August Papertrey Blog Hop!!

This is my first Papertrey Blog Hop, and I sure hope I did it right!! I have been wanting to participate for the past few months, and unable due to travel.
This month's theme was Fall...and here is how I picked up on it: I used my Top Note Die and quilted squares from the In Bloom Paper pack in some of my favorite fall colors. When there is a note of crispness in the air, I always grab a quilt or afghan and get all cozied up. I also used the PTI sentiment from the Quilter's Sample. The "quilt" stitches were drawn in with a white signo gel pen.
The ribbon is ruffled using a great tutorial found on Lisa Johnson's blog this month for "ruffled ribbon trim." found here: http://http//poppypaperie.typepad.com/poppy_paperie/2009/08/ruffled-ribbon-trim.html
I pulled out a needle and gathered one side of the stitching to ruffle it, then used red tape to attach it to one side of my quilt. A Papertrey button in green leaf was added with a twine bow for accent.
Thanks for looking at my submission this month! I am excited to see everyone else's ideas!!
Details:
Stamps: PTI Quilter's Sample
Ink: SU Rich Razzleberry, White gel pen
Cardstock PTI confetti, PTI In Bloom, SU Rich Razzleberry
Other: Top Note Die, PTI Button, twine, saddlestitch ribbon, red tape, Allene's Fast Grab glue for the button

Tulip for Joanne (JoJot)

Today is Featured Stamper today on Splitcoast Stampers...and this time I even know the featured stamper!! I have been a long time admirer of Joanne's ability to stamp at least or sometimes more than once a day. I looked in her gallery, and there were over 1,000 cards!! (all beautiful, by the way~)That alone tells me she is heads and shoulders better than me, as it takes me that long to usually find my stamp set. Here's an example...this morning I log on to see that Joanne is featured stamper. Yipee!! After spending at least an hour in her gallery, I decide to CASE one of her many examples using the Snow Swirled set. I spend at least two hours turning my stamp room upside down looking for the Snow Swirled stamp set. By about noon, I am questioning whether I ever actually bought this set...maybe I am imagining stamping with it, or maybe I made a card at stamp class?? I do this way too often, being such a visual person, I can see myself stamping with this set. I just can't see where I put it when I was done.
Meanwhile, Joanne has probably stamped a few stacks of gift sets...something she probably does in her sleep!!

This is Joanne's card I chose to case:
here:


Oh, well, so I turned to Joann's signature style of red and black...ohh...la lah...And I do have the perfect tulip from Flourishes. So coloring this was the quickest part of my card...the rest was cutting and making layers, another thing I don't do often enough. This baby is layered up, for sure!! But I did it all for Joanne, and I stretched myself with those layers!! Oh, and I made my own designer paper using black paper and a white craft stamp pad run across the inside of my cuttlebug folder. I liked that part...it was fast!!
I really enjoy featured stamper day, and Joanne's style is one that I hope I can CASE more of. Congratulations Joanne!! Enjoy your day...
And now back to my stamp room to search for my lost set.
Thanks for stopping by today!!

Lighthouse Inspired

This lighhthouse card was started before my trip to see an actual real one...(See the next entry for pictures) but it wasn't fully assembled. I brought these tiny seashells home and finished up my card. The set is from Our Daily Bread Designs, a gift from a friend. The paper colors are Vintage Violet(SU retired), Almost Amethyst, Night of Navy and Sahara Sand. The lighthouse was colored in with an aqua painter. I added the sentiment with oval nestabilites...
I wanted there to be light emitting from the top, so added some gold perfect pearls powder with a versamark pen.
Thanks for looking...and hope you get a chance to be inspired to stamp soon!!

Coastal Inspiration

Here are a couple of pictures from a trip my daughter and I took accompanying my husband on a business trip. The destination was Half Moon Bay in California. Because this little community sits right on the coast, the weather was very cool (not above 70 degrees) and the fog never lifted! So no sunny pictures, and if everything looks kinda fuzzy, it's probably the fog.

