Thursday, March 25, 2010

PTI Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the hop! Since the focus of this hop is buttons and PTI has just released Beautiful Blooms 2 and three sets of coordinating dies, I thought I'd remind you that you can make your own buttons using those dies.  I don't have any of the new dies, so I used the Cuttlebug dies that go with Beautiful Blooms 1. I used the smallest of the four dies for my buttons. It it about 3/4 inch in diameter which is a little smaller than the smallest Beautiful Blooms 2 dies. The smallest of the new dies measure 1 inch or 1 1/4 inches which are great sizes for buttons.
I used Craft-A-Board which I bought here.  It cuts very easily with dies and a Cuttlebug. But I have also  made buttons in the past with cereal boxes. After cutting with the dies, I punched a couple of holes for my button holes.
Because Craft-A-Board is white, if you  ink it the color stays true. I inked one button in Hibiscus Burst, one in Berry Sorbet, one in Sweet Blush, and one I kept natural.I used Stickles in Fruit Punch on each.  I like this Stickles because it works well with different shades of pink and peach.

 Now once you've done this, you can complete everything else for your card, take a nap, go shopping, clean house, pull weeds. Because it takes Stickles forever to dry! Several light layers might speed the process, but I put on a layer with good coverage with a few small touch ups and patiently (LOL) waited for the next step. After the Stickles dried, I coated the buttons with Glosssy Accents. Again a long drying period is required. Since I did this step early in the evening, I let the Glossy Accents dry overnight.
The next morning, I was ready to put my card together.

I cut the card base using Sweet Blush cs. Then I cut piece of Spring Moss and adhered it. The cream piece was first stamped with the background stamp in London Fog ink, and then I stamped the flourish in Spring Moss. I inked the edges with Antique Linen and distressed them. I adhered this to card. Next, I used the largest die to cut the bloom in Sweet Blush and then stamped with Versasmark and heat set with embossing powder. Using scoretape,I attached a button to the center of each bloom. The final step was to adhere the flowers to the card.

Are you ready to make your own Beautiful Blooms Buttons?


Supplies:
Stamps:Beautiful Blooms 1(PTI), Documentary Background (Prima Marketing)
Ink: Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Berry Sorbet(PTI); Versamark; London Fog(Memento)
Paper: Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream (PTI)
Other: Craft-A-Board, Fruit Punch Stickles, Glossy Accents, Flower Dies(Cuttlebug)

Happy Birthday, Terri!

Fellow Papertrey Peep Terri is celebrating her birthday today, so I want to give her basket of sunny flowers.

Here are the steps for the card.
1. Cut piece of New Leaf cs 5 1/4 x 4.
2. Cut pieces of patrterned paper; adhere.
3. Attach ribbon.
4. Cut card base 5 1/2x4 1/4 from Summer Sunrise.
5. Attach green cs to card base.
6. Stamp flowers on Vintage Cream. Cut out with deckled rectangle Nestabilities. Color image with Copics.
7. Stamp and cut out picnic basket. Adhere.
8. Attach focal point.
9. Stamp sentiment and cut out with Labels Nestabilities. Attach.
10. Cut out felt flower with die. Sew on brown button. Attach flower to card.

Terri, I hope you have wonderful day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Picnic, Mixed Messages (PTI)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Paper: Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, Vintage Cream .Bitty Dot Basics(PTI), Garden Variety Mini Deck(Cosmo Cricket)
Other: Summer Sunrise Ribbon (PTI), Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Flower dies(Cuttlebug),Copics, felt, button

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A Little Bunny Morphs into A Little Chick ,Peeps Challenge #4

Good Wednesday morning! I hope your week is going well.
The Papertrey Peeps group has another fun challenge posted. Peggysue, host of our current challenge, has challenged us to CASE a card made by Nichole Heady during the February or March Papertrey release without using a stamp set used during that release.
Here is the card  from February's release that I chose to case.

I chose to make an Easter card since I need a few to mail to family.

After cutting and rounding the corners of white cs, I used the stamp set Life to create the floral background. I used Spring Moss for the stems and Berry Sorbet for the blossoms. I stamped the sentiment from Take Three:Sping in Berry Sorbet. Then I pierced out from the sentiment. I mounted this on a card base of Berry Sorbet. I stamped the little chick from Tags for Spring in Fresh Snow on Berry Sorbet cs, cut it out with square Nestablilites, and inked the edges in Fresh Snow. I adhered this with dimensional tape and added a pearl in each corner.
I'd love for you to play along with us and link your card on the Peeps Blog. Click on the Peeps link on the side bar to head to the blog for more details see what others have created.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Greetings

I was going to link the card by Melissa Phillips that was the inspiration for this card; however and not surprisingly, it has been removed for publication. I will say that her card changed my ambivalent feelings for Take Three:Spring. One of the features of Melissa's card that I liked was she stamped the six images on text printed paper. I only used three images and fewer embellishments, but I did first stamp with Text Time and then stamped the three bunny images from Take Three.

I distressed th edges of the Lemonade and Pretty Pastels paper.
 On another of Melissa's posts, she mentioned that she often buys silk hydrangea flowers at a local craft store, deconstructing them, and using the blossoms on her cards. So I bought a hydrangea stem at Michaels (using a discount coupon, of course) to have a more economical set of blooms to use.
Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:
Stamps: Take Three:Spring ,Background Basics:Text Style hn(PTI)
Ink: Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss(PTI); Tea Dye Distress Ink(Ranger)
Paper: Vintage Cream ,Pretty Pastels(PTI); Lemondade Paper Pad(Basic Grey)
Other: Label Tag Trio,square Nestabilities(Spellbinders); Aqua Mist ribbon,Sweet Blush Vintage Button (PTI), border punch(Fiskars)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Snail Mail


Lisa Johnson's most recent Poppy Seed challenge includes these three seeds: a button, polka dots, and spring green.
After stamping the adorable snail from Baby Button Bits, I couldn't decide whether to use a button on it. I thought it was pretty cute with just those little brown polka dots. Then I found the perfect button-- spring green  and translucent so the dots  still show, and the perfect size---decision made...button adhered.




The card base is Spring Moss with layers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird Mini Deck. I stamped the snail and sentiment in Rich Cocoa. I also used Very Vintage Labels No. 3 stamp and cut out the focal point with Nestabilities. I chose a narrow brown ribbon so it wouldn't overpower the image.
Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Vintage Picnic (PTI),Very Vintage Labels No. 3 (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Paper: Vintage Cream, Spring Moss (PTI), Early Bird Mini Deck(Cosmo Cricket)
Other: Labels 3 Nestabilities; button, ribbon(Hobby Lobby)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring Time

Tomorrow, of course, is officially the first day of spring, but here today the weather will be springy with sunshine and temps near 70! DH has headed out early to play golf, and this afternoon I will work outside working to make pretty. Meanwhile the chicken k-bobs are marinating, awaiting the grill this evening. Ahhh!
SPRING!
My card today is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 58, using either sketch provided by Silke Ledlow, this week's host.


I made a standard A2 card.


Here are the steps:
Cut a card base in plum pudding.
Cut and adhere dp.
Cut yellow cardstock using Cricut Mother's Day cartridge. Attach to Plum Pudding circle.
Attach ribbon.
Attach circle to card.
Stamp the sentiment from Take Three Spring is stamped in Plum Pudding and cut with an oval Nestabilities. Ink the edