Paper Dolls Challenge #37-Patterned Paper

As a member of the Paper Dolls blog group, I try really hard to participate in as many of our challenges as I can. Being a bit OCD, I prefer to complete each challenge in order.

When Suzanne challenged us to use patterned paper on everything except the card base, I have to admit that I panicked! I love using patterned paper on my cards, but I don't have Suzanne's talent for mixing and matching them. 

That challenge was issued 6 weeks ago! After many nights of flipping through my dozens of card magazines and visiting my favorite blogs, I was finally able to put something together.

Here it is.

I used Frutti Tutti, Bitty Box Basics, Bitty Dot Basics, and Sugar Plum. The sentiment is from the Think Big Favorites series.  I used a fine marker to add the frame.

Now, I'm ready to tackle the next challenge from Sara:  Make a Wedding or Anniversary card.

Make It Monday - Reverse Masking

I'm so glad I was able to make time to participate in this week's Make It Monday Challenge.

This week, the very talented Erin Lincoln demonstrated the Reverse Masking technique. Click here to watch her video.

I made a single layer card. I die-cut the Mat Stack 5 and used it to mask the middle of my card. I stamped Text Styles II in Smokey Shadow to create the background.

The floral image is from Four of a Kind and the sentiment is from the Think Big Favorites series.

I added some texture with the Canvas impression plate.  Here's a better look.

I had this idea in the back of my mind since Monday. I was surprised by how quickly my card came together.

Now go get crafty. I'd love to see what you can make using this technique.

Boy Birthday Card

I've been wanting to use my Boy Basics: Out of this World set since it arrived. My nephew's birthday was the perfect reason to ink it up. He turned 5 years old this year. 

The earth image is from Masculine Motifs. I used the Sunshine impression plate for the "solar system". I'm grateful for the coordinating rocket die, but I wish PTI had a die for the fire portion too. 

Here's what I did for the inside.

Thanks for looking!

My Card-Display Carousel

No card today, but I wanted to show you the floor card display that my wonderful husband got for me.

I've been looking for a wire desktop card holder for a while now. I've found several on-line, but the cost of shipping costs as much (sometimes more!) than the cost of the item itself. I refuse to pay that much on shipping.

My husband ended up getting me this one instead. 

I put all the cards that I make on it. This way, I can easily select a card that I want to use. I even display my tags on it by clipping it to one of the wires. My kids love it because it's like going to the store and picking out a card for their friends.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pretty Floral Cards

I've got a couple of cards to show you today. I made these while I was at my Scrapbook Retreat. 

I'm a member of Club SEI. I love their monthly kits. They have such amazing collections. I've accumulated a ton of kits. I've been trying to incorporate my kits into my card-making sessions.

The leaf image is from Turning a New Leaf stamp. I love the bling on this card. It really does make me smile.

For this card, I used the Fabulous Florets stamp set from Stampin' Up. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out since the stamps aren't clear, but I'm pleasantly surprised.  I used my angled label die and stamp for the sentiment.

That's it for today!

Small clear tag

I had a few scraps laying around and ended up making a clear tag. I really like how the background pattern turned out. It's from BB: Geometrics. 

Here's where I can write my message on the back. I can turn it into a tag just by punching a hole at the top.

Here it is next to a regular size card so you can get a better idea of the size.

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting!

Summer Fun

Here are a couple of fun summer cards I made using the Sunny Fun stamp set from Stampin' Up.

The images were stamped in black and colored with my Stampin' Up markers. I made the frame using the technique shown by Nichole Heady. You can see it here. 

I used my Spica pens to add some sparkle to the "swimming" card, although it's a little hard to see. I kept things very simple and let the images speak for themselves.

Paper Dolls Challenge #36

Bad, bad blogger! That's what I've been lately. I can't believe my last post was in April! I can give you a whole bunch of reasons why I haven't blogged, but they would just be excuses. But, I'm baaaaack!

I'm trying to catch up with the Paper Dolls Challenges. This card is for Jen's wonderful inspiration challenge. She asked us to create a project using this photo as inspiration.

I pulled the colors and made this simple card. I used the Button Boutique die and stamp to make the coaster buttons. The felt flowers were cut with one of the Beautiful Blooms dies.  This was the first time I ever used the Framed stamp. I still need some practice, but I like the look.

Thanks for visiting. The Papertrey Paper Dolls blog still has several open challenges. Hope you find some time to play along.