Papertrey Ink Design Team Favorites Challenge

February is my favorite month for two reasons: 1) it's my birth month and 2) Papertrey Ink's Anniversary Celebration!

I'm so glad that all the members from the 2012 Design Team will remain as Design Team members for this year. One of the challenges this week is to create a card using one of the Design Team's favorite projects for inspiration.

I had a few minutes to spare today so I decided to make a card using Maile's Quilled Elegance set. This set was not on my list initially. I added it to my cart at the last minute because something "made me do it".  I'm so glad I did. It's a beautiful set.

Here's my card:

I like how Maile uses geometric designs and color to create simple, but eye-catching cards.  I used Copics to color the design and used Dawn's free printable image for the sentiment.  I must admit that it took longer than I expected to color the design and my hand started cramping, but I'm happy with the result.

I hope you're enjoying the celebration as much as I am!

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Yes, I know it's been a loooong time since my last post for which I am sorry.  There's just not enough minutes in a day to do all the things that need to be done.

Surprisingly, I found a few minutes to make a card for this month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. 

This month's challenge is to create a card with a black background.

My card is simple and didn't take long to make.  I die-cut the negative image of my Happy Hydrangea die out of the black card stock and adhered it to a white card stock base.  I then stamped the hydrangea onto the white base. The sentiment was heat embossed in white. Last, I added a die-cut bow and some bling.

Here's a close-up.

Thanks for taking a look. 

Stamp-A-Faire Meet and Greet

Hi, everyone!  Michelle (abzzymom) here! I'm going to be spending Stamp-A-Faire alone in my craft room. I wish I could have gotten together with some crafty friends, but my schedule wouldn't allow it. So, I'm going to try to find some spare time here and there to play along with the challenges and enjoy this event.

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Nichole Heady and the Papertrey Ink team for all the work they've done to put this event together. I'm looking forward to the challenges and tutorials as well as seeing everyone's amazing projects. I'm sure I'm going to find lots of inspiration to get my mojo started.

Have fun, everybody!

Joyce's Surprise Birthday Blog Hop

A very happy birthday to my fellow Paper Doll, Joyce! I wish Joyce a weekend full of fun and surprises, starting with this blog hop in her honor.

This is what I made for Joyce's Birthday Blog Hop.

Trendy Tree Tops and Tweet Talk go so well together.

Your next stop is Kara. In case you missed any of the other blogs, I've included a list below. 

Kim

Renee

Cathy

Michelle - (That's me!)

Kara

Gayatri

Tracey

Marybeth

Kristin

Jessica

Christy

Sharron

Jeanne

Susan

All supplies used are from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise specified.

Stamps: Trendy Tree Tops, Tweet Talk

Paper: Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse Gingam Paper, Harvest Gold, Berry Sorbet, Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet

Embellishments:  rhinestones

Tools:  Trendy Tree Tops die, Tweet Talk dies, Cloud dies, swirls embossing folder, heart border die, In The Meadow die

Strawberries

I'm playing along with the Paper Dolls Challenge: Fruit and a Sketch and the current Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. This has become my favorite site for card layouts.

My card is based on this sketch.

Here's my card.

I used paper from the Doodlebug Designs Sweet Cupcakes collection. The background was made using Strawberry Patch. I've had the Friendship Jar Summer Fillers set for months. I'm so glad I've finally got a chance to use it.

I had so much fun making this card, I decided to make another.

I kept the background simple for this one. 

Thanks for visiting!

Thank You Berry Much Card-

All supplies used are from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise specified.

Stamps: Friendship Jar Summer Fillers, Strawberry Patch, Little Labels

Paper: Sweet Cupcakes (Doodlebug Design), Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse

Ink: Smokey Shadow, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse, Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copics

Embellishments:  pearls, twine

Tools:  Friendship Jar dies, Little Labels die

You Are So Sweet Card-

All supplies used are from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise specified.

Stamps: Strawberry Patch and Sentiments

Paper: Sweet Cupcakes (Doodlebug Design), Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy

Ink: Smokey Shadow, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Embellishments:  pearls

Tools:  Strawberry Patch dies, Oval Doily die (My Favorite Things)

Happy Birthday, Kim!

A very happy birthday to my fellow Paper Doll, Kim!

Kim, I hope you have a wonderful day full of fun, laughter and surprises!  This is the card I made for Kim's special Birthday Blog Hop.

And, a close-up of the pretty rose and bling.

Thanks for joining us in celebrating Kim's birthday.  Here's a list of Kim's friends who are wishing her a special day on their blogs:

Joyce

Jeanne

Jessica

Kara

Katie

Laurie W.

