Hi there! Today I am participating in this week's Merry Monday challenge: Rustic Christmas.

I started out with a cream card base and picked a few other colors of card stock and went from there. I cut the card stock down to varying sizes and layered them. I recently bought a wood grain embossing folder at Hobby Lobby so I used it to dry emboss the chocolate brown paper. I die cut a frame and a snowflake. On the frame I stamped my sentiment. I thought it went perfectly with the theme of being in the mountains in a cabin. I imagined being cuddled up in front of a warm fire watching the snow falling outside. On the snowflake I used chestnut embossing powder. Thank you for visiting my blog! Have a great day!

My Supplies:

Stamps: Hampton art snowflake and Christmas frame stamp/die sets

Dies: Hampton art snowflake and Christmas frame stamp/die sets

Paper: PTI Kraft, Fine Linen,  & Dark Chocolate, Recollections cream card stock

Ink: Memento Dew Drops Rich Cocoa

Casology Week 119: Ghost

Hello there! Today I created a card for this week's CASology challenge.

 I originally hadn't planned on participating because I don't have any Halloween stamps. However, I thought all the ghost cards were so cute and today I had to be out of the house for a few hours so I stopped in at Michael's. Of course, they had already moved the Christmas crafts to the section where the Halloween crafts were so I scoured the store looking. I was about to give up when I came across a box of Halloween wooden stamps and found a cute little ghost.

Isn't he adorable? I didn't want the whole stamp to be black so I very carefully made his treat bucket purple and then added some enamel dots. It took a couple tries but I finally got him the way I wanted. Thanks for checking out my new card! Have a wonderful day!

My Supplies:

Stamps: Wooden ghost stamp by Craft Smart

Paper: Recollections white and black card stock

Ink: Memento Dew Drops Tuxedo Black, Color Box Pigment Cat's Eye Violet

Merry Monday #132 {Snowflakes, Neutral Colors and Dry Embossing!}

Hello! For my second post this evening I made a card for this week's Merry Monday challenge. I love snowflakes and the vintage feel is so fun!

I started out with a cream card base that I dry embossed three quarters of with a snowflake embossing folder. I die cut wreaths in kraft and cream card stock and punched three snowflakes. I stamped my sentiment on the bottom of the card, adhered everything to the card base and finished up with a few cream enamel dots. Thank you for taking the time to stop by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Fillable Frames #9

Paper: Recollections white card stock, PTI: Kraft, Fine Linen, Soft Stone

Ink: PTI Classic Kraft

Make It Monday #186: Partial Die Stamping

Hi there! It's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I am excited to get to blog tonight. For my first post this evening I am participating in this week's Papertrey Ink MIM. This week Laurie showed us partial die stamping.

I had a black stripes die in my stash that I had previously cut with a cover plate so I placed it on top of a white card base. I stamped the long leaf branches from PTI's Embellished Elegance on white card stock and then die cut the word happy from the same set. I also die cut the word happy out of Hawaiian Shores card stock to add a little dimension. I cut a small piece of white card stock and stamped birthday on it. I finished by placing a few enamel dots around my card. I really enjoyed using this technique. Thanks for stopping by! 

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Embellished Elegance

Dies: PTI Embellished Elegance, PTI Diagonal Stripes Cover Plate

Paper: Recollections white and black card stock, PTI Hawaiian Shores

Ink: PTI: Hawaiian Shores, Hibiscus Burst, Blueberry Sky

Make It Monday #183: Dry Embossing Over Heat Embossing

Hi again! For my second post today, I attempted this week's Make It Monday. This is only my second time trying heat embossing and I am enjoying learning the technique.

After I watched Dawn's video, I ran to Hobby Lobby and got a few different colors of embossing powder. I didn't decide what I was going to do until I sat down to make this card today. I flipped through my stamp collection and grabbed PTI's Embellished Elegance. I started with the large happy sentiment and went from there adding the leaves and flowers. I didn't emboss the word everything because I don't have any black embossing powder. I chose a lattice embossing folder by Paper Studio to dry emboss over the heat embossed image. Thank you for coming by! I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Embellished Elegance

Paper: PTI Kraft, Recollections various colors

Ink: Memento Dew Drops Tuxedo Black

Zing Embossing Powders: White, Leaf, Blush, Wave, Grapefruit 

Freshly Made Sketches #157

Hi there! Today I am playing along with Freshly Made Sketches for the first time.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

I bought some new metal die cuts that also have metal embossers that you can use at the same time. I hadn't used them yet and I had a set of leaves that I thought would be perfect for the star on the sketch. Those things aren't the easiest to use. They don't like thinner card stock and they don't like clear card stock either so I had to put a thicker piece under the thinner piece when I sent it through my Big Shot. I die cut the leaves first and then I cut the pieces of cream card stock I used for the layers. I needed a simple background to go with the leaves but not detract from them so I stamped a dotted background. I love PTI"s Autumn Adornment set and thought that this sentiment went beautifully with my card. I finished with some twine and a dark orange gem. Thank you for taking the time to stop by! 

