A Fabulous Couch Day

Good morning everyone!! I've really been looking forward to sharing today's post with you. I'm simply thrilled to have been invited to be a Guest Designer for a new challenge blog, The Shabby Tea Room.

Each week, the inspiration challenges have been truly luscious! And apparently everyone agrees because the challenges have been loaded with beautiful submissions!

This week, we were sent this beautiful photo, which I've been drooling over. I wish I could go so girly and light in my household, but being the mother of two boys, I'm totally outnumbered!

Immediately, I knew that my Girls Paperie paper was just right for the job, lots of quiltling on the paper, and so many gorgeous patterns.

Here's how my thought process went on this one....

Looks so cozy, makes me feel all snuggly. Like sitting with a cozy book (or sigh... an ipad...) on the sofa, with a warm cup of tea. And I reached for On My Couch, illustrated by my sweet friend Lisa Johnson. Since I was feeling bookish, I added a circular matting repeatedly stamped and then sponged with Text Style II, and I finished it off with a quick sentiment from Signature Greetings.

Cozy accents include some "crazy stitching" around the top half of the panel, a combination of vintage trim, twill tape, and jute twine. Its so rude to say, but I love this little card! *giggle*

I do SO hope that you'll pop on over to the Shabby Tea Room today to see what all the girls on the team came up with, and that you'll add your inspired creation to the challenge as well!

Thanks SO much for stopping by today. Me, I'm off to go see about that cup of tea.

A (...off kilter...) Sweet Sunday Sketch

I know that there were some raised eyebrows on the Sweet Sunday Sketch team this week about this main panel being on a kilter, but really, this one is so right up my alley. I'm all about the off kilter! Wahoo!!

Over the last few days, I've been organizing, and cleaning my stamp room, and decided that there are so many beloved stamp sets that could really use a good inking.

Personally, I'm convinced that Signature Greetings can be added to just about any stamp set, but Life (designed by my sweet friend Lisa Johnson) was feeling a bit neglected. So it got to come out to play. I love the quiet serenity of all these mossy greens, right?

You'll notice that the atterned paper is, once again, My Minds Eye Quite Contrary. Hope you're not tired of it yet, because I am still lovin' it!

I added a bit of twill tape, and finished off the card with a strip of apron lace (no surprise..) as well as my Vintage Touch - tea dye ink.

Be sure to stop by Karen's blog to see her sample, because if I know one thing, its is that it will be gorgeous! And then you'll find samples from the girls on the team:

Jennifer Tapler
Karen Motz
Laura Frederickson
Lynn Put
Nancy Riley {she's off this week, but she'd love for you to visit}
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick

And of course, you'll want to link up your creation by Thursday night at 10pm for your chance to have your card shared on her blog next week!

Best Yet....

I'm loving letting my cards get a little bit more on the scrappy side lately. This is an eclectic little mix of papers from my stash...and I had such fun making it. I love this as a birthday sentiment, especially for *some people* who don't care to celebrate the most momentous occasion of their birth.

You'll find a bit of My Minds Eye Oh La, La as well a wee bit of my new My Minds Eye Quite Contrary, and that green floral scrap from My Minds Eye Bloom and Grow. Of course, with a healthy serving of kraft paper.

This sentiment is part of Signature Greetings from Paper Trey Ink, and I must say, it is a great all around set. I'm so glad I took the two extra seconds to stamp this with Brilliance ink and heat set it. I love the finished look with that bit of raised detail.

I created a little handmade, rolled paper flower embellie, and added an MFT Glittered Garnish to the center of it.

This is smaller than my usual sized cards, a 4 1/4 square. But I'm loving little rounded focal panels lately, for anyone that hasn't noticed yet. *giggle*

Here's a quick little tip.....I used an oval punch to cut a tiny notch into the top of my circle, to allow my bow to slide down right into place. Allows my bow to overlap the top of the circular panel.

So Grateful!