Lee Anne

Marybeth

Michelle - That's me!

Renee

Sharron

Cathy

Paper Dolls Challenge #46: Spring Bling

Our Paper Dolls blog is up and running again.  Renee and Suzanne have posted our first challenge of the year. Come visit the Paper Dolls blog and play along for a chance to win some prizes. You can use supplies and products from any company. We have some new members in our group so be sure to check out their blogs on the sidebar.

This month's challenge is titled "Spring Bling".  Here's what I came up with.

The Rosie Posie set and heart border die have quickly joined my list of favorites.  They really add to a card.

The bling on the hearts seem like the perfect finishing touch.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you play along.

All supplies used are from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise specified.

Stamps: Rosie Posie, Background Basics:  Houndstooth, Frienship Jar (label)

Paper: Stampers Select White, Kraft, Hawaiian Shores, Harvest Moon

Ink: Versamark, Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up)

Embellishments:  green bling

Tools:  Rosie Posie dies, Quatrefoil dies, heart border die, Friendship Jar Label die

Gift Card Purses

I recently ordered the tutorial to make these really cute designer purses from Becky Roberts.  They are perfect for packaging gift cards. You can find out more about this tutorial here.

Here's the first purse.

Here's the second.

This is what the inside looks like. The gift card fits perfectly. I love the pearl "closure".

The closure isn't functional so I added magnets to keep the purses closed.

I love how they turned out. They were so girly!

Paper Dolls Challenge #40

Can you believe it? I've posted three days in a row! I'm on a roll!

This card is for Deena's Paper Dolls Challenge. Her challenge is to make a card using any background stamp. Believe me, there is no shortage of background stamps in my craft room.

Here's what I made. The background stamp is from Stampin' Up. I really like the flourish in the text.

This all started from the black cut-out that was made from the Favor It #4 die. I didn't want to waste it so I stamped a flower from Day Dreamer and heat-embossed it to make it stand out.  The pink pearls added a little bit more color.

Paper Dolls Challenge #38

I'm so behind in our Paper Dolls Challenges, but I'm slowly getting there.

Today's post is for Sara's challenge to make a wedding or anniversary card.

Since I wasn't in need of either kind of card, I decided to make a generic one.

The lighting really makes the embossed sheet music background shiny.  The flowers are from Day Dreamer, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite Papertrey Ink sets.

I used "Adore" for the sentiment. This way, it can be used for either a Wedding or Anniversary card.

Hope you decide to play along. Thanks for visiting.

For My Idol-Laurie

This post is for a very talented forum friend, Laurie Willison. She made it to the Top 10 in this year's Gallery Idols contest. I'm so proud of her. I am a HUGE fan of her work. So many of her cards leave me speechless. I've run out of adjectives to use when leaving comments.  If you haven't already visited her blog, you should check it out. Her blog is Soapbox Creations.

Several of the Paper Dolls members put together a blog hop to honor Laurie and let her know just how awesome we think she is. Each person chose one of Laurie's creations to CASE. I couldn't join in on the hop, but there's still time to play along and add my link. I hope you do the same.

It was so hard to decide which card to CASE. Here's the card I chose. I love the color combination of Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, and White.

I CASEd it almost exactly except I used Royal Velvet instead of the Raspberry Fizz. I was lucky enough to have some extra paper flowers laying around. I plan on making a few more in different colors to make a set of cards.

One more thing. Laurie's birthday was in May and I had planned to make and send her a card. But, life got in the way and it took me forever to find some crafting time. I ended up CASEing a card by Vanessa Menhorn  that I saw in the latest volume of Card Creations magazine. I used Laurie's favorite color combination: Pure Poppy, Kraft, and Black. I never mailed the card because it was so late.

So, Laurie, this card was meant for you.

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. 

Missed it again!

Yes, I missed the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop again. I started my project late and, by the time I finished it, the link was closed. Here it is anyway.

I needed to make something fast so I opted to make another clear notecard. I used to cross-stitch and making french knots was one of my favorite things to do. So, I used french knots as sprinkles on the cupcake.  I used the cupcake from Cupcake Collections to make the background. (The card isn't scratched up. That's just the reflection from my flash and light sources. It's not easy photographing clear sheets.)

These notecards are great for kids' birthday tags. Just punch a hole at the top and use some twine or ribbon to attach it to a gift bag.

Here's a close-up of the "sprinkles". I stitched them onto felt. I used the Angled Label die for the sentiment.

(Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the back. I'll try to do that and post them later.)