My Best Of 2012

Hello, Blogland, and welcome to my Best of 2012 post. This is the first year I've decided to compile my favorite projects into one post. I've seen them from others and decided to take the plunge myself. These are not spaced one per month or anything quite so organized (though they are in order as to when they appeared chronologically). I just looked over the past year's (blogged) cards and pulled photos of my favorites. To be honest, many of them are from the latter half of the year (or at least that's when they showed up here) so they may look mighty familiar. Shall we get started? Great!

#1 My Home Card: I made this card to play along with a Make It Monday last January. I still love this card and have done a couple variations on the theme since then. Plus, this one has some stitching, which I really enjoy doing. I can't machine sew worth a darn, but I'm pretty decent with a needle and thread otherwise.



#2 Baby Bear Card: This one was part of a handful of cards I made for my mother-in-law. I love the coloring on the bear and the stamped pattern. And this card also shows my favorite ribbon/string treatment. Packs a visual punch and it's easy to mail.

#3 Wedding Cake Card: I cannot tell you how many techniques I tried in order to get a wrought iron patterned wedding cake. I don't even want to think about it to be honest. Several hours and a little cursing later, this card was born. It was worth it though. I still love this card.

#4 Fenced Garden Card: I had this idea from the moment I designed the stamp set and I was so pleased at how this card turned out. Fun fact: this is, by distance, my most-pinned card.

#5 Wishing You Well Card: The mug from Candy Cane Christmas may be one of my most favorite stamps ever. It's so useful for so many applications. This card also has one of my favorite stamped patterns on it too (which is sort of amazing because I am no friend of the color purple - notice how little purple is on this list).

#6 Christmas Pillow Box: This pillow box turned out exactly as I wanted it to when I started working on it. That alone would make it a favorite, but when you add in the sweet little bow with the button/metallic thread center and the medallion background...love.

#7 Gingerbread Gift Bag: I was so tickled with this gift bag from the moment I made it. I love the slight twist on the traditional Christmas colors, the layers of pattern and texture, and the sweet little gingerbread people (how could I not?).

#8 Christmas Bird Card: This bird was the first thing I colored (successfully) with Copic markers. I love the patterns, the layout that I seriously drew, like, three years ago and hadn't used yet, and the shimmery quality lent by the glitter pen. And look! There's that ribbon treatment again.

#9 Happy Holiday Tree Card: This card made me giggle and skip down the stairs to show Sean immediately. The adult equivalent of "Look what I can do! Look what I can do!" This card just makes me happy.

#10 Nerd Love Card: I believe the sentiment says it all. Plus, I used a stamp set that I designed. How cool is that?!

#11 Friend Bouquet Card: Same stamp set as the last card, but a completely different look. I really like this one (even if it was a pain in the tuchus to cut out those flowers). The threaded stems might be my favorite part.

#12 Bright Lights Card: The thing I love most about this card is a little hard to show on the interwebs. That being, the bulbs were all heat embossed with clear powder so they're all shiny. I also love the colors. They're all bright and cheerful and just right.

Well, that's all for me today. I now notice that there's a lot of Christmas on that list. What can I say, when you start thinking about Christmas in June these things tend to happen. I hope you've enjoyed my little compilation. Click on any of the titles for the original posts (and recipes). Pretty much everything is from Papertrey Ink though (in case that saves you some time). Take care and I'll see you in 2013!

Santa Claus Is Coming...

Merry Christmas Eve, Friends! We've been spending time with family for the last few days but I wanted to pop in quickly with one last Christmas card.

This one features a Copic-colored Santa Claus and added a little texture to his beard and suit trim with some white flocking. The wreath was added with foam tape and embellished with dimensional glaze. I used the Photofinishers strip for my sentiment and layered all of my components on a snowy background. Thank you for visiting! Have a wonderful holiday and I'll be back soon!

Recipe:
Stamps: Believe, Background Basics Retro, Snowflake Medley - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink; Tuxedo Black - Memento; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Believe Die Collection, Photofinishers Dies - Papertrey Ink; White Fun Flock - Stampendous, dimensional glaze - Ranger; Foam Tape - Scotch; Markers - Copic; Corner Rounder - We R Memory Keepers

Bright Lights Of Christmas

Welcome to a new week, Blogland. Are all of you ready for Christmas? We only have a week left! I still have to finish our cards (they should go out today, tomorrow at the latest) and I haven't even started wrapping yet, but I'm feeling pretty put together, all things considered. I thought it might be fun to share a couple of additional cards in the days leading up to the holiday, so here we go...