Hello everyone!! I'm pleased to say that I survived our ski vacation and it was fantastic! The boys did GREAT, and guess what, I wasn't even the worst skiier on the mountain this time!

I was so excited when I remembered that I snapped a few photos of a set of cards I made for my aunt before I headed out skiing last week.

I am pretty sure I'll be sharing another card from the set within the next few days this week as I work on my sample for this week's blogaversary challenge, get my previews for the upcoming release for MFT, and get my life back in order after a weeks vacation!

I simply must say, that truly I am so grateful for all of you that stop by to leave a little love each day!

This card uses the Signature Greetings and Damask Designs from Paper Trey Ink. I Stamped, crumpled and stitched the damask panel and then used what I call the "drunk stitch" on the polka dotted panel.

Now, don't forget, that the first of my Three Blogaversary Challenges is open until Wednesday night. Get paper piecing!

And, this week's challenge for Stamping Bella is to get inspired by the Olympics and create either a winter, or winter sports themed card for Friday! Entries are due to Emily by Thursday at five pm! Find all the details HERE

Soft and Subtle Life

I'm usually a morning poster, but we're just back from a whirlwind weekend with the boys in NYC. It was outstanding, but we were go go go all weekend.

I'm now off to a doctors appointment, picking up our weekly crop share at the local farm, and then headed to Whole Foods to restock the fridge. I love weekends away, but I certainly pay the price come Monday when its laundry, food shopping and all the household things that went untended while we were away.

This is a card that I made for a family friend, she sends out many note cards and wanted to have a nice stash of them on hand.

This uses Life from Paper Trey Ink, designed by my very sweet and oh so talented friend Lisa Johnson. I recently saw several sheets of this Scenic Route Sonoma paper at my LSS and picked up what I believe was the last of it. The colors are SO me!

Hope you have a wonderful day, now, I'm off and running!

All You Need is Love

I had some time to kill the other night and got to just sit and play with a new stamp set from Paper Trey Ink called "lOve sOngs."  This sweet set was designed by my friend Lisa Johnson  you may recall just how much I adore her stamp set "Remember." 

Its been really fun working with this set.... I find myself singing all the words to the various songs as I'm working.  Personally, I happen to love Stevie Wonder and James Taylor and lyrics from both of those madly talented artists are included.  My husband, well, he is a ginormous Beatles Fan.  So, I couldn't help but use the sentiment "all you need is love. love is all you need." 

I love that the sentiment fits precisely within my nestie circle - that girl's so smart!!  I stamped a little heart from the set with my Berry Sorbet ink pad and trimmed it out for the center of the sentiment.

This fun little strip of x's and o's reminds me of ribbon!  How cute is that?  I stamped it with the help of my Rock-a-Blocks.  I must say, if you don't have any, they're worth a closer look.  I love them for my larger stamps in particular... gives you a nice even impression - let me just say I've got some blocks that maybe aren't perfectly straight and leave gaps in my images... but the Rock a Blocks took care of that issue! The gridlines also make it easy to make sure your sentiments are nice and straight! The only issue I had to overcome was being careful not to ink the rails that you "rock" on by accident when inking up my image. 

That little "paper diet" of mine came into play tonight, I used Blush Blossom and Berry Sorbet and then I remembered the Perfect Match Pink Patterns paper I had stashed in a box.  The only thing I wish I had was a little bit of that Perfect Match Ribbon, but alas I've used it all up.  Drats. 

Had a big old family dance party in my kitchen last night, my boys share my love for Stevie Wonder and I crack up watching them dance around!  This morning I'm enjoying a little Stevie with my coffee and thinking of all the cute things I can make with this stamp set.  Looking forward to a little more time to play with 'lOve sOngs!"

Snowmen with Shimmerz on a Snowy Snowy Day!

I've always loved Alli Miles work, and I've long been a favorite of the clean and simple cards that she makes from time to time using Nesties strictly for embossing.  You can see a recent example of what I mean on this post.  

