go out of style. I loved the way both words rolled off my tongue. So you can imagine my delight when PTI started carrying "buttons," and then months later, "bling." Okay...I should be safe for a few years anyways :) This month's requirement was to use, of course, buttons. LOVE this!!! My first card uses my first PTI stamp set, Spiral Bouquet. I love looking at my stamps now and seeing where I can fit in buttons with them. You don't just need the Button Bits sets.

This second card uses buttons in one of my favourite ways. I came up with this idea last Fall, with this card for Dawn's colour challenge. It even got into her Spotlight that week :) I loved making it so much, I made two others....HERE...and HERE. I couldn't believe my luck when I dug out this sheer ribbon I got on clearance at Michaels last Fall. It's orange, pink, and yellow, the perfect match for this card!! Don't those buttons look like candy? Good thing they aren't or this card would be very plain ;) LOL

For this last card, I've used buttons in 2 ways...one for the middle of the butterfly and then tiny ones for the flight path. I know there is some debate out there about leaving buttons bare or always having them dressed. I'm for both ways, depending on the card. How about you? Thanks for dropping by...can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with :) Enjoy the rest of the Hop...

What's in them?
{Thinking of You Today}

Stamps: PTI spiral bouquet, everyday classics
Ink: SU choc chip, kiwi kiss
Paper: PTI kraft, spring moss, cream, pretty pastels dp; SU teal
Accessories: PTI buttons, twill ribbon, stitching, fiskars border punch, floss

{Easter Wishes}
Stamps: PTI mega mixed messages
Ink: SU choc chip
Paper: PTI melon berry, cream, pretty pastels dp
Accessories: blossom nestatilities (wreath base), pearls, sheer ribbon, PTI buttons

{Hi There}
Stamps: PTI mega mixed messages, fancy flourishes, background basics retro
Ink: SU choc chip, veramark, PTI sweet blush
Paper: PTI kraft, cream, bitty box and pretty pastels dp; SU so saffron, choc chip
Accessories: fiskars border punch, twine, PTI buttons and ribbon, gemstones, SU butterfly die

My Heart Shall Beat

Good evening, everyone...a nighttime post as I was getting ready for the Thursday Papertrey Ink blog hop. My dh is working late so I can play in the studio for awhile with Mercy's Tuesday sketch :) I pulled out another lovely sentiment from my new Cloud 9 stamp set. It's the main reason I bought this set. It reads, "My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind thinks because of you. And I shall love because of you. Eskimo Love Song." Even though I'm using some Valentine paper, I think you could send this as a wedding or engagement card too. Or even an anniversary card!! (Maybe I'll keep it and use it in July!! LOL). The ribbon was a bit fiddley as the tails kept blocking the sentiment...so just like my mom used to trim our bangs, I kept trimming and trimming and trimming!! (I'm sure many of you can relate!!) Have a lovely evening, see you tomorrow around 2:30 for the PTI blog hop :)




What's in it?
Stamps: Cloud 9 ~ Simple Thoughts, Wedding
Ink: versafine onyx
Paper: PTI cream, SU blossom, bayou blue (I think!), cloud 9 dp, red dp (craft supply)
Accessories: stitching, satin ribbon, MS border punch, gemstones

The Joy of the Lord

Hi, blog friends...not too sure about today's card...I love the colour combo...but something is off for me. It could've been I was tired after a LONG work day yesterday along with stamping at night. My best time to stamp is daytime. My new Verve stamps just call to me all week, "Use me, use me!!" And because I love them so, I break down and oblige ;) Ripping another page from my Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, I had to read the text to make sure it was "blog appropriate!" This page was a poet's biography. The sketch is from the Card Positioning Systems. One thing I like about these challenges is that the winner is random. Anyone can win. I like that about Verve stamps as well. We are not all professional stampers. Plus we are the ones buying the products. So thank-you to all the companies who let anyone win...just my thoughts :) Have a glorious day!!! (sentiment reads: Do not sorrow, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength).




What's in it?
Stamps: Verve plain jane, PTI polka dot basics 2
Ink: PTI aquamist, versafine onyx
Paper: PTI aquamist, cream, SU really rust, Norton Anthology text paper
Accessories: fiskars punch, stitching, PTI buttons and ribbon, corner chomper, gemstones, cuttlebug ef (hard to see...swiss dots on card base)

Sunshine in the Heart

Good morning...ah, did the weekend go by too fast? I had two very peaceful days to play in the studio and sleep. When I saw Karen's card for her sketch this week, this black and white paper came to mind and then berry sorbet made its way onto the desk. Hola!! I looked through all my sentiment stamps and chose this oldie but goodie from Stampin' Up! I love this set :) The main panel had nothing on it at first...I was debating whether to leave it plain, but it looked "too" plain...so I'm trying a black blossom with a little bit of bling. I think it looks better than it did...definitely "groovy!" I had an aha moment reading Karen's post. If you make a 4.25 x 4.25 card and have the ribbon or paper coming off the sides, it will fit into an A2 envelope perfectly!! I can't believe I had never realized that!!! DUH!!! Thanks, Karen :) I may make more 4.25 square cards now!! Have a wonderful day...staff meeting tonight, but I have birthday cake as my reward when I go home (from a belated family birthday dinner).

What's in it?
Stamps: SU friend to friend, PTI blooming button bits
Ink: versafine onyx
Paper: PTI berry sorbet, white, black and white dp, SU pumpkin pie,
Accessories: circle nestabilities, PTI button and ribbon, SU linen thread, silver pearls