PTI Make It Monday #137: Dimensional Leaf Wreath

This month's PTI Blog Hop is a Tag It challenge.  Nichole has challenged us to get ahead of the holiday rush and make a set of 5 gift tags.  She didn't specify that they needed to be Christmas gift tags, so I decided to incorporate this week's Make-It-Monday challenge of making a dimensional leaf wreath into a Thanksgiving-themed wine bottle tag.  Perfect for dressing up a bottle of wine to take to Thanksgiving dinner, don't you think?

I die cut the leaves out of watercolor paper and sprayed them with various colors of mists before stamping on the vein images.  I arranged the leaves into a wreath/spray shape onto a bottle tag and topped them with some scrunchy ribbon and a button.

I love how these turned out and hope they will brighten somebody's Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI supplies used:
Wine Bottle Tag die, Basket of Blessings, Kraft buttons, numerous colors of ink.

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop

This month's PTI Blog Hop is a Tag It challenge.  Nichole has challenged us to get ahead of the holiday rush and make a set of 5 gift tags.  Nichole didn't specify that they needed to be Christmas gift tags, so I went ahead and made a set of birthday tags as well as a set of shaker Christmas tags.  First up, is my favorite - the shaker tags:

I used the new Tag Sale #8 die for these tags, cutting out 2 tags from Stampers Select White card stock and one tag from fun foam with adhesive on both sides (fyi - buy a foam sheet with adhesive and then run the other side through a Xyron).  The background snow was stamped with Versamark ink, heat embossed with clear embossing powder, and then sponged over with blue distress ink.  The inside image was stamped, then colored with Copic markers, and the snow globe base was stamped with gold ink.  Each tag has the name of the recipient stamped on it and tinsel-type clear glitter was sandwiched inside.  

My last set of tags were made with the Tag Sale #5 die.  I used a set of animal print patterned papers for the base and accented the tags with a banner and sentiment stamped from the Bountiful Banners set.  

I still need to go shopping for some thin, black ribbon before I can call these tags complete. :)

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!


PTI supplies used:  

Shaker Tags:  Tag Sale #8, Snow Globe, Winter Penguin, & numerous colors of ink.


Birthday Tags:  Tag Sale #5, Tag Sale #1, Bountiful Banners, Tiny Tags, & Smokey Shadow ink.

Make It Monday #136: Textured Stamping

This week's Make-It-Monday challenge is brought to us by Ashley.  She has shown us a clever way to make our solid surfaced stamps more versatile by achieving a subtle texture.  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.

This week I had another birthday card to make.  This time, for one of my nephews.  I'm generally at a bit of a loss when making boy cards, let alone tweenage boy cards.  But, here is what I managed to come up with:

I used Ashley's swipe technique on a few of the triangles, but it is best seen on the blue triangles.  I thought the result was really fabulous and gave a bit of a cool/hip factor to this tweenage card.  Ashley's technique is super simple and I am really happy to have it in my crafting arsenal.  Thanks, Ashley!

I turned this project into another zipper-hidden cash gift-hiding card.  I really love the PTI zipper border die for this purpose!

And lastly, a pic of the decorated inside:

All supplies are from PTI.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Make It Monday #134: Repeat + Lift

This week at PTI, Nichole showed us a video on how to do her Repeat and Lift technique.  The technique involves generation stamping (repeat) and then adhering the coordinating die cut on top of it with foam tape (lift).  Love it!  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find out about it here.

Since I needed to make a birthday card for my niece, I decided to go ahead and CASE Nichole's showcase card.  The technique really is quick and easy, just like Nichole said.

I opted to create a zipper card to enclose some cash.  I used the zipper border die, placing only the length I wanted to use within my cutting plates and letting the rest hang off.  I placed adhesive all around the edge of the card to enclose the money. 

Next time I plan to put adhesive just around the outside and that way I can place the money right under the zipper and create a bigger opening to fish that money out.  :)

I decorated the inside of the card, with a clear indication to tear that baby open!  We certainly don't want cash getting tossed in the trash now, do we?  :)

All supplies are from PTI (exclusive of the nom, nom, nom stamp).

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Make It Monday #133: Creating a Flocked Look with Dimensional Paste

This week Papertrey Ink has a tutorial and challenge hosted by Danielle.  She has shown us a fabulous idea and technique to use our coverplate dies to create masks to use with dimensional paste to create the coolest flocking effect on our projects.  So incredibly cool!

I'll admit, I went to the store to buy some paste (as I didn't have any) and the technique looked so neat.  I ended up buying "Light Molding Paste" and it was kinda pricey, but I used a coupon and let me just say that the fun I've had with this technique was totally worth it!  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find all the info here.