So here I am, shamelessly emulating one of my Design Idols, and former Design Team buddies!  ((hugs Alli!))

This sweet little snowman is "Made of Snow" from Paper Trey Ink.  I adore that you can totally customize your snowman.  There are choices of scarves, choices of hats, and then various heads, bodies, faces etc so that you can completely design it however you'd like.  And, of course, since they are clear acrylic you get perfect placement every time.

I colored in the snowman's accessories with my B00 and B52 Copic markers, and added a shadow with my W1 marker.  Using my craft knife, I created an opening just large enough to thread through some of my striped Baja Breeze grosgrain ribbon from Stampin Up and then secured a bow.  I finished off the inside of the card with some scraps of Ski Slope designer paper.  I loved the sweet sentiment, but since I'd gone with a 4 1/4 square card, it was just too long for my design. So instead, I stamped it onto the envelopes - equally cute.  

I thought about using my B000 copic marker to color in a background for this sweet man of snow, but then had a true a-ha moment. Shimmerz!! I grabbed an aquapainter and I added a glistening coat of shine all over my Frosty's.  I just love that stuff, its mess free, quick drying and was just the right touch!  I'm frequently lugging my supplies upstairs to work where my hubster is watching TV, so being able to work without making a big old mess is ideal for me.  He's always laughing at me coating myself in glitter! 

Liquid applique was used to give some "puff" to the pom pom, hat brim and all the polka dots on the scarf.  I love that stuff, so fun!

We had a big road trip to celebrate Christmas with my in laws today, but a big snow in the northeast has precluded the trip.  Its so beautiful outside right now... and I love being all nestled up with a hot chocolate, and of course some stamps too!

Have a wonderful day!

My Favorite....

Here's the full card that I gave you only a teeny sneak of yesterday, this was my favorite card I created for the December Splitcoast Dirty Dozen gallery, which is now open! 

Each month a rotating team of twelve designers load six to eight creations each based on a specific theme to a hidden gallery.  Usually this gallery is  only available to those members who have subscribed as members of the Fan Club.  However, as a special treat, this month, the gallery is open to all registered members of Splitcoast Stampers.

If you'd like to see what the twelve of us have been up to for the last few weeks, you can see everything here. You'll also be able to congratulate the two newest members of the team!  Hooray to my friends Amber and Dawn. 

Each month, guests are invited to participate in our challenges, and upload their creations too!  I'd love to see what you can create based on this month's theme, sketch and inspiration piece!  

If you like what you find in the December gallery, I hope you'd consider signing on as a Fan Club member. This week only, the price has been reduced to $19.95 for a one year subscription.  You'll have access to prior galleries, instant upload privileges and most of all, you'd be helping to support the greatest stamping community ever!  You can learn more and sign up here!

Sonoma Poppies

I hope you're not tired of this stamp set yet, because I'm still LOVING any excuse to put it to good use.

This is the Scenic Route Sonoma line of paper along with Paper Trey Ink's "Remember" stamp set.  This time, I stamped with Blush Blossom and Berry Sorbet and finished the card off with Spring Moss cardstock and Stampin Up's Very Vanilla ribbon.

I'm nearly out of hemp twine. EEKS.  I'm totally addicted to it.

I quickly put together a set of three of these for a recent card order.  Love using the stash.  Now only a billion sheets of other paper left to go.  

Pretty Thanks.....

My aunt placed an order for several boxes of cards.  I filled out the last of the order with three of these thank you notes which I pulled together in record time as I kept the design straightforward.

There are still lots of extras, and many layers... but I didn't get fancy with stitching or complicated layers.  But, in the end, I like the combination of all the little details, and come on, who can't use a pretty thank you note now and again.

This paper is Scenic Route, and I remember drooling over this collection this summer at CHA.  In fact, as soon as I heard Right at Home had it in, I asked Lisa to please save me a package of it.  I drooled over it some more here at home, and finally was brave enough to cut in and use it.  I'm glad I did, but now sad that these beauties will get packed up and sent off.  I hope that they make the final recipient smile when they come out of an envelope at some point.  

