Perfect Match Monday

On Mondays, Sara hosts a Perfect Match Monday color challenge featuring PTI Perfect Match colors. I had some time today to play...here are todays colors:




I decided to use butterflies on my card and I knew I wanted to make grass with the Leaf Green. Here is my creation!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: PTI butterfly set (sentiment from Pond Life additions); PTI Leaf green, summer sunrise white CS; black, summer sunrise and hibiscus ink; leaf green satin ribbon, martha stewart glitter

Hugs,

Day 30: Party Time!!!!

WOOOHOOOO!!!! I made it! And today is party time! Mardi Gras party that is! We are heading out to Tybee for a parade and music and just to hang out at the beach! But before I go, I had to post my 30th project!!!


This Unity butterfly reminded me of a Mardi Gras mask, so that is what I made it! I stamped it in green, yellow and purple and added lots of glittery detail, cut out the "eyes" and voila! Party mask!

I really wanted to put "Celebrate" as the sentiment, but did not have a large enough, or pretty enough font. I decided "friends" was just as appropriate, since withouth the encouragement of friends like you, I may not have made it these last 30 days!

So THANKS!!! time to go whoop it up at the beach!





Hugs,

Day 28: Girl Scout Cookies

We got our GSC today. We only ordered the new kind this year. I have been sick and was desperate for some inspiration!

This cookie box was my color inspiration.

I decided to use PTI's summer sunrise and some turquoise paper that I had in my scraps. Top that off with some white craft ink and here is what you get:

Not the best inspired card, but at least the cookies were good!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Day 27: Retro Cool

I realized today that I only made thank you cards for the children that attended E's party. I needed to make some grown up cards for the friends of the family that attended as well. But they needed something a little less cute and a lot more cool... I searched through my mounds of unused paper and came across this retro cool style:


I was immediately inspired by the shapes and colors. I used Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip to come up with this groovy card:


The images are from SU's Wow Flowers and Much appreciated sets. I thought the circle-starburst thing looked kinda retro and fit in with the design. I "stamped off" the ink so it would be a little more subtle.

The sentiment is stamped on Very Vanilla and matted with Chocolate Chip. I used a snippet of Tangerine Tango ribbon and a turquoise button to add some flair.

I don't think I would have typically used this color combo, but I really love how it all came together!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,

Day 26: A Little Note of Thanks

The birthday party was a success! And although not many kids showed up, we all had a very good time at the bowling alley! One plus to a small number of guests: less thank you cards to write! Here is just a small little thank you I came up with for E to fill out:
I was inspired by the flower print paper and went from there. The paper was thick enough to use as a base, and I just added some Regal Rose and Perfectly Plum behind the white sentiment piece.

I embossed a square around the white CS...and I have decided that I need to get those nestabilities!!! I think that will be one of my first purchases after my 30 days is through!

In the center of the "o" I punched a hole and used packing tape on the back as my adhesive for the glitter.

The over all size is 4x4. I think it will be just perfect for E to give to her little friends.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Day 22: Birthday Card for DD

Now that all the Valentine's are done and I have more time to focus, I decided to make a birthday card for my dear daughter who turns eight on Sunday. I consider her to be girly and bright and her smile warms my heart. Here is my creation:


I knew I wanted to use a rub on image from the SU Level 3 Loop to Loop for this card. I have been drawn to Baja Breeze lately and thought this paper was a nice subtle background for the front. This paper is also from the level 3 bundle. (everything is layered onto PTI white)

I decided on a rainbow theme and pulled out some primas in the appropriate colors. The centers are antiques brass brads, which I thought went well with the Chocolate rub on.

One thing I love to do with my rub ons is add color. I colored in the letters and flower to pull the rainbow theme into the sentiment. I found this technique by mistake a while back. Turns out that if you color a rub on image, there is a little bit of a clear outline around the actual image from the rub on material...so you kinda have a white "shield" around the image where the color doesn't go. I really like the effect! (you can see another example here)

I also added a green vine rub on behind the primas for a little added depth.

This card makes me smile...just like my daughter does. I hope she likes it!

Hugs,

Day 19: Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

Today's project is a little bit of a few things. It started with a sketch, continued with chipboard (and more buttons!), rallied around Nichole's "signature" announcement and commenced with a sewing mishap.

Now I usually don't blog hop and do sketch challenges, but every once in a while something catches my eye. A couple of days ago, Nichole posted a link on her blog to a CPS sketch-- which I dutifully ignored. But a lot of you out there did not. And I took notice. The CPS sketch:


I guess what caught me was the large heart image. I immediately knew I wanted to use one of my chipboard hearts for my interpretation. That led me to my next dilemma: ink. I love the way craft ink covers chipboard--I just don't have a large selection in my stock to choose from. Seriously..like maybe 5 colors! I chose retired Baroque Burgundy.

Dilemma #2: PAPER! I had no CS in this retired color. Luckily I did have some of this groovy gold/burgundy stuff lying around. Crisis averted.

So, I am off and running...ink up the chipboard, add a snazzy accent and button, punch a scallop edge. OOPS- punch doesn't work well on this groovy stuff! Get out the scissors!

Now we are rolling along....Remember that "signature" announcement? Well I thought it would be neat to add my own flair to this card and hand write my own sentiment--OOPS again! I do not have any markers to match!!! Thankfully, I remembered that somewhere in my vast stash of neglected scrapbooking materials I have some CM markers! And there is a color there! (P.S. How do ya like my sentiment???)


After all that, I finally think I am done with my card when the embellishment monster comes. Anyone else know this guy? He sits right next to your ear and says "Doesn't that {project, card, tin, page...} need something??? How about RIBBON!!!!" (or bling, or stickles, or buttons, or...) Am I the only one? Well he pounced again, and I had this ribbon....so....of course I had to use it! But tying it was no good for this card! Oh no, no, no! I had to sew it on!

So, if you look closely you can see mishap #5 (have you been counting?). Yeah, it's there. I am obviously not the sewing-on-cards queen....

After everything, I really don't think the end result is half bad. And I like the looks of my sentiment...

Thanks for reading my roller coaster ramblings....Hope your projects all have a silver lining!

Hugs,

Day 18: Friends Forever

Today I played along with Nichole's challenge. One of my lucky friends will get this card and the new stamp set Nichole is offering if I win!!! But I am not telling who cause that would just ruin the surprise! *wink*


Images are all PTI, stamped in Chocolate Chip, Ripe Avocado and Baja Breeze. I attempted to do Nichole's button-ribbon-thingy but mine didn't turn out as well as hers! Green rhinestones are in the center of the small flowers and the large Spiral Bouquet flowers are adorned with cinnamon Stickles. PTI white card stock, Baja Breeze cardstock and some yummy satin chocolate chip ribbon from SU. Button is Old Olive.

Happy Stamping!!!
Hugs,

Day 17: Buttons

Nichole announced on her blog that PTI will now be selling BUTTONS!!! So in honor of that announcement, and as a way to clear out some room for those fabulous finds, I have made a project with BUTTONS!

Not a whole lot to say here. I wanted to use buttons! The paisley-ish print is some scrap paper I had from Hobby Lobby. The buttons are from Walmart I think. The gathered ribbon is from SU, but I am pretty sure it is retired. Base is textured Very Vanilla from SU andthe sentiment is PTI stamped in Berry Sorbet.

Enjoy!
Hugs,

Day 16:Reduce, Reuse Recycle PTI Swap

I was so busy today that I did not have time to participate in Nichole's sketch challenge! So I am posting the cards I have made for the PTI round 2 swap on Splitcoast. I signed up for the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle portion of the swap and if I understand it correctly, the cards should have the same layout, but not necessarily the same colors.

The first thing I did was go through my scraps and look for any cardstock that was already cut down to standard card size. This dictated my base colors. I then looked through my DSP scraps to find coordinating designs. The scraps I found mostly had floral type designs so I scoured my small collection of PTI stamps for anything that resembled the designs found in the DSP. I used the same leaf image on all the cards and just substituted different shaped flowers to go with the DSP. I used flower shapes from Honey Bees, Beautiful Blooms, and Little Lady to name a few. Each card has a scrap ribbon bow and each card has stickles added to the flowers. For the sentiments, I used some acrylic word tiles that I have had FOREVER. They needed some love! In two cases, I did not have tiles to match, so I stamped a sentiment in coordinating colors and used a clear 3-D sticker to make my own tile. This can be seen on the "wish" and "for you" cards. This swap really inspired me to reach for those scrap boxes first for inspiration...and it was right up my alley for the 30 day non-purchase challenge!

Some of them I think turned out really nice, others maybe not so much...leave me a comment and let me know which on is your favorite!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Stamping!


Hugs,

Day 15: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Well, Nichole at Papertrey has done it again! Another great contest with another great prize! Today's blog challenge is to use a rainbow of colors. The reward? One lucky winner will receive a year's worth of PTI card stock FREE!!!!
This challenge really inspired me to do something I have been thinking about for a while: RAINBOW FROGS!!!

Now I am sure this is not a "new" idea, and I am sure someone somewhere has probably done the same sort of thing, but I have not taken the opportunity until now to play with this sort of image and colors.

I did not have every PTI color, so I did have to substitute Baja Breeze for Ocean Tides. I also used Real Red ink instead of Pure Poppy. It's a little brighter than the paper...

With this card I decided to keep it simple. I knew I wanted the frog layout (aren't they cute???) and I decided to do a rainbow mat. Once I put that on some white cardstock I didn't really think it needed anything more! Believe me- I played with the idea of ribbon, glitter and rainbow words! I think the black sentiment is just perfect.

With Nichole putting out these challenges everyday, I am having no problem creating something new for my 30 day challenge! I may just have to extend it to 60....Oh, and that cute little frog? He's from PTI's Pond Life-one of my very favorite sets!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Day 13: Simplicity

Today's project comes from a sketch on my friend Sara's blog. I am happy to take part in this sketch challenge especially today of all days when I am under the weather and overwhelmed with housework! This card speaks simplicity...

This is done on PTI white CS with Brilliant Blue and Tempting Turquoise CS strips. The green is two strips of polka dot ribbon that came from some craft store. The sentiment is from SU and is stamped in Green Galore.

Enjoy! And Thanks Sara for the challenge!

Hugs,

Day 12: Dedicated to the one I Love

So, remember how I said I found a place for my chipboard?? Well today's project came out of that task. My plan was to put my alphas in that jar but I actually have too many! But I did discover some letters that I wanted to use!

Today's card is an extra special 5x7 for my wonderful husband. I am so pleased about how this turned out that I am keeping it a secret from him til Valentine's day!

I used some absolutely yummy Dark Chocolate card stock from PTI. For the background I used the large image from Kind Thoughts and stamped it on the front and the back. I LOVE this image!!! I used versamagic ink in Wheat...which I thought worked beautifully on the rich brown background.

The chipboard x's are the negatives from SU Timeless type chipboard and the o's are some chipboard from Hobby Lobby that I have had forever. I originally sponged the Wheat ink onto the x's, but decided chocolate would look better. That is why the chocolate color seems to be muted.

The beautiful DSP is from SU's Bella Rose collection and contains Pink Pirouette. The bottom edge was punched with a scallop edge and then pierced with a hole punch in each scallop. I added some Pretty in Pink CS strips that I had stamped in Wheat with the background image. I ran the wider strip through the crimper to add some texture. It kinda looks like some ribbon SU used to have...

The sentiment is from SU, though I don't remember the exact name. I first stamped it in Pretty in Pink then shadowed it in Chocolate Chip, but I am not sure anyone can really tell.

I plan on writing a really sweet poem on the inside and maybe even putting a picture of us in there too. I think this is one of the most elegant and beautiful cards I have ever created on my own and I think the 5x7 size makes it that much more so.

Thanks for stopping by...I hope this inspires you to do something lovely for your Valentine too!

Hugs,

Challenge day 10: Football....?

Okay, first let me say that I am NOT a football fan and could not care less who wins the big game. That being said, I took the two teams that are playing and sought some inspiration. Let me just say that a red bird did nothing for me....the Steelers logo however was a little better. The following card is a VERY loose interpretation of that logo...and I have no idea what use this card could possibly have....

It all started with the primary squares on a black, white & gray background. The white was too stark so I added the pennant image from Sock Monkey. Then I needed some sort of wording so I covered some chipboard with black glitter. Ugh. Rah rah rah- if the Steelers lose it will be due to this card! Anyhow-that's day 10.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone had a good Super Bowl day!

Hugs,

Day 9: Bubble Wrap & Bling

Today I focused on trying to make a simple one-layer card....but then I changed my mind! Instead I used a new technique: stamping with bubble wrap! No kidding! and sooooo easy....take a peek:

The polka dots are my bubble wrap "stamp". I inked the wrap with Tempting Turquoise and then "kissed" it with Green Galore. Then I laid it on my white card stock. I made sure to press down on each bubble so the image would transfer.

The sentiment is a Michael's $1 stamp. I thought the bling on the border really fit with the "live it up" theme. Card stock is Green Galore and PTI White.

Enjoy!

Hugs,

Day 8: You Are My Sunshine

My friend was telling me the other day that I have too many stamps (is that even possible?!?) I had to agree that I have too many I don't use! My SU sets get the most love I think because they take up more room-they are hard to miss! I sometimes have to remind myself that I also have clear stamps too!

Today I was browsing my clear stamp collection and came across a stamp that I absolutely adored but had never used. I bought it at Michael's for $1 and it says "You are my sunshine". I used to sing this to my son when he was little and when I saw this stamp I immediately thought of uses for it. Of course, when I got home it was thrown in with the rest of the pile!

So today I put a smile on my face and put my sunshine stamp to use!

I have to tell you that I LOVE these red daisies that I picked out for my kitchen. My plan is to use red and yellow in my kitchen's color scheme, but have yet to find artwork or anything I am happy with. Today I may have found a solution!

I think the simplicity of the card is fabulous. Sometimes simple really is better. I actually made the card and then realized how similar it was to my daisies! For just a little extra something I painted yellow Stickles into the word sunshine.

I think painting the Stickles added a subtlety to the shimmer in the letters instead of overwhelming them with 3D glitter effects.

The red flower is a Die Cut Bloom from SU. The button is just a generic yellow one that I think I got at Walmart. I used Riding Hood red ink for the sentiment, Yoyo Yellow CS, and PTI white cardstock for the card base.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope there's a little sunshine in your day!


Hugs,