The lighthouse was not very big, and I am not even sure if it was operating...but it was one of the few I have been able to see. It looked like all the stamps I've seen, anyways!! The lighthouse was at Montara Point so I think the name of it was Montara Point Lighthouse!

Wouldn't you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?

I don't know how many of you remember that song, "Wouldn't you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?..." but that is what this card reminds me of. After receiving this Everyday Bitty Buttons set from Papertrey Ink, I have been busy in my stamp room pairing these balloons with the designer Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers, buttons, and ribbons, and of course, scallops...so much fun!!
This was mounted on three of the square scalloped nestability dies. The sky was sponged in bashful blue on a very quick makeshift cloud template because I couldn't find my good one. Then I found two of the PT buttons with little speckles on them, so glued them down with my latest discovery: Allene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue!! I read about it on Sharon's blog (notimetostamp) and the price was right...mine was 3.49 for a package of 5 at my Hobby Store. This stuff grabs hold and doesn't let go, doesn't ooze out the sides, and is quick drying.
Oh, and one more quick tip, the butterfly didn't quite go with the melon in my solid paper, so I just grabbed a copic marker with a hint of orange and outlined the butterfly in the left hand upper corner, and there ya have it!! Hope you enjoy this happy card, and thanks to my friend, Peggysue, for providing the single blue mist button that provided the inspiration for this card.
Friends really do give friends a lift, even in the form of buttons!!

The Last of the Strawberries!!

I adore this stamp set, Strawberries, from Flourishes!! It is so fun to color and I love the bright red with the greens...This is for a challenge issued by Silke on the Flourishes Newsletter to make a card using score lines. Mine are on the left and the bottom of the card. The little prima is part of a very large one I took apart, then sewed a button from the PTI collection to the center. After I had put my card together, I decided the corners looked a little bare, so I added this vintage lace.
Now, let me introduce you to my favorite stamping tool, it is called: un-du. It is an adhesive remover usually found in the glue section of hobby or stamping stores. I use this a lot, it removes residue by just pouring a little bit on, and your glue comes right off! In this case, I was able to lift both corners of my card to insert the red lace. Pretty wonderful, in my opinion!!

Thanks for looking, and this may be the last of the strawberries, but I sure have loved using them.
The copics used to color these were:
R43, R46, R59, R20, Y21, YR 24, YG17 and G99

You can visit the Flourishes blog newsletter for more information on their products and challenges: http://www.flourishesnewsletter.blogspot.com/

Fit for Royalty!!

Over at Flourishes the team is having a new challenge to make a card all glamoured up with glitz for the "Fit for Royalty" challenge!!

You can find the challenge here on the Flourishes Newsletter:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2687490157018807286&postID=7360625351902593475
I chose to use the Sweet Pea set and gold embossed it on European watercolored paper.The image was matted using the Labels 4 nestabilities. The background panel is some retired SU Holiday paper that I love in one of my favorite colors. It needed something, so I used my Arch Lattice punch for a border strip under my ribbon. Tiny gold pearls were added in the background damask pattern.
Here's my confession: I tore apart another card I had made to get to this pretty glitzy ornament!! I like this version so much better than the one it was on, and so I revamped a card that would probably never make it to anyone's mailbox because it wasn't to my liking.
Does anyone else ever do that??
Thanks for looking today, I am not feeling too glamourized just yet, I think it's time to put my make up on!!

Uncle Beeford and the Boys in Booneville!!

The teapot party has been seen in swarms moving south to Booneville, Mississippi! According to Mothermark, we are requested to not worry about rsvp'ing but just bring on the bees!! I don't know why, I can never understand her stories, but they are hilarious, and entertain everyone week after week!

My card was also for today's sketch challenge issued by Rox on SCS.

To participate in this week's Teapot Tuesday and read the story and see the most creative cards in the beehive...click on the Teapot Tuesday button on my sidebar!!

Thanks for looking, hope to see ya at the party!

Feathered Friends

Thanks for joining me on a Saturday afternoon! Today's card is my inspiration found on SCS's Inspiration Challenge using Bellacor Vases as your starting point. I love the deep rich colors of this vase found at the top of this post next to my card.


I combined this with Sharon Johnson's (notimetostamp) weekly challenge to make a card for a friend, and it had to have the word "friend" on the card. This is Sharon Johnson's 99th week of challenges, which means next week will be a big one. To see the excitement, visit her blog, found on my sidebar.

This image is from a favorite set of mine, "Feathered Hope" and was stamped on watercolor paper, watercolored with WC crayons then cut out with the oval nestabilities. Before removing the die, I added some yellow ink to brighten up the birds. The birds were matted with Always Artichoke. The chocolate chip mat was embossed on one side with the Cuttlebug strips, it went perfectly with the leaves in the stamps. These were rubbed with Encore Gold metallic ink to highlight, along with the sides of the brown base. Second layer was really rust, then Papertrey's Rustic white cardstock, which gives a nice flecked card inside for writing. The green gingham ribbon is from May Arts, I believe. Three gold dome pearls were added on each side of the ovals.

I love bird stamps, and watercoloring, and have missed both...so hope you like this. Thanks for popping in, and I would love to read your comments.
Hope you get a chance to stamp soon, can't wait to see what you make!!

Seek and Find

Good afternoon! Just a quick post today...this is for two challenges, Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge to use metal on your card and the Mojo Monday sketch for the month.
This is Flourishes' new set, Seaside Life. The shells were watercolored, then misted with perfect pearls for a slight shimmer which shows up better in person. The colors were drawn from the background designer paper and are a mix of blues, pinks, apricots, sands, and greens. Betcha can't see all of that though! The inner circle was stamped in Sahara Sand using the Flourishes Reverse Damask stamp.
For the Flourishes Newsletter,visit:http://flourishesnewsletter.blogspot.com/

I always find a sketch helpful and this month's Mojo Monday is no exception!
The ribbon is from a good friend of mine,Linda Borneman, called Ocean Tides from Papertrey Ink, the pretty brass slide is a set called "Finishing Touches" found in th Flourishes store. They are beautiful!
Thanks for looking, and do you see the sentiment at the bottom? "Seek and Find..." I love it~ Have a blessed day!

Look Ma, no Ink!!!

Happy Sunday!! It's a good thing the VSN challenge this weekend issued by my friend, Peggysue, was limited to 45 minutes! I set my timer, and I found myself reaching for one more ribbon just as the buzzer buzzed!! The challenge was to make a card using no ink...the idea behind it that you are on a limited diet!! I know all about limited diets, we just recently came off a no-iodine diet at our home. It was part of my husband's thyroid removal treatment and that was a lot bigger challenge than this card. Did you know iodine is in everything?
Anyways, on to the card...I had seen these fan-fold flowers at the bottom of this week's tutorial for a tri-shutter card. I loved the idea of making your own flowers, and so gave it a whirl. Other than the fact my flower just kept popping up like a tiddly-wink every time I tried to tame it down to put the backing on, this was fun! I do like the end result. The only problem I see is there is absolutely no way this will ever fit in an envelope...it is either a box card or hand-delivered type of card! Oh and if you look closely between those two black ribbons, there is a rub-on sentiment, "Make a Wish."
This was also made for today's featured stamper on SCS, VA. Sunshine! She has amazing talent, and gave me the color inspiration for my creation!
So the fan fold technique is here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/fanfoldflower


Just in case you feel like playing tiddly-winks!!
Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday, and thanks for stopping by!! Could you please do me a favor before you leave and sign my guest book at the bottom of the page?? I somehow lost the first one, don't know how that happened! But sure would love to see you here!