For me, I guess that's the best part of this craft... when the card actually reaches its destination.  

Have a wonderful day and a great weekend!!

Edited to add:  Scenic Route Paper is from the Sonoma Line. YUM!  Check out this collection here. 

Double the Love

Oh how I love to make baby cards.  Really, when someone calls to say that they need a baby card, I quite literally move all other projects aside and get to play.

Imagine my excitement when my mom called the other day saying she needed a card for twin boys!  EEEKS!  

I had this sweet set from Paper Trey Ink out and handy for another little project of mine, but for the boys I wanted to use that adorable little baby head...twice!

I stamped the carriage once to the cardstock, then again to Stampin Up bashful blue patterns paper, then one more time to Bashful Blue cardstock and pieced the carriage together.

The little baby heads were stamped directly to the paper, and then stamped colored and popped up on dimensionals.  Lots of blue to celebrate the safe arrival of the twins.  The card was finished off with striped grosgrain ribbon, and the sweet sentiment "double the love" on a Cuttlebug Tiny tag die tied on with a bit of linen thread.

What is YOUR favorite type of card to make?

Attempting to Sketch Poppies

If the layout here looks familiar, its because I "tried" Jen's Sketch for You To Try from two weeks ago.  I say I tried it because I really deviated from the sketch, as in I skipped an entire panel, but I just couldn't get it to work.

That being said, this is still very largely inspired by Jen's sketch.  That, and um, my total love for this set "Remember" which was illustrated by Lisa Johnson for Paper Trey Ink.

I've been on a tear mass producing again, but every once and a while, I need a little break from the repetition of mass production and treat myself to a little sketch work, or a a color challenge or something to just keep myself fresh, its a treat to just "play" a little.

Color combination here is Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss and Kraft paper. It seems no matter how you mix up those Paper Trey colors, they just always look good!

Okay, back to work!!

Out on a Manly Limb

I've been having such fun playing with my Top Note die from Stampin Up.  I love that I can cut several dies all at once to streamline my mass production - I was easily able to run through five pieces of cardstock at once.  In fact, I had a nice sized card order that I cranked out in record time thanks to that little baby!!

I also love that it creates a nice focal point large enough for me to include both my main image and my sentiment too.  This time, I put it to work to create a card for my father for his birthday.

The background was created with my Houndstooth Backgrounder from Cornish Heritage farm, 

inked up with Adirondack ink in Hazelnut and then stamped on Close to Cocoa cardstock.  The stamp set, of course, is Paper Trey Ink's "Out on a Limb" which I think by now you know I totally adore!!  However, I was able to find a place to include this lovely quote as well.  Finished off with two manly buttons from my stash.

Gotta love my dad, he said it was a $40 card.  I think that means he liked it??  I won't even give thought to tallying how much the various supplies cost... but I will say that I've certainly got my money's worth out of this set.  I use it all the time.  Um, you've probably already noticed that huh?

Poppy-liscious

I shared a few Paper Trey cards for my grandmother's card pack yesterday, this filled out the balance of the order.  

Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet and Spring Moss make for just a very sweet color combination.  And, these Poppies from Lisa Johnson's Remember Set are just so fun to play with.  I made six of these cards, in only about a half hour's time.  Once you get the design down, the process to repeat it is pretty quick.  For this card, I stamped the solid image in Sweet Blush, then added the outline with Berry Sorbet and the seeds with Black ink.  The stems and leaves are all Spring Moss.  The designer paper is from the Pink Patterns Collection. 

Since the stamps are clear acrylic, you can of course easily bend those stems however you need. Both a long, and a short stem are included, so added length with the short stem where needed.

This is a little card pack I'll be sad to see handed onto its destination. The colors are so cheery and bright they've made me happy every time I catch a glance of them all ready to be passed off to their new owner!

Have a great day everyone! 