Today's card is a colorful little number uses the Holiday Lights stamp set to do all of the heavy lifting. I stamped my strand much like I might stamp the string for a banner. I then went back and added the lights in a handful of mostly traditional Christmas light colors. I gave the bulbs a realistic finish by over-stamping each one with watermark ink and heat embossing with clear detail powder.

Next, I stamped my sentiment in two colors by masking off each half with painter's tape when inking. The whole focal panel was matted and mounted to a pre-backgrounded and beribboned base.

Thank you for visiting today. I should have another post or two up in the coming days, so I hope you'll check back soon. In the meantime, Melissa is sharing projects of her new set Heart-2-Heart #11 over on her blog this week. You'll definitely want to see what she has up her sleeve!

Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Lights, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: New Leaf (old formula), Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: New Leaf Saddle Stitched Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Lemon Baker's Twine - Divine Twine; Clear Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Foam Tape - Scotch

Drawn Together

Hello, Everybody. On Friday a tragedy shook Connecticut, the United States, and communities beyond. There is no sense to be made of such inconceivable actions; the events in Sandy Hook left so many of us feeling helpless, but wanting to help in any way we could. Then today, Amber from Damask Love posted about a fundraiser, called Drawn Together, that she's organizing to help the kids from Sandy Hook cope and work through their feelings. You can see her full explanation HERE. Let me be clear, this is all Amber's doing, but I think it's an incredible opportunity to help the most vulnerable victims of the tragedy in Connecticut. I'll be sending Amber a box of supplies tomorrow and I hope that you'll also consider donating. Be well, friends. And thank you in advance.

December Countdown - Love Potion Day 5

Greetings, Blogland, and welcome to Day 5 of the December Papertrey release countdown. Today is my last day of countdown festivities showcasing the upcoming set Love Potion (available December 15th). Thank you so much for joining me this week! I've had such fun and you all have been super kind and supportive. I've been awash in warm fuzzies since Monday. Anyway, I have a couple of cards to share today, so let's get to them.

Today's first card is a smallish number (4 7/8" x 3 1/2"). I was going through my stamps trying to come up with out-of-the-box ways to use Love Potion when I happened upon the "baby is brewing" sentiment in the Favor It Baby mini set. Perfect!

So it might be a little bit silly and it might be incredibly specific to a very special person, but I love how it turned out. I started by stamping my beakers onto white cardstock with Soft Stone Ink. Then I die cut 6 more beakers; one from white and the other 5 from Clearly Creative Cardstock that had been stickerized by my Xyron.

The white was stamped with the coordinating images and the clear were all adhered over top of the stamped beakers. I stamped my sentiment over the place where my loose beaker would later be mounted with foam adhesive. Super clean and simple with just enough ridiculous whimsy to get the job done.

My last and final countdown card is another perfectly geeky Valentine.

I started by die cutting and stamping my beakers with their coordinating fillers and parts of the long love equation sentiment. Then I laid them on a strip of Simply Chartreuse cardstock so I could place my "+" die. Helpful Tip: I used a tiny piece of rolled up painter's tape in the inside of the die to keep it in place. I knew I was going to use the negative, so it wasn't a problem to lose the actual cut from the die.

I did my die cutting and added texture to the strip with the Linen & Canvas impression plate. That was then adhered to a white base that had been stamped with a background pattern and my sentiment. I rounded the corners and mounted my beakers with foam adhesive onto my focal strip. Also clean and simple, just the way I like them.

Well, that's all for me for this month's countdown. It's the second Group Post day, so make sure to check in with Nichole, Ashley, Betsy, Cristina, Danielle, Dawn, Erin, Heather, Jess, Maile, and Melissa as they share their exciting countdown projects. And don't forget to check in with Lexi as she shares more with her upcoming set, too. Have a great day and I'll see you again soon!

Recipes:
Baby Is Brewing Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Favor It Baby - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Clearly Creative Cardstock - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Soft Stone, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink
Other: Love Potion Die Collection (available December 15th) - Papertrey Ink; Xyron Machine; Foam Adhesive - Scotch

You + Me Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Background Basics Retro - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Soft Stone, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet - Papertrey Ink
Other: Love Potion Die Collection (available December 15th), Linen & Canvas Impression Plate, Modern Numbers Die - Papertrey Ink; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Foam Adhesive - Scotch

December Countdown - Love Potion Day 4

Good morning, Blogland! Thank you for joining me for Day 4 of the December Papertrey release countdown.  I have a couple more projects to share with you today that feature the new Love Potion stamp set and die collection (available December 15th). Let's get started!

First up is a Valentine's Day card that uses non-traditional Valentine colors. Not everyone gets all amorous at the sight of red and pink, so I thought I'd try something a little different.

I started by die cutting a circle from a piece of Spring Rain cardstock. Then I randomly stamped my beakers in white ink and adhered that layer to a white card base. Next I die cut two of the beakers and stamped them with their coordinating outlines and fillers. I stamped the loopy image from Gingerbread Lane on the base and mounted the beakers over it so that the beakers are connected.

Next I stamped the love equation onto Limeade Ice cardstock with watermark ink and heat embossed with clear detail powder. I scored the ends of that cardstock strip and folded it into a banner of sorts. I used a square punch to notch the ends and adhered it to the Spring Rain layer. I finished the card by running a glitter pen over the loopy beaker connecter and adding a couple of rhinestones to the sentiment banner.

Next up I have a little Valentine treat to share. I thought it might be fun to fill a few Trendy Tubes with drink mix (pink lemonade in this case) and add tags as an alternative to a typical card.

I started by die cutting my tags and beakers and stamped them all with their coordinating outlines and fillers. Then I stamped and heat embossed the sentiments (from Holiday Treats) on the Pure Poppy tags. After those had cooled a moment, I stamped each tag with the love bond image using watermark ink.

Each beaker was added to its tag with foam adhesive. The hearts on the Poppy tags were embellished with glitter and the Aqua Mist tag got a little bonus baker's twine action.

The tags were tied to the Trendy Tubes with baker's twine. I had the small tubes on hand. They are large enough to hold about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of drink mix (which, according to the beverage packaging, will make about 12 ounces of lemonade).

I also feel the need to mention that you should never eat or drink out of lab equipment. Perhaps that goes without saying, but I'd rather cover my rear here just in case.

This idea would also work really well for Halloween treats (using the solid fillers) or science-theme party favors. You could easily fill the tubes with any sort of drink mix or small candy (though you might want to spring for the larger tubes if you fill with candy). And I learned recently (ahem...yesterday) that there are plenty of colors of drink mix available to fit any theme!

Thank you for joining me again today. It's Group Post day, so make sure to check in with Nichole, Ashley, Betsy, Cristina, Danielle, Dawn, Erin, Heather, Jess, Maile, and Melissa as they share their exciting countdown projects. And don't forget to check in with Lexi as she shares more with her upcoming set, too. One more day of posts, friends. See you tomorrow!

Recipes:
You + Me Beakers Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Gingerbread Lane - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice - Papertrey Ink; white
Inks: Fresh Snow, Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Love Potion Die Collection - Papertrey Ink; Circle Die - Quickutz; Square Punch - EK Success; Clear Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Glitter Pen - Sakura; Clear Rhinestones - Darice; Foam Adhesive - Scotch

Valentine Tags
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Holiday Treats - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink; white
Inks: Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko; Tuxedo Black - Memento
Other: Love Potion Die Collection, Tag Sale #5 Die, Fillable Frames #9 Die, Small Trendy Tubes - Papertrey Ink; White Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Christmas Red Stickles - Ranger; Foam Adhesive - Scotch; Teal, Cotton Candy, and Cherry Baker's Twine - Divine Twine; Pink Lemonade Drink Mix - Country Time

December Countdown - Love Potion Day 3

Welcome back, Blogland! Today is Day 3 of the Papertrey Ink December countdown and I have even more to share of the Love Potion stamps and dies. But first I'd like to thank all of you for your enthusiasm for this set. I'm so glad to be able to fill a niche for so many of you and I so appreciate all of your kind comments and notes. Y'all are the best!

Well, how about a project? Let's start with another lovey dovey number. This card is another gender neutral spin on a Valentine.

I started by die cutting two wine bottle tags, one from Aqua Mist and the other from white. Then I trimmed about 1/8" off of each side of the Aqua Mist tag and die cut the new Framed Out #11 so that I would have a negative of the heart shape. I traced the heart outline very lightly onto the white tag and stamped my chemical bond image repeatedly inside the line.

Next I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment onto my Aqua Tag. Then I stamped my patterns on the tag and my Pure Poppy base. You want to make sure to do your pattern after you've embossed your sentiment or you'll have embossing powder sticking where you don't want it. I adhered my tags together and tied on a button. The tag was then mounted to my base with foam adhesive.

Today's second card shows that you can use your beakers for much more than science! A solid filler and a few flowers turn this beaker into a vase.

I started by die cutting and stamping my beaker with Soft Stone and Aqua Mist inks. Then I used embroidery floss to stitch on a handful of flower stems. I used the flower clusters from Piece Of Cake to create a multi-layered bouquet with tons of dimension.

