PTI 10th Anniversary Challenge: Multiply

I think this will be my last post for today. Three cards in one day may be a personal best!! For the multiply challenge, I used one of PTI's Chevron Stripes border dies (2 per set) on this semi-masculine card I made for a sweet friend who treated me and another friend to lunch recently. I had to add a few flowers so I pulled out Bigger Blooms and stamped a few blue ones. The sentiment is from Iconic Images. Thanks for stopping back by!!

PTI 10th Anniversary Challenge: Photo Finish

I'm using today to catch up on all the challenges for Papertrey Ink's 10th Anniversary. I don't usually have too many photos laying around since they are stored on my phone, but I had just received an invitation to a dear, sweet friend's 100th birthday celebration and thought who better to feature on my photo finish card than her precious face. I cut out the picture and a matching mask from a post-it note. I used another favorite floral, Mini Blooms, to create a little frame around the picture. I also used a PTI Color Recipe from this past January and a sentiment from Stylish Sentiments: Birthday. I love the way the card turned out and I can't wait to send it to the birthday girl!!

PTI 10th Anniversary Challenge: Favorite Florals

Today's Papertrey Ink challenge was made just for me!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE floral stamp sets! In fact, I am obsessed with them to the point that last night, I nearly ordered one I ALREADY HAVE! For this challenge, I chose Brushed Blooms, one of many PTI floral sets I own and one of my favorites. My card is inspired by one Laurie Schmidlin made just last month. Here are the details:
Stamp sets - Brushed Blooms, Graceful Greetings, Simon Says Stamp Gingham Background
Colors: Berry Sorbet, Limeade Ice, Tim Holtz Faded Jeans, SU! Daffordil Delight and Melon Mambo, and Versafine Onyx Black
Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a great evening!

Papertrey Ink 10th Anniversary Challenge: Altered Envelope

The folks at Papertrey Ink are celebrating their 10th anniversary this week with some fun challenges and today, I am showing what I created for the second day's challenge which is to create a card with an altered envelope. I broke out Peonies on Parade that I was thinking of getting rid of, but I found some new inspiration on Pinterest, so I'm going to hold on to it for a bit longer! I was inspired by a card Nichole made when the set was released. I stamped all the flowers and leaves in Versafine Black Onyx ink and then colored them with Crayola markers. I found the best set of 50 markers on Amazon awhile back for a great price so I scooped them up. The sentiment is from New Every Morning. I've been making so many thinking of you and sympathy cards lately. There is so much sadness in the world and I just want my friends to always know that they are not going through their tough times alone. I hope you'll break out a dusty stamp set and create something beautiful for someone you love! Have a great day!!

Papertrey February Blog Hop Challenge

Today is shaping up to be a pretty fantastic day!! My sweet family is out of town and I have THE ENTIRE DAY to do as I please! I started off with a croissant and coffee from my favorite local bakery, Wild Love Bakehouse, and then straightened and cleaned up my craft space (and watched a few guilty pleasure movies, too!). I love a clean workspace but it never lasts once I actually start working!! Today is Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop and since I've been participating in everything they have going on lately, I knew I had to do this one, too. I was going to try a new technique on black cardstock, but I have just rediscovered Graceful Greetings (and learned there's a second Graceful Greetings stamp set that I am currently on the waiting list for), and was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest by Betsy Veldman that used darker, richer colors. The colors I used are PTI Autumn Rose & Orange Zest, and SU! Daffodil Delight (my favorite yellow). I love the interest the black leaves add to the card. Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy this beautiful weekend!!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2016

So, in a previous blog post, I told you that Brushed Blooms is one of my top 5, all-time favorite stamp sets. Painted Petals is another one!! I saved my PTI reward points for a long time and I'm so glad I did!! I didn't really like the reward set for 2015, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one for 2016!! My card is a direct copy of a PTI design team member's card but I love it so much and I'm always so thrilled to send this card to friends! Painted Petals is a very forgiving stamp set, meaning that if you have trouble stamping layers perfectly like I do (even with my MISTI sometimes), you can still create beautiful cards. In fact, I used this set just last week to create two lovely sympathy cards. I often use the sentiments with other stamp sets because I love the way the words nest together. In fact, I would love to see more sentiment sets with smaller phrases that nest with a larger word. Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT day!!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2012