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Autumn Adornments, PTI Polka Dot Basics

Dies: Momenta Leaves Cut and Emboss Dies

Paper: Various colors of Recollections card stock, PTI Clear Card Stock

Ink: Memento Dew Drops Rhubarb Stalk

 

Merry Monday #129 {Neon Colors!}

Hello! Today I have a card I made for this week's Merry Monday challenge which is to use neon colors. This is so far out of my comfort zone but I decided to give it a shot.

Here is my card:

I started out with the pink background and dry embossed it with a snowflake embossing folder. Then I die cut the chevron and the tree. I punched the snowflakes and cut out a white piece of card stock to look like a mound of snow. I stamped the sentiment I chose to go along with the theme. I then adhered everything to my card front. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a great week!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI City Scenes Christmas Sentiments

Dies: PTI In The Meadow, PTI Chevron Cover Plate

Paper: various colors of Recollections card stock, PTI Clear Card Stock

Ink: Memento Dew Drops Tuxedo Black

Other: Sizzix snowflake embossing folder, Marvy Uchida snowflake punch

Fusion Sunflowers

Hi! I am having so much fun doing challenges that I thought I would add another to my list: Fusion.

I decided to use both the photo and the sketch. Here is my take:

When I went about making this card this isn't what I was expecting to make. I knew I wanted to do the yellow chevron background but I thought I wanted to do something different for the right side panel. Needless to say, that didn't work out so I tried different patterned paper and nothing was looking right to me. I ended up cutting a piece of white card stock and running it through my texture boutique with a vertical stripe embossing folder. I liked the contrast of the vertical lines with the horizontal lines of the chevron. I die cut a large sunflower and a smaller one along with their centers and leaves. I used a blending tool to add Summer Sunrise ink around the center of the flowers to give them a more natural look. To finish my card, I added the sentiment and a few yellow gems. Thank you for taking the time to come by my blog!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Simple Sunflower

Dies: PTI Simple Sunflower, PTI Cover Plate: Chevron Vertical Die

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock

Ink: PTI Summer Sunrise, Memento Dew Drops: Bamboo Leaves, Rich Cocoa, Dandelion

Other: Ranger blending tool, Recollections gems

Casology Week 115: Chocolate

Hi friends! Today was an awesome day when I saw that Kimberly had chosen my Flutter card for an Honorable Mention! How exciting! This past weekend I had a crafting day with my sister in law and niece and I made a card that I think is perfect for this week's CASology challenge.

Here is the cue card:

Here is my card:

I started off with a white card base. I then die cut a red square border and a white square to fit inside the border. I have found that I really like the inlay look rather than layering so much. I die cut a cup to use as a mask while I stamped the shadow. I stamped the cup and the steam heart. I adhered the red border and white square to my card front and stamped the sentiment underneath. I used the cocoa stamp because I love hot chocolate and I can't wait for the cooler weather so I can start enjoying some! Thank you for coming by! 

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Warm Happiness, PTI Warm Happiness Too

Dies: Sizzix Square Framelits 

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock, PTI Pure Poppy

Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, PTI Kraft, Memento Dew Drops Gray Flannel

Merry Monday #128 {Polka Dots and/or Stripes!}

Hi there and happy Monday! Today I am participating in this week's Merry Monday Challenge. The theme for this week is to use either polka dots or stripes or both. I chose to use both.

I started with a white card base. For my polka dots I dry embossed the top background layer and used a piece of red and white polka dot paper for the bottom background layer. I cut a piece of white card stock and stamped candy cane stripes across the bottom of it and then stamped my sentiment above it. I die cut a cup and two candy canes and adhered them to my card. I really like the combination of the stripes and polka dots. Thanks for stopping by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Candy Cane Christmas, PTI Rustic Wreath

Dies: PTI Candy Cane Christmas

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock, PTI Pure Poppy

Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, Memento Dew Drops Tuxedo Black

Merry Monday #127 {Christmas Bingo!}

Hello there! This week's challenge at Merry Monday is Christmas Bingo! 

I chose the horizontal center line: Die Cut, Ribbon or Twine, and Kraft. I thought this was so fun to have so many things to choose from and mix and match them in various combinations. 