Going Out on a Limb

EEKS! Last night was the Paper Trey Ink release party for the fantastic new sets.  I own Boards and Beams and I fell hard for the accompanying set Home for the Holidays after I saw this beauty from Debbie.  Sine hubby was out late coming home from guys weekend in NYC, I chatted with the girls on line for a while, and then nearly fell off my chair when my friend Julie pointed out that I won for one of the categories of the Guest Star Stamper!!!  

I still can't believe it.  When my husband finally arrived home,  I was so excited about it, and had to tell someone.  He of course, well, didn't get it.  

So, I'll just tell all of you instead! Giggle.  Congratulations to the other winners, and honorable mentions too (Including my pals Kirsten and Charmaine!) So many fantastic projects in those galleries!  Hey, amazing stamps make it easy eh? 

Out on a Limb from Paper Trey is such a versatile and clean set.  I adore the simplicity of it, and I also love anything that you can freshen up with new colors for all year use.  I made lots of pink cherry blossom cards with this just after I purchased it this spring.  

This set is also ideal for my mass production projects-- assuming I can convince myself to keep the layouts pretty clean. 

This is the Paper Trey Pure Poppy cardstock and ribbon, matched with Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate ink and my Copic markers for the leaves. 

I embossed only the bottom half of my kraft cardstock with the swiss dots embossing folder and my Cuttlebug.   

To mix it up again, using all the same supplies and layout, I did another version that becomes a little more Christmas-y by using the Red Holly Berries instead.

These were both made for my Grandmother who is one of my best card clients. Every time I see her I get a big hug followed by "So, when can I get some more cards!"  I hope she likes them!

Remembering.....

I really, really tried to be good with this past month's release from Paper Trey Ink.  And I was doing okay, that is, till Lisa Johnson's "Remember" set was previewed.  

I tried, really I did.  But, as you can see, it didn't work.  All of the samples were just over the top (um, as usual) and this one was calling my name, and I don't mean quietly.

 I tried a technique I've seen before, but never tried on my own.  I took that kraft paper and totally crumpled it... several times, then flattened it out.  It took on the look of suede or leather... but the edges were all wonky and sticking out everywhere. So I stitched it all the way around, and then with my handy edge distresser, I roughed up all the edges.

The blooms were stamped directly to the paper, then colored. Then I stamped them all again, colored and trimmed them. Finally stamped, colored and trimmed the smaller bloom to add even more dimension.  

This was SO fun to work with.  I look forward to trying even more bloom combinations, this set has just SO many elements.  And the red paper and ribbon, yum - to die for!  

This card is headed home with my dayare client turned great friend and fellow sickly addicted stamper.  I can't even begin to imagine that the mom and her two little ones won't be tromping in with stories of the weekend on Monday morning.... just can't go there yet.

A Very Special Day

Yesterday was my husband and I celebrated eight years of marriage. Some days its hard to believe eight years have gone by so quickly, other days, it is hard to remember what life was like before we met.

He's truly a great guy.  A wonderful father and my very best friend. This past weekend, he played the role of handy man extraordinare to my younger sister and her husband who just moved a few miles from us.  This week he's the shuttle bus for my older son for a half day camp.  He's got boundless energy and works SO hard to give us all the nice little extras in life.  He's been so supportive of my desire to stay home with the boys, despite a huge sacrifice in income for the family.  

I've got to give him props, he's finally realized how important this stamping thing is to me... and has come full circle in his support for it. Did I tell you, he even stamped my mother's day card? 

Yes, this is a pretty nontraditional card for an anniversary, but I wanted something masculine and not so drippy lovey.  (Guys aren't into that stuff.)

When he opened this card last night, he said "Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Then he marveled at the bow, and asked me if I had that sentiment specially commissioned because he really thought it was pretty cool.  I said that no, I didn't have that stamp set written, but that as soon as I saw it from Paper Trey Ink, I added it to my collection.

Last night we celebrated with our kids.  I got all dolled up for dinner (versus my usual capri pants and a polo shirt) opened a bottle of champagne and the boys got to toast along with us with some soda.  The boys thought it was the greatest thing ever. 