The patterned paper was created with Background Basics Retro and Faux Ribbon. The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed onto a strip of Pure Poppy cardstock. Both of those pieces were adhered to a Kraft base that had been textured with the Linen & Canvas impression plate.

My final touches were rounding my corners, mounting my vase and flowers, and embellishing with a few self-adhesive pearls that were colored to match.

Well, that's all for me today, folks. Thank you for visiting me! Make sure to check in with Nichole, Heather, Maile, and Lexi for more countdown projects. Take care and I'll see you back here again tomorrow.

Recipes:
Our Bond Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Polka Dot Basics, Rosie Posie - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Framed Out #11 Die (available December 15th), Wine Tag Die, Pure Poppy Button - Papertrey Ink; Foam Adhesive - Scotch; White Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; White Crochet Thread

Friendship Bouquet Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Piece of Cake, Polka Dot Basics (flower centers), Faux Ribbon, Background Basics Retro, Strawberry Patch Sentiments - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse, Soft Stone, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink
Other: Love Potion Dies (available December 15th), Rustic Jute Button Twine, Linen & Canvas Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Green Embroidery Floss - DMC; Self-Adhesive Pearls - Mark Richards; Foam Adhesive - Scotch; White Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; BG13 marker - Copic; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers

December Countdown - Love Potion Day 2

Good morning, Blogland! Thank you all for your lovely comments and feedback about Love Potion. I'm so excited to be bringing you this set and it sounds like y'all are pretty excited too! And, yes, Taheerah, nerds are totally cool. ; )

I have a couple of cards to share with you today that will hopefully show the versatility of Love Potion. Let's get started, shall we?

This first card is a nerdy little Valentine. I created my patterned paper by randomly stamping the three beakers and then alternating the fillers throughout. I added a little texture with the Linen & Canvas impression plate before adhering to a Pure Poppy base. Next I chose a handful of hearts in the fillers to embellish with glitter to add a little sparkle to an otherwise flat background.

The next step was making my sentiment strip. I stamped the love equation in Fresh Snow ink and embossed with white detail powder. Then I cut the swallow-tail notch with a square punch and embellished the edges with glitter. I used 1/8" Scor Tape to get a nice, crisp line. The sentiment strip was then added to the base using foam adhesive. Simple and sweet.

The next card would be perfect for the chemistry teacher in your (or your teenager's) life. I'm sure many of you are working on holiday teacher gifts right now, so I thought this might be timely. I teamed Love Potion with Teach & Inspire and a tiny bit of Gingerbread Lane for this holiday thank you card.

I started by stamping my focal strip with the chevron and sentiment from Teach & Inspire. Then I die cut and stamped my beaker, using the non-bubbly filler for the beaker. I included fillers without heart bubbles so the set could be used year-round or for people that you, just maybe, don't want to give a lovey dovey card. I also die cut the beaker from clear cardstock and ran it through my Xyron so I could make my beaker look a bit more realistic. I layered my beaker cut outs and added a glittered candy cane before adhering the beaker to my focal strip with foam adhesive.

Next, I stamped my base with polka dots using watermark ink and stamped and trimmed my "Teacher" tab. I adhered my focal strip to the base with foam adhesive and tucked the "Teacher" tab right next to it. It's all set to give to show appreciation to a deserving teacher.

Thank you for joining me today! I hope you've enjoyed today's projects. Make sure to check in with Nichole, Heather, Maile, and Ashley as they showcase more of this month's release. See you again tomorrow!

Recipes:
You + Me Card
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Spring Rain - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Spring Rain, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink
Other: Linen & Canvas Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Square Punch - EK Success; Super Fine Crystal Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; White Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Foam Tape - Scotch; Glue Pen - Zig

Chemistry Teacher Thank You
Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Teach & Inspire, Gingerbread Lane, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Clearly Creative Cardstock - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Simply Chartreuse, Limeade Ice, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; Tuxedo Black - Memento; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Love Potion Die Collection (available December 15th), Gingerbread Lane Die Collection - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Xyron Machine

Introducing Love Potion

Good morning, Blogland! Welcome to the first day of Papertrey Ink's December countdown. The new products that I'm sharing over the next several days will be available at 10pm on December 15th in the Papertrey Ink store. I hope you're all in the mood to get a little nerdy with me because, well, it's going to happen. Might as well jump in with both feet.

This card pretty much says it all. I'm a bit of a dork. And by that I mean on a clear winter night I can pick out the Pleiades in under 15 seconds and I totally snort when I laugh. If any of you had any misconceived notions that I might be "cool" you can go ahead and leave that nonsense at the door. Big ol' dork up in here, y'all. I thought it would be fun to kick this countdown off with a card for my fellow nerdy types.

I started by stamping the chemical bond image with watermark ink onto Aqua Mist cardstock and tied an embroidery floss bow around my base. Then I stamped my beakers and their coordinating fillers onto a white layer. I added die cut letters and a heart with foam tape and mounted the whole white panel to my Aqua Mist layer. Yay nerds!

My second card today is a smaller-than-standard model (it measures 3 1/2" x 4 7/8") that uses the Love Potion Die Collection to cut a negative from the card base and top layer. I set out to make a Valentine or simple love note that would be nice and gender neutral.

I started by stamping my sentiment and grounding shadow onto white cardstock and die cutting my beaker from the front and base layers. Then I used the Happy Hexagons cover plate with the impression plate sandwich to give the top layer a texture that's reminiscent of a chemical bond structure. Next I sandwiched a piece of stamped Clearly Creative Cardstock in between the top and base layers to make the beaker look like glass. Just a helpful tip: make sure to do all of your stamping before using your impression/cover plate. If you impress first you may have trouble getting consistent stamping over the texture.

I wasn't having much luck getting my beaker filler to stamp consistently on the clear stock, so instead I stamped onto vellum and embossed with clear powder. Then I ran the piece of embossed vellum through my Xyron and trimmed out the image. The embossing helps the filler detail (bubble heart, in this case) stand out a little better and it gives a nice edge to follow when you're doing your trimming. I simply stuck my beaker filler into place as my last step of assembly.

Thank you for joining me on this fine Monday morning! Make sure to check in with Nichole, Betsy, Heather, Maile, and Lexi for even more countdown projects. I hope to see you back here again tomorrow as we continue with the December countdown. Have a great day!

Recipes:

Nerd Love Card

Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Heart-2-Heart #3 - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Smoky Shadow - Papertrey Ink; white

Ink: Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse, Limeade Ice, Berry Sorbet, Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: Modern Alphabet Die, Heart-2-Heart #11 Die - Papertrey Ink; Embroidery Floss - DMC; Foam Tape - Scotch

Great Chemistry Card

Stamps: Love Potion (available December 15th), Sunflower Bouquet - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Clearly Creative Cardstock, Stamper's Select Vellum - Papertrey Ink; white

Ink: Royal Velvet, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink; Noir - Palette

Other: Love Potion Dies (available December 15th), Hexagon Cover Plate - Papertrey Ink; Clear Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; ScorTape; Xyron

Glittered Ornament

Hello again, Blogland! I hope you're looking forward to some fun this weekend. I thought I might pop in here again quickly to share another card I made recently. This one uses Vintage Ornaments and Bells & Boughs together. I love that they're just the right scale to coordinate perfectly.

I started by die cutting and stamping my ornament. Then I stamped the stripe detail with a glue pad and added super fine glitter. I set that aside to set up while I die cut my white layer (using the wine tag die) and stamped it with the pine boughs and sentiment. That was adhered to a Pure Poppy layer that had been impressed with the Diagonal Stripes impression plate (I couldn't really capture that detail in my photo, but I promise it's there). I adhered the ornament over the pine boughs and added a small silk bow (ribbon was colored with a Copic).

A simple card, but I hope you enjoyed it. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday with a December countdown post!

Recipe:
Stamps: Vintage Ornaments, Bells & Boughs, Snowflake Flurries - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Soft Stone, Ripe Avocado, Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink; Black Pigment - Studio G; Glue Pad - Tsukineko
Other: Diagonal Stripes Impression Plate, Vintage Ornaments Dies, 1/4" Silk Ribbon, Wine Bottle Tag Die - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Super Fine Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; R29 Marker - Copic

December Sneak Peek

I've got a new stamp set with Papertrey Ink debuting this month!

I hope you'll join me in the next week as I get all "nerd love" on Valentine's day. See you soon!

Merry Little Tree

Greetings, Blogland! Whew! It's been a nutty few weeks. I just wrapped up my last craft show of the year this past weekend. Now it's Christmas preparation time! Our cards are designed (if not made or mailed...heh), our gifts are about halfway purchased, and our hotel accommodations are all set. In the spirit of the season I thought I'd pop in here and share a card I made awhile back. At the time I made this card I mentioned on twitter that I was so happy I turned downright giddy. Don't you love it when that happens? I certainly do.