I love Christmas so I have tons of paper pads and embellishments for the holiday. The paper I used for the background and the bottom of my card are from Carta Bella's So This is Christmas 6x6 paper pad. My die cuts are the wreaths and tag. My ribbon or twine is the red and white twine I weaved through the wreaths. My kraft is the kraft paper I used to die cut the wreaths and the background paper. Thank you for coming by! I hope you have a wondeful day!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Rustic Wreath

Dies: PTI Rustic Wreath, PTI Tag Sale #8 (I used the small one)

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock, Carta Bella So This is Christmas

Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, PTI Pinefeather 

Casology Week 114: Flutter

Hi there! Today I am participating in a challenge I haven't participated in before: Casology. This week the cue word is flutter and the first thing that popped into my head was butterflies. My card is super simple. It's not what I am used to making but I am beginning to really love this style.

I focused on the bottom right corner and went with an aqua and yellow color theme with a little pop of blue added in. I made the sentiment part of the image by stamping it on top of two of the butterflies. I stamped the smaller butterfly underneath the sentiment to give the card a little more color and interest. 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great day!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Beautiful Butterflies, PTI Fillable Frames #1

Ink: Color Box Cat's Eye Pigment Inks in Canary, Robin's Egg, and Cyan; Memento Dew Drops Tuxedo Black

Merry Monday #126 {The Words Have it!!}

Hello! Today I made a card for this week's Merry Monday challenge. The theme is to make the sentiment the star of the card.

For the background, I used Papertrey Ink's diagonal stripe cover plate. I die cut a stencil and then used my Ranger blending tool to add Pure Poppy ink in the open stripes. I die cut a tag and punched snowflakes out of clear card stock and white card stock. I tied a red bow at the top of the tag and then adhered the tag and snowflakes to my card. I cut a piece of white card stock and stamped my sentiment. I popped my sentiment up with foam tape so it would stand out. I finished by adding a few red dots. Thank you for taking the time to come by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Think Big Favorites #20

Dies: PTI Tag Sale #1, PTI Stripes Diagonal Cover Plate

Paper: Recollection's 110 lb white card stock, PTI clear card stock

Ink: PTI Pure Poppy

Make It Monday #180: Paper Weaving

Hi there! Do you ever start with an idea you think is going to be so awesome but then when you start making the card you end up going in a completely different direction? That's what happened to me when I went about making my card for this week's MIM. I had a color scheme in mind, a stamp set picked out, and I had even sketched a card layout. I didn't use any of it. I had a lot of fun making my card though!

I started out by doing my paper weaving. I cut out a piece of cream card stock and placed a piece of adhesive along the top. Then I went about adhering different strips of patterned paper. I took more strips and weaved them through the first layer of strips. To get a square I sent the whole thing through my Big Shot with a Sizzix square die. I then die cut the umbrella and scalloped edge. I cut a small piece of cream card stock that I flagged one side of to stamp my sentiment on. I finished by tying a bow around the front of the card. Thanks for coming by and checking out my new card!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Scattered Showers

Dies: Sizzix square die, PTI Scattered Showers

Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, Recollections 110 lb cream card stock, Fancy Pants Park Bench paper pad

Ink: Color Box Cat's Eye Pigment Ink in Sea Glass 

Merry Monday #125 {Transportation!}

Hello! For my second post this evening I am participating in this week's Merry Monday. I found them the other night and thought it was so cool to do a Christmas card every week. By the end of the year you have lots of Christmas cards with different themes. With that said, this week's theme is transportation. I was excited because I just bought Papertrey Ink's City Scene stamp set and the Christmas sentiments that go with it. 

This is a very simple card without many layers or embellishments. I wanted to create the Christmas feel with the stamps. I started out with a white card base. I cut a piece of black card stock and a  piece of white card stock slightly smaller than the card base. Next, I did all my stamping and adhered the stamped piece of card stock to the black card stock. Before I adhered the layers to the front of the card I tied a black ribbon trimmed in silver around it. I loved making this card. Thanks for stopping by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI City Scenes, PTI City Scene Christmas Sentiments

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock, Recollections black card stock

Ink: PTI True Black, PTI Pure Poppy, PTI Pinefeather; 

Memento Dew Drops Dandelion, Rich Cocoa, Gray Flannel

Make It Monday #179: Emboss Resist Using Diecuts

Hi there! I decided to try something new today. A couple of weeks ago I had bought some clear embossing powder, but I hadn't tried using it yet. When I saw this week's MIM I thought I have some clear embossing powder and my husband has a heat gun so why not give it a go. I probably need to get my own heat tool though as my husband's made my paper curl. 