The year was 2012. The stamp set was Hello Sunshine. A cute little set that I honestly do not use nearly enough! I'm sure I bought it for sentimental value - I sing "You are my Sunshine" to my little girl nearly every night so I tend to buy any sunshine-themed stamps. The inspiration for this card came from Lynn Put whose blog is called The Queen's Scene. She makes beautiful cards! I always like to have a few "thinking of you" card on hand to send whenever the need arises. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your evening!!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2015

I am so excited to use one of my all-time favorite stamp sets today, Brushed Blooms, to celebrate 2015! It is so versatile and beautiful and easy to use. I took my inspiration from a card by Dawn McVey, who always creates the most beautiful projects. I especially love the layers of colored cardstock on the right side of her card. I used PTI's Hibiscus Burst, Pure Poppy, Limeade Ice, & Simply Chartreuse; SU! Daffodil Delight; and Tim Holtz Broken China. The Scripture, which is one of my favorites, is from New Every Morning. This card is for a dear, sweet friend of mine is who is headed to M.D. Anderson in Houston next week for follow-up cancer treatment. I am so very hopeful that she will do great and will be able to have her port removed. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2009

While my little one is napping, I decided to knock out another Papertrey Ink challenge! The year is 2009 and it was a great year for PTI. Friends till the End if one of my favorite stamp sets that was released that year especially when I discovered that I can stamp those wonderful flowers on patterned paper!! I recognized the patterned paper on Debbie Olson's card as soon a I saw it but it turned out to be Cosmo Cricket instead of PTI. You might think it odd that I still have paper from 2009 when it's 2017 but if you ARE thinking that, then you are obviously NOT a serious papercrafter!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2010

I am super way behind on my projects for Papertey Ink's 10th anniversary extravaganza but I hope to catch up tomorrow. Today, Nicole and the gang are reminiscing about 2010, which was a tremendous year for my husband and me because we had our precious bonus baby in September of that year!! Very, VERY unexpected but so very wonderful! Anyway, I actually had one of today's spotlight sets, "A Wreath for all Seasons." It's a great little set that I often pull out especially in the fall, although I may work on a little spring wreath this year! Anyway, here is a sweet little Christmas enclosure card that I made for today's challenge. Thanks for stopping by and have a great Valentine's Day!! And remember, it doesn't matter what your Valentine's Day looks like as long as it's meaningful to YOU!! YOU ARE SPECIAL!!

Make it Monday 275: Stamped Dangles

This week's PTI Make it Monday is stamped dangles, a really cute idea that I will definitely try again. I dug through a bunch of PTI stamp sets to find all the little trinkets I could - Reasons to Smile,
Circle Scribbles, Lovely Laurels, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday,
Think Big Favorites #14, and Mini Blooms. I used the following colors: PTI Limeade Ice, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores, Berry Sorbet, & SU! Melon Mambo. Thanks for stopping by and have a happy, healthy week!

PTI 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future: 2007

Today, PTI is revisiting some of their first stamp sets and the challenge is to put a modern spin on them. I didn't have any of the old ones but I did have this stem from Painted Petals. I used a color recipe from the most recent Stamp-A-Faire ad now it's my favorite!! The sentiment is from Sketched Shapes which I bought for a reason and, of course, now I don't remember why! Does that ever happen to y'all? Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend! 

Papertrey Ink: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future

I have been a fan of Papertrey Ink since 2008. I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for a few years and they are the company that turned me on to stamping so I was reluctant to "jump ship" and see what PTI had to offer . . . that is until I won the entire release in March 2009!! Holy cow, that was AMAZING!! So, in one fell swoop, I had a bunch of new photopolymer stamp sets (new to me!), ink, ribbon, the whole shebang (Life is still one of my very favorite stamp sets. It's so versatile!)! Since then, I have bought lots and lots and LOTS of supplies from PTI, attended Stamp-A-Faire in Cincinnati (LOVED!!), and faithfully followed along month after month to see the fantastic and creative new ideas the Design Team had to share. I have created a bunch of cards over the years using PTI products and my stamping style has evolved right along with them. But I think this card that I made and posted last November is one of my very favorites! I love the bright color combo and crisp die cuts and happy sentiment - EVERYTHING! I'm sure there will be lots of challenges this week to celebrate 10 YEARS OF PTI and I plan to participate in all of them!!

