PTI August Blog Hop

This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is to gleam inspiration from the above photo and use it to create an Autumn inspired project!  I love all of the varied textures in the inspiration photo.  If you would like to check things out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.

Using Autumn as inspiration, I decided to make a card using the new Teach & Inspire stamp set.  I am a big fan of one of the sentiments in the set, so I knew I would have to use that in my project.  I decided to incorporate this week's MIM inspiration of using fabric to die cut.  I pulled out a fabric swatch I'd gotten while sofa shopping way back when and die cut it using the Fabulous Frames set.  I used the Herringbone Background set to stamp a piece of Fine Linen card stock with Lemon Tart ink.  I used the faux letterpress technique to embed some vintage cream ink into the woodgrain impression plate into a piece of Dark Chocolate card stock.  That was placed onto a woodgrain impressed card base of Ripe Avocado, and topped with an eyelet border from Dark Chocolate, threaded with a tiny blue ribbon tied in a bow.  I made a few mistakes in my measuring/placement, etc, so after trimming and whatnot, this card ended up being about 4"x5".

Supplies:  fabric (Mitchell Gold), ribbon (Michaels), blue ink and woodgrain impression plate (Amuse), all the rest by PTI.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

CAS-ual Fridays CFC62 - Take 2

CAS-ual Fridays CFC62:  Create a Clean And Simple card using a black card base.

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to create a clean and simple card using a black card base.  If you would like to play along, you can find out all about it here.

For this card, I stamped my sentiment with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in white.  I colored the word "happy" with some Copic markers, matted the panel onto Summer Sunrise card stock, and then mounted it with foam dimensionals to my black card base.

Aside from those already mentioned, all supplies are from PTI.


Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI July Blog Hop - Take 3

This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is to gleam inspiration from the above photo and use it to create a project!  The photo looks so light and airy.  The color palette is a soft and citrus-y.  Isn't it just lovely inspiration?  If you would like to check things out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.

For my project I colored a pretty bouquet of flowers from TSG, paired with PTI's Rustic White card stock and a sentiment from Gracious Vases.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI July Blog Hop - Take 2

This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is to gleam inspiration from the above photo and use it to create a project!  The photo looks so light and airy.  The color palette is a soft and citrus-y.  Isn't it just lovely inspiration?  If you would like to check things out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.

I knew I wanted to make a card that focused on the gorgeous bouquet.  I went through my stash and decided to give the flower from Lily of the Valley a try.  I pulled out my watercolor paper, stamped the flower in Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I used a Q-Tip to rub some Snow White ink onto the flower buds and heat embossed them with a clear embossing powder.  I colored the flower with Copic markers, then broke out my distress inks and sponged around the flower with various colors.

This is the fun (and kinda scary) part ... spritz the entire piece with water until it is good and saturated.  I learned this technique from Betsy Veldman's post here.

Then, you set the project aside and wait.  I'd never spritzed over Copic marker before, but it didn't seem to affect it one little bit.  Whew!


I let the paper dry overnight, then stamped the sentiment and added a gold pen border to create a little distinction from the Melon Berry card base.  I think the gold border added that little something extra that the project really needed.  Thanks to Nichole Heady for that idea - she adds gold borders to her projects from time to time.

Other than those mentioned already, all supplies are from PTI.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI July Blog Hop

This month's PTI Blog Hop challenge is to gleam inspiration from the above photo and use it to create a project!  The photo looks so light and airy.  The color palette is a soft and citrus-y.  Isn't it just lovely inspiration?  If you would like to check things out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.


I knew I wanted to make a card that focused on the gorgeous bouquet.  I decided to use the beautiful tulip bouquet in the Friendship Jar Spring Fillers set.  I also knew that I wanted to incorporate vellum to give that light and airy feel to my card.  My original idea was to create a gorgeous color wash for a background and overlay my bouquet on vellum.  I thought if I colored a bouquet and laid it over a color wash, that it would end up too busy, so I decided on an embossed bouquet outline.  I pulled out my watercolor paper and distress inks and I think I made a half dozen color washes before getting one that I liked.  

Next, I stamped the sentiment on vellum and let it dry well before stamping the bouquet in Versamark ink.  I sprinkled on some satin pearl embossing powder from A*Muse and carefully removed any embossing powder that was over the sentiment.  The result wasn't quite bright enough to stand out against the color-washed background, so I repeated the process, but this time with white embossing powder.  I mounted the color-washed piece to a Berry Sorbet card base and attached the vellum overlay.

I went back to the satin pearl embossed bouquet and decided to experiment with some Copic markers.  I really like the results as it gives a sort of watercolor look.  I attached the vellum to a Stamper's Select White card base.  I like this card so much better than my original idea!  Funny how that works sometimes.  I have a need to send this card out right away, so I'm planning to make another one soon to keep in my stash.  :)

Other than those mentioned, all supplies are from PTI.


Thanks ever so much for stopping by!

PTI Stamp-a-faire: Closing Ceremony

What a weekend!  I loved it all!

PTI Stamp-a-faire: Camp Card Set Challenge

Ahhhh, the weekend I've been waiting a year for!  Last year was Papertrey Ink's first annual Stamp-a-faire event.  It was held in Cincinnati and I was so fortunate to be able to attend.  It was awesome getting to meet in person all the wonderful PTI Gals whose blogs I read on a weekly basis!  I am so thankful that I had (and took) the opportunity to go last year, because ...


This year's Stamp-a-faire event was held online!  The PTI Gals did a fabulous job this year with all of the tutorials, videos, challenges, and forum chatting.  It was even better than I'd expected!  If you would like to check it out for yourself, you can find out all about it here.

The sixth challenge for the day was the Camp Card Set Challenge.  Nichole challenged us to create a card set, to give as a gift or to keep for ourselves, in an effort to keep the tradition of a handwritten note alive!  If you would like to play along, you can find out all about it here.


I knew I wanted to make a card set for my friend who is a Thirty-One consultant/director.  She likes to send her downlines cards from time-to-time and I wanted to make some cards that she could use for that purpose.  After a few failed design attempts, I went to my inspiration file and decided to CASE this card by Dawn McVey.

I wanted to keep the design all pink as that is the signature Thirty-One color.  I used  Bubblegum Glimmer Mist to spritz on the background, stamped a strip of houndstooth in Raspberry Fizz, and topped it with a strip of Raspberry Fizz PP in the leafy vine pattern.  A die cut rectangle out of Hibiscus Burst card stock was layered over a die cut scalloped rectangle of Raspberry Fizz card stock.  I stamped a different sentiment onto each rectangle and heat embossed them in white.  The star from Super Stars was stamped in Raspberry Fizz onto Stamper's Select White card stock and cut it out by hand.  The rectangle and star were both adhered with foam dimensionals.  I love the sentiments for this set - totally uplifting and motivational!  Hopefully my friend and her downlines will feel the same way.  :)

Aside from the Spellbinders dies, mist, and bling-bling, all supplies are from PTI.


Thanks to the PTI Gals for all the great inspiration they have provided today!


Thanks ever so much for stopping by!