I started out with a white card base and white piece of card stock to do my emboss resisting on. I actually made my own die cut sheet with the medium size flower from Ruby Rose because I don't have any of PTI's Impression Plates yet. I used my Silhouette Cameo to die cut the word thanks and die cut flowers and leaves from Ruby Rose. I embossed my background and used Spring Rain and Blueberry Sky inks to color around the flowers. I then adhered everything to the background and adhered it to my card front. I really like this technique and I can't wait to build my collection of embossing powders and experiment more! Thanks for coming by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Ruby Rose

Dies: PTI Ruby Rose

Paper: Recollections 110 lb white card stock, PTI Blueberry Sky, PTI Spring Rain, PTI New Leaf

Ink: PTI Blueberry Sky, PTI Spring Rain, PTI New Leaf

Mojo Monday 361-Contest

Hi! After a long, busy week I am finally able to post my card for this week's Mojo Monday Contest. I love this card sketch and I am definitely going to keep it as a reference for future cards. 

Here is this week's card sketch:

Here is my card:

I started out with a cream card base and added a light brown piece of card stock for the background. On the left I added a piece of dark red card stock that I embossed with an autumn leaf embossing folder. I love the new stamp set Autumn Adornments by Papertrey Ink and I used to stamp a background on a piece of cream card stock that I layered on the right side. For the circle embellishment, I stamped a sentiment and decorated it with the Autumn Adornments stamp set. I found red and orange gingham ribbon in my stash and I thought it went perfectly with the colors I used. I thoroughly enjoyed making this card. Thank you for coming by! 

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Autumn Adornments, PTI Fall Elegance

Dies: Sizzix scalloped circles

Paper: Recollections cream card stock; Paper Studio dark red, light brown, dark orange circle embossed card stock

Ink: PTI Summer Sunrise; Memento Dew Drops: Rich Cocoa, Desert Sand, Potter's Clay, Rhubarb Stalk

Make It Monday #178: Back to School Easel Card

Hello there! This week I am participating in Papertrey Ink's MIM #178: Back to School Easel Card. I think this idea is so creative and fun. It was my first time die cutting both the front and back of a card. I got it a little off center but in an effort to not waste my better card stock I decided to not worry about it.

I started out with chocolate brown card stock for my card base and ran it through my Big Shot twice to get the cuts for the easel. I then cut a square out of dark grey card stock for the chalk board. I ran a white pigment ink pad around each side and smoothed it out with my finger. 

For the center of the chalkboard I die cut a small circle and stamped lines and my sentiment. Above that I adhered a larger circle with an alphabet border. For the apple I used the same ink I used around the chalkboard. To get it the way I wanted it I stamped it twice on a spare sheet of card stock before stamping it on the chalkboard. I tied a piece of red and white twine around the card to finish it off. 

Thank you for coming by! I had so much fun with this week's MIM!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Tag-Its #6

Dies: Sizzix circle dies, Sizzix frame die

Paper: PTI Dark Chocolate, PTI Smokey Shadow

Ink: Color Box White Pigment Ink, PTI Pure Poppy, PTI True Black

Thankful For You

Hi there! Today I thought I'd share a card and notepad I made with Papertrey Ink's Turning a New Leaf patterned paper pad. I have barely been able to put it down since I got it. I love the color palette with the greens, cream, and brown. So pretty! 

Originally I had made these separately but when I put them next to each other I loved them paired up. I gave this set to my sister-in-law. She's my partner in crafting (along with my oldest niece) and I am thankful for her and all the time we've spent crafting together the past few weeks. 

I made the notepad first. The jacket is chocolate brown card stock and for the background I paired leafy paper with green card stock that I embossed with a striped embossing folder. Where those two pieces of card stock came together I tied a brown and white gingham ribbon and finished with a doily I cut to fit the notepad. 

Next, I made the card. The base is cream card stock. Atop I placed a piece of patterned paper and a lattice embossed piece of light green card stock. I then stamped leaves, flowers, and the sentiment onto a piece of cream card stock. I cut a doily to start from the embossed paper and fit under the sentiment. 

I had so much fun making this set! Thank you for stopping by!

My Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Fall Elegance, PTI Embellished Elegance

Paper: PTI Turning a New Leaf Patterned paper pad, PTI Spring Moss, PTI Ripe Avocado, PTI Dark Chocolate, Recollection's cream card stock

Ink: Memento Dew Drops: Desert Sand, Rich Cocoa, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves

Other: PTI Vintage Cream Notepads, brown and white gingham ribbon, doilies