Bold Blooms by Julie Eberole

HOLY COW!! Do I have a new favorite stamp set!! I stumbled upon Bold Blooms by Julie Ebersole stamp set on Instagram (which my bank account really wishes I'd stay off of for a while!) and completely fell in love! This card took forever to make because I used my MISTI to stamp every single image three times but it was totally worth it. I love these colors together - PTI Berry Sorbet, Harvest Gold, Simply Chartreuse, & Hawaiian Shores, and Memento Angel Pink (thanks, annieb!!). Thanks for stopping by today and have a great Thursday!

Make It Monday #272: Masked Heart Wreaths

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged, so this week, at the last minute, I decided to participate in Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge, masked heart wreaths. I typically overthink these challenges which make them harder for me to complete but, this time, I decided to approach it more simply. I chose two stamp sets (PTI's Graceful Greetings and Mini Blooms) that contain small floral images and carefully stamped each one over my scalloped heart template using the following colors: SU! Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, & Watermelon Wonder, and PTI Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, & Pure Poppy. I added some little leaves in my new favorite green, PTI Limeade Ice, as well as a few tiny dots. The sentiment is from PTI Bigger Blooms. I added a few stripes of washi tape at the bottom and adhered the whole thing to a Pure Poppy base. Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT week!!

colourQ challenge #368

Today's card and Scripture for this week's colourQ challenge turned out to be even more meaningful than I realized when I started it yesterday. There is just so much sadness in the world but especially in my little corner today. Please lift up prayers tonight for so many families who are hurting. 

Freehand Florals

Oh, my goodness, I am so in love with this card!! I found the inspiration for it on Pinterest, and I simply cannot believe it turned out so well. Even with my MISTI, I always make at least one mistake on my cards, but NOT THIS TIME!! Wplus9's Freehand Florals isn't the easiest layered floral stamp set to use, but it is fairly forgiving so, even if you don't have a MISTI, you should be able to stamp beautiful cards. The sentiment is from PTI's Inspired: Hope, and I'm pretty sure I will be using this stamp set constantly! It is very easy to use and includes part of one of my favorite Scriptures. In case you need a lift today, here is the entire passage:

"But those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

The colors I used are PTI Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Autumn Rose, Limeade Ice (my new FAVORITE green), Simply Chartreuse, & Winter Wisteria, and Tim Holtz Milled Lavender. The sentiment inside is from Prayers by Honey Bee Stamps.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! As we approach a busy time of year, I pray that you will appreciate each day at the blessings you have for they are abundant.

PTI Create Along with Us: November 2016

As luck would have it, I received my most recent PTI order yesterday so that I could participate in their November Create Along with Us challenge today! My stamping friend, Annie B. has created some beautiful cards with PTI's Paper Clippings: Birthday set, so I bought it in hopes of creating some pretties myself. My inspiration card from this month's release is this beauty from Kay Miller. I love the colors so much! I used three shades of pink (SU! Melon Mambo, PTI Hibiscus Burst & Sweet Blush) and three shades of yellow (SU! Daffodil Delight, PTI Harvest Gold & Summer Sunrise) to give the card some interest. I just love how the "Happy" cuts and stamps. The "Birthday" banner gave me some trouble since I had to stamp it multiple times. Even with the MISTI, it's still a tiny bit blurry. I was also inspired by a card by Betsy Veldman who always makes the most beautiful cards! She used the string image stamp in soft stone on her card but I don't have that color nor did I think I could stamp it well, so I used my Wink of Stella Silver 102 marker to add a little string detail. I love the random stars because they give the card an even more playful and happy feel. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!!