I started by impressing my base about 1 1/2" from the top and giving it the ribbon/twine treatment. Then I took a bit of Aqua Mist and stamped it from top to bottom with the snowy image from Winter Snow Globe. The image is circular, but I just overlapped the edges to make sure I got even coverage. Next I stamped my sentiment and tree trunk and adhered it to my base. I die cut and stamped a tree, adding Stickles over the dotty, ornamenty spots. That and the snow drift (lightly sponged with Aqua Mist, impressed with woodgrain, embellished with chunky glitter on the edge) were then added to the Aqua Mist layer. Sweet and simple.

I hope you've enjoyed today's card. I have a few others to share in the coming days, so I'll see you back here again soon. Take care!

Recipe:
Stamps: Winterberry, Winter Snow Globe, Fillable Frames Sentiments - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink
Other: Pure Poppy Saddle Stitched Ribbon, Rustic Jute Twine, Picnic Plaid Impression Plate, Woodgrain Impression Plate, Winterberry Dies, In The Meadow (snowdrift) dies - Papertrey Ink; Christmas Red Stickles - Ranger; White Chunky Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch; Glue Pen - Zig

Sweet Greetings

Good afternoon, Blogland! I just wanted to pop in with a quick card today. I've been spending most of my time this week getting ready for Craftin' Outlaws on Saturday, but I've also been keeping a keen eye on the Papertrey countdown projects. The designers are doing a wonderful job of making the needlework inspiration pop off the screen. It's got me in the mood to embroider for sure! But I have a few weeks of intense holiday prep to push through before I get to focus on making gifts for anyone on our Christmas list. In the spirit of Christmas, though, I thought I'd share a card I made a couple of weeks ago and hadn't had a chance to share yet.

This one uses my Gingerbread Lane stamps and dies. I just love that little house. It's so easy to customize the windows and decorations. On this one I stamped the outline if the house first and then embossed the windows with Versamark and clear powder. That allowed the windows to remain white even after I stamped the gingery filler over top of them. A bit of filling in with the door and gumdrops and this little house was nearly finished. I added glittered candy canes and glitter to the gumdrops for just a smidgen of sparkle.

I stamped my kraft layer with one of the stamps from Super Stripes. I love how long those stripes are. It makes background building a breeze! A little Mat Stack action and a swallow-tail paper strip pulled the whole thing together.

Thank you for stopping by today. If you're in town and happen to have some free time this weekend I hope you'll come say "hi" at the show! Take care and I'll be back soon.

Recipe:

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane, Background Basics: Super Stripes, Sunflower Bouquet (the shadow) - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Kraft, Pure Poppy, New Leaf - Papertrey Ink; white

Ink: New Leaf, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Classic Kraft, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink; Watermark Ink - Versamark

Other: Gingerbread Lane Dies, Canvas & Linen Impression Plate, Mat Stack 3 Die, Mat Stack 3 Layerz Die - Papertrey Ink; Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch; Clear Embossing Powder - Filigree; Square Punch; Copper Brad; Glue Pen

A Christmas Bird

Hello, Blogland! So the other night I was a bit tense while listening to the election results roll in. In order to calm myself I decided to do a little coloring. I thought it might be nice to put together a card and share it with you today.

I colored the bird using a handful of Copic markers (I can look up the numbers if anyone's interested - just say the word) and then glittered him with a Sakura Stardust pen (I used Heather Nichols's "outline-it-and-then-smudge-it-with-your-finger" technique). His little hat is also embellished with a smidge of flocking on the trim and pom-pom. He sat around for a couple of days until I got it together and actually made the card.

I started by trimming two panels of Spring Rain cardstock and stamping them with different patterns. Here's my rule on things like this (totally my own rule and not a serious design principle): straight lines like round things. By that I mean, I don't like to use two linear patterns together or two polka dotty patterns together unless they are of vastly different scales. For example, I wouldn't use the lined pattern along with a gridded pattern on the other side. They're too similar and they compete for your attention. Clear as mud? Great.

I stamped my sentiment and adhered those panels to a white base. Next, I wrapped the whole front of the card with Pure Poppy ribbon and a string bow. Then I matted my little bird with a pinked Ripe Avocado oval and mounted him to the front of the card with foam tape. Nice and flat and easy to mail. But with a little bit of sparkle, of course.

Well, that's all for  me today. Thank you for stopping by for a peek! I'm going to visit my dad this weekend to help him prepare his bushels and bushels of pears for wine. I probably won't be back until early next week, but it won't be too long. Enjoy your weekend and see you again soon!

Recipe:
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, Tremendous Treats: Christmas, Background Basics: Retro, Snowflake Flurries - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Spring Rain, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; Tuxedo Black - Memento
Other: Pure Poppy Saddle Stitched Ribbon, Limitless Layers Oval 2 1/4" Dies - Papertrey Ink; Markers - Copic; White Perle Cotton - DMC; Glitter Pen - Sakura; White Fun Flock - Stampendous; glue pen; foam tape

If You Haven't Already...

Hello, Blogland! As the title suggests, today is voting day here in the States. I encourage each and every one of you to go out and exercise your right to vote today. We live here in Ohio. Have you heard about Ohio at all? Good-sized state? Sort of middle of the country? No? Lucky you. I can't remember the last time I turned on the TV and didn't see a campaign ad for someone. I feel like we live in a constant campaign cycle. I hear they're launching the 2016 bid sometime Wednesday.

Anyway, I thought I might make a card to commemorate today (pardon the cell phone photo - the regular camera battery is evidently kaputsky). The letters are all die cut from Smoky Shadow and popped up using foam tape. The background is stamped with the sunburst from Hello, Sunshine and stars from Star Prints, Around & About Sentiments, and Text Boxed. Everything is adhered to a Soft Stone Base. Now go forth and VOTE!

Recipe:
Stamps: Hello, Sunshine, Star Prints, Around & About Sentiments, Text Boxed - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Soft Stone, Enchanted Evening, Smoky Shadow - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Spring Rain - Papertrey Ink; Silver - Hampton Arts
Other: Block Alphabet Upper Die Collection, Script Alphabet Die Collection - Papertrey Ink; cherry baker's twine - Divine Twine; Foam Tape - Scotch

Holiday Trunk Show

Hello, all! I know it's been a little quiet around here lately. I'm sorry about the silence. It's been a full month with my nose firmly at the grindstone. In addition to other things, here's one of the reasons I've been absent:

That's right, I've been preparing for a holiday trunk show (some of those photos look a little familiar, no?)! The event is this weekend, and I've been plugging away creating brand new cards, packaging, and home decor (among other things) for the last several weeks. So if you happen to be in the area and have a little free time on Saturday evening I would love to see you! It's being hosted by my good friend Olivera at her shop, Wholly Craft. If you're a local and you've never visited you're totally missing out. The store is home to handmade goods from around 200 different artists heralding from Central Ohio and beyond. It's a really fun place to shop, so I hope folks will stop by and check it out (even if you can't get there for the show this weekend). Alrighty, I have to get back to it now, but thank you for stopping by (I promise I'll share a new project soon - I have plenty of them)!

A Heartfelt Thank You

Dear, Blogland, y'all are some incredibly compassionate people. Over the past month I've received countless notes of encouragement, thoughtful (and beautiful) handmade cards, and little acts of kindness that have warmed my heart and kept me afloat. I owe all of you a hefty debt of gratitude. The last few weeks have served to reinforce my belief that the handmade community (be you of hobby or profession) is mostly composed of truly good and kind people that care about one another. Thank you for caring about me; I never expected the support I've received. I'm completely humbled.

I want to share a card today to thank those of you that I can't reach with a physical address. You have all been so wonderful and I hope you can feel the gratitude. The card may be virtual, but the sentiment behind it is very, very real.

I started by die cutting the vase, hydrangea bloom, and Photo Finishers strip and stamping them with their corresponding images (the vase was stamped with the crackle background that had been stamped off once to soften the color). Next, I stamped the stem and leaves and texturized the Aqua Mist layer. The sentiment strip was adhered to that panel before being added to a white base. The vase and hydrangea bloom were then added with foam tape. Finally, the bloom was embellished with a few rhinestones (colored with a marker to match).

Recipe:
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Happy Hydrangea, Faux Ribbon (stem), Think Big Favorites #19, Crackled Mini Background - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink
Other: Mega Gracious Vases Die, Happy Hydrangea Dies, Photo Finishers Dies, Tin Types Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; clear rhinestones - Darice; purple marker - Sharpie; foam tape - Scotch

Papertrey Ink September Release Countdown - Day 5

Well, Blogland, here we are on the fifth and final day of this month's Papertrey Ink release countdown. I've had so much fun sharing my projects with you this week. Sharing is good for the soul, I think. Thank you all for spending this week with me. But it's not over yet! I still have a handful of cards 'n such to share so let's get started!

My first two cards today once again incorporate heat embossing on cork. One additional tip I wanted to share in regards to this technique: have a white pen handy to fix any imperfections in the embossing. Cork is inherently a smidgen pitty and uneven, so you're likely going to have a few little spots that would benefit from some touch-up action.

The first card focuses on the ginger fella from Gingerbread Lane. He was stamped and die cut (following the same method I outlined yesterday) before being adhered to a Tag-its #2 circle and set aside. Next I worked on stamping the pattern on my Half & Half die. First, I trimmed the edges of the die about 1/16"each and then I stamped the small loopy image from the set along with a narrowish line image from Faux Ribbon. I love the resulting pattern. It feels both Christmassy as well as a little barber pole-esque. Fun! I adhered my patterned Half & Half die to a full-size Pure Poppy piece and set that aside for a moment.

Next, I stamped the polka dots on my card front and heat embossed the sentiment. Twine was wrapped around the base a few times before being tied in a bow below the sentiment. The Half & Half strip was added to the card front with foam tape and the gingerbread circle was mounted with more...you guessed it...foam tape. I should buy stock.

My second card today features the house from Gingerbread Lane on a windowy construction. I began by measuring and cutting my window in my base and the corresponding layer. Tip: It's easier to get even borders if you cut your layer just a little bit big. That way you have wiggle room to trim as needed.

Next, I lightly traced the outline of the window into the card's interior so I would know where to do my additional stamping. I stamped my grounding shadow (sort of a Rock & Roll technique with one ink color on only the edges) and my interior sentiment before erasing my tracing lines. I stamped and die cut my house and colored in the door and roof tiles/gumdrops with a marker. Then I adhered the house to the inside of the card, right in the middle of the grounding oval.

Stamping the front layer was next. I started with the dashed lines in A Little Argyle and then overstamped with the snowflakes in Snowflake Medley (available September 15th). My sentiment was stamped after the snowflakes had a moment to dry. That whole layer was then mounted to the front of the card with foam tape. I added bits of Loop de Loop border and a couple of pearls to finish the card.

My final project of this countdown is a poinsettia pillow box made with the Essential Pillow Box die and Lovely Layers. I've wanted to create something like this since the moment I first saw Lovely Layers.

I started by die cutting my box from Kraft cardstock and stamping it with Background Basics: Wrought Iron. Next, I cut two of the largest flower layer from Pure Poppy stock. I stamped those with the leaf vein image and attached them together with large glittered brads (that were originally silver, but I colored them with a marker - they aren't quite so orange in real life). Then I stamped the vein images onto the Spring Moss leaves and adhered those to the back side of the flower. I curled all of the petals and then adhered it to my pillow box.

Then I cut a sentiment banner and stamped it with a greeting from Wreath for All Seasons. I adhered one end under the poinsettia and curved it into an "S" shape so it would look like it was flowing. I anchored it with Scor-Tape ever so slightly at the fold so it would be more secure.

Well, that's all for me this countdown. I truly hope you've enjoyed spending time with me this week and I hope to see you all again soon. Have fun shopping tomorrow night. I'll be somewhere around hour 13 of a street festival when the release goes live, so think of me, half-asleep under a vendor's tent, while you're comfortably shopping from home. Ha! I kid...sort of.

And make sure to visit with Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols, Dawn McVey, Betsy Veldman, Melissa Phillips, Maile Belles, Ashley Cannon Newell, Cristina Kowalczyk, Danielle Flanders, Erin Lincoln, Jess Witty, Melissa Bickford, and Tiffany Pastor for more inspiration.

Have fun and I'll see you soon!

Recipes:
Christmas Wishes Card:
Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; white
Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Faux Ribbon, Polka Dot Basics, Tag-Its #2 - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss Pigment - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Rustic Jute Button Twine, Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Half & Half Dies - Papertrey Ink; Cork; Foam Tape - Scotch; White Embossing Powder - Filigree; Circle Dies - Quickutz

Cork House Card:
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Rustic White, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink

Stamps: Gingerbread Lane (available September 15th), Snowflake Medley (available September 15th), Sunflower Bouquet, A Little Argyle - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist Pigment - Papertrey Ink; Burnt Umber - Palette; VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: Gingerbread Lane Dies (available September 15th), Loop de Loop Die (available September 15th), Mat Stack 3 Die, Mat Stack 3 Layerz Die - Papertrey Ink; Pearls - Mark Richards; Red Marker; Cork; Foam Tape - Scotch; White Embossing Powder - Filigree

Poinsettia Pillow Box:
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; white

Stamps: Lovely Layers, Wreath For All Seasons, Background Basics: Wrought Iron - Papertrey Ink 

Ink: Scarlet Jewel, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink

Other: Essential Pillow Box (available September 15th), Lovely Layers Dies - Papertrey Ink; Glittered Brads - Making Memories; square punch; Scor-Tape; Yellow Marker - Copic