Instead of actual presents for our anniversary, we like spending a day together doing something fun.  This year its brunch followed by couples massages, a facial for him, and a pedicure for me.  Two years ago it was horseback riding lessons!  Its a great way to celebrate another year of marriage and really enjoy some time alone.  

He'd like our next adventure to be something like sky diving - eeks - that's SO not me.  But whatever our next adventure will be, I'm just glad we'll be together.

Sewn on a Limb

I picked up Paper Trey Ink's Out on a Limb expressly for "man cards." However, till now I've only used it for flowery cards. This time, I put it to the use I had originally intended for my little brother's birthday which was earlier this month.

Want to know something funny? I didn't sew this card for the asthetics of it. I sewed it because I was OUT of adhesive. So I HAD to sew it! Giggle.

This card is a 4.25 inch square card of kraft cardstock with Close to Cocoa sewn on top. The front panel is Always Artichoke with a Very Vanilla panel up top.

I need to just pick up a full spool of this striped chocolate May Arts ribbon because I keep buying it a few yards at a time, and then I'm ticked when I run out again. Its a wonderful color and so easy to make a nice little knot. I fully believe you can use ribbon on a guy card, if its the right ribbon.

Happy Stampin!

Sketch Challenge Addiction

I read on the Gina K Member Company forum that Gina was the host of this weeks CPS Sketch of the week so I bopped on over to check it out, and what a FUN sketch. Yes, I'm addicted to card sketches, its such a quick jump on a project. And, I love seeing how everyone can look at the same diagram in so many versatile ways!

If you pop over there, you'll see that all the CPS designers are working with the current "Free with 3" set titled Spring Blooms. They have so many great examples.

Once I saw the sketch, I knew it had to be on my to do list for the week. The only question was which of my many Gina K sets would I use. I chose Heartfelt Hits for the job and found some blush blossom cardstock on my desk.

See, its a good thing I keep a messy desk, project ideas are right at my fingertips, literally. LOL!



This stamp is SO easy to work with, all you've got to do is select a dress color, fill in her hair, their faces and voila! I colored with my Copic Markers and then used Jen's tip of swooshing around your sakura stardust pen with an aquapainter for a quick and mess free soft glitter effect on the dress.

Yes, the buttons again. The sketch called for something, and yes, I'm on a button craze lately, that Making Memories collection I purchased is just chock full of them and I'm getting used to things maybe not matching all the time.

The sentiment is from Paper Trey Ink's Mixed Messages set. A true go to for me. My little guy was climbing all over me as I was trying to tuck the sentiment on an already finished card (always a dicey choice.... leave it alone or risk ruining it.) but the sentiment was just the right size, I held my breath, wished for the best and phew, I didn't blow it! Phew.

Its raining and cold today. I was going to head to my LSS to stock up on some paper for an upcoming DT project, but I'm going to be brave, and for a change work with all existing materials for the project. It really is quite obscene how much paper I already own, so I'm sure I can come up with something for the job using what I've got. Right??

Bright Branches

I was so happy when Nichole showed us the latest color choices in her Perfect Match line, Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet. This is the Sweet Blush, I've got some cards with Berry Sorbet next week.

I'm really a pink girl at heart, and Out on a Limb really just was crying out for cherry blossoms and coordinated designer paper. I did get a good work around with my chalk ink and my groovy guava - but I like these colors even better.

Honestly, I just LOVE this stamp set!

Hope I'm not boring you with this, as I've shown very similar cards in the past with this set, but I think these colors are just so fresh and clean, and besides, keeping the design simple and clean makes it ultra handy for mass production for my card clients, and I've got a few orders to fulfill.

I just asked my five year old what he thinks of this card and he said "its very pretty." Aw, he's smart, knows how to butter me up for a snack and he wants to head over to youtube to see what we can find in the way of star wars videos made with lego pieces!

Have a great day everyone!