I went through my coverplate dies and decided to use the one that looks like a knit sweater.  When I saw it, I knew I would pair it with the new Two Feet Deep stamp set.  I also layered in a diecut from the new Fancy Flakes set.  I thought the snowflake needed some shimmer, so I spritzed it with some Glimmer Mist.

I put the sentiment on the inside:

For my second attempt, I used the Mighty Oak coverplate die.  I thought I'd be smart and make a reusable mask this time.  The clear card stock is a bit thinner than the PTI card stock and I found it allowed the paste to slip under the mask a bit.  I guess I'll stick with paper masks from now on.  lol!

After the paste dried, I went ahead and stamped right on top of it.  The pattern of the stamps was lost a bit on the paste, so I found I didn't care for this look as much as letting the paste stand on it's own.  The paste itself looks so cool and I found it acted like a chameleon, changing color depending on that which it was applied to.  If you haven't tried the paste for yourself, I highly recommend it!

Unless otherwise noted, all supplies are from PTI.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop

This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is wreaths:  to create a project incorporating a wreath.  Fun and festive, right?  Yes!

The only wreath stamp set that I own is Papertrey Ink's Birds and Blooms set ... of which I had not used to stamp a wreath!  That's one of the things I like best about challenges - they get me to use supplies I've been too busy to get around to using.  :)  And let me tell you, this stamp set is gorgeous!  The details are incredible!  It makes for a beautiful, one-layer, easy to mail card.  Wouldn't you agree?

I had a bit of trouble lining up the flower stamps properly within the leaves, so I filled it out a bit with a few singles and the cute dot trio from Mini Blooms.  The finishing touch was to top the wreath off with a bow from Bells and Boughs.

I decided to go the extra distance to decorate the inside of the card as well as the front and back of the envelope.  

All supplies used are from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Make It Monday #132: Layered Border Die Cuts

This week Papertrey Ink has a tutorial and challenge hosted by Dawn.  She has shown us how to make a stunning project layering multiple border die cuts.  Dawn made such a beautiful card!  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find all the info here.

I had done this technique once before using various scallop punches instead of dies.  So, for this challenge, my first thought was to use my PTI cloud dies.  I know it's not technically a border die, but I think the idea, process, and the resulting look are just the same.  What do you think?

I used a sponge and distress inks to create the rainbow and sky at the top of the card front, then adhered cloud die cuts all the way down the panel.  Lastly, I added a sun die cut out of Harvest Gold card stock.

Inside the card, I included the sentiment from PTI's Movers and Shakers stamp set.  I achieved the rainbow effect by carefully masking.  Not perfect, but it will have to do as I'm not quite brave enough to cut apart my stamps just yet.  :)

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Make It Monday #130: Using Heat N' Bond to Make Fabric Die Cuts

This week Papertrey Ink has a tutorial and challenge hosted by Erin.  She has shown us a fabulous idea and technique to use our dies to create fabric iron-ons for our crafting pleasure.  Wow!  It's so easy and totally fun!!  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find all the info here.

I went to my stash and dug out a burlap drawstring bag.  Then, I rummaged through my fabric bin and was pleasantly surprised to actually find some heat 'n bond in there!  I used Erin's technique to cut a doily out of muslin fabric and a circle with an owl cut out of it in vintage cream felt.  I used another circle cut out of muslin to stamp the owl and color it with Copics.  I stitched around the felt after ironing it onto the doily, then I ironed the doily onto the burlap bag.  Quite simple, really.

Stamps & dies are from PTI.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

Monday Mood Board #19

Hello!  I'm playing along with the Monday Mood Board #19 challenge over at WPlus9 this week.  If you haven't checked out the beautiful inspiration photo and swoon-worthy entries, you can do so here.

I was inspired by the colors in the photo, but wanted to add a bold pop of navy.  Here is what I came up with.

The front panel of the card base has a cutout so that the focal point can be seen from both the front and inside of the card.

I decorated the inside of the card too!  :)

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Stamp-A-Faire 2013

The event we've been waiting a year for is finally here!  I am just beyond excited!!!  I was able to get an early start with the hopes of keeping up with the schedule this year ... alas, there was just too much crafty inspiration to be had and tutorials to drool over.  lol!  The posts and videos are still free for the viewing, but the challenges aren't, so let me get right to it!  In case you would like to check out all the fun for yourself, you can find it on Nichole's blog, here.

My day started very early getting one of my soccer players up, ready, and out the door.  She and DH left a couple minutes before 7am - perfect timing for me to place my SAF order and earn that sweet Reasons to Smile stamp set for free.  * Score! *

I ate my farmer's market-fresh cinnamon roll (delish!) while browsing all the sketch and color combos for the Morning Bake & Take challenge.  Here are the sketch and color combos I chose:

And my take:

Then I started rolling out some paperclay to use later as well as get some tea boiling for the next challenge - Tea Staining!  I stained some muslin fabric and promptly dumped out the tea before realizing that I wanted to also dye some laces.  Hmmm.  Instant coffee crystals to the rescue!  I got the lace wet with boiling water and then sprinkled on some coffee crystals.  The effect was neat, since I could get an overall color, or a speckled look depending on whether I mixed up the coffee or just sprinkled and let it sit.

I just Adore (with a capital A) Melissa Phillips' works of heart.  She is one amazingly talented lady!  I made my fabric flower much like hers in the tutorial.  I used some watered-down coffee to spritz my bookprint (love how that turned out) and fashioned my card after Melissa's.  I love, love, love how it turned out!  Thank you, Melissa!

I also wanted to try Betsy's dip-dye technique using the Kool-Aid packages for coloring.  I dipped an A2 size piece of white card stock into some red Kool-Aid on one side and then flipped it around and dipped the other side into some purple.  It's a neat effect and I think I'll try it again with some brighter colors next time.  I die cut my dip-dyed card stock with the Rainbow Stripes die and mimicked the design of this awesome card by Erin.  I used the sugar-coated technique of Betsy's to glitter the die cut star.

Now, the rolled dough challenge proved a bit difficult for me.  It took ages to dry and then it was nearly too thick to cut.  I seriously thought I might break my poor Big Shot!  Late on Sunday, I did finally manage to eek out some die cut stars and heat embossed them in gold.  

I made this card with my DD's in mind as they both played awesome at their soccer games over the weekend and green is one of their team colors.  :)  So proud of those girls!

The mixing mists challenge was much more fun than I'd anticipated, I mean, how could I possibly make a mist that would rival Mr. Hueys?  I ended up making a mist from Hawaiian Shores ink refill and used it to spritz over a handmade chevron mask.  I found the homemade mist to be a bit more translucent without any shimmer (because I opted not to add the perfect pearls).  The results reminded me of the color wash look that's so popular right now.  So, Nichole proved me wrong ... there is most definitely a use in my craft room for homemade mists!

Onto the Sprinkle of Salt challenge.  Who knew?  Who knew you could use salt like a coarse glitter?  I sure didn't.  A heavy dose of glittery goodness makes me think of snow, so I chose to salt-up my Peaceful Pinecone image to make a festive holiday tag.

Have you heard of the Gallon, Quart, Pint theory?  I had.  But, let you tell you, I had trouble with this challenge.  The theory is pretty straight-forward.  Shouldn't have been an issue, but this one took me awhile.

Time to revert to your childhood.  Remember way back, way, way back to when you played with Shrinky Dinks?  Yep, time to revisit that art form!  I took Melissa's cue and decided to make a cute jar pendant.  I used green (my DD's favorite color) embossing powder to include some stars as well as silver to stamp the jar image. The resulting little jar is just so tiny and cute!  On a side note - the jar ended up curling a little bit while cooling off.  I was afraid to try and flatten it on account of the embossing, and when I tested it with my fingernail, it ended up smearing one of the stars a little bit - oops - still wet, I guess.

I also used frosted shrinky dinks and my copic markers to make this little cutie:

This was such a fun technique and there is such possibility.  I can't wait to explore it more, especially with my DD's by my side.  :)

Next up on the schedule are the Scent-sational cards.  I canNOT wait to get my grubby little craft hands on that cute stamp set designed specifically for scratch and sniff cards.  My DD's thought that was the neatest idea and loved smelling the card I made ... Mmmmm, strawberry!

Getting towards the end of the fun with the Limited Ingredients challenge.  After I decided on a design, this one went pretty quick.  I used inspiration from one of the DT (I can't find who at the moment) for the sentiment/balloon string idea, along with the angled panel idea from Maile.  I love the result - festive, fun, and pretty easy!

One last challenge - Sweet Sugar-Coated Embellishments.  I have to say, Betsy's tutorial for glittering paper or embellishments is the best I've seen yet!  The spray adhesive gives a nice even coat, which gives a nice even appearance to the glitter layer.  Ever brush on some glue and then sprinkle it with glitter?  Did you have good results?  Well, I tried it, and bleh, the results were terrible!  The glitter came out thin in some spots and denser in others.  Betsy's technique worked great!  Then, add that layer of clear coat like Betsy suggests, and it's pure glittery heaven.  :)

To wrap up the festivities, I've got a photo of all my projects along with a glimpse at my work area, including the 8"x14" spot of cleared desktop I used to make all of my creations.  haha!  

Hope you had a great time this weekend.  I know I sure enjoyed myself!  I'm already looking forward to SAF 2014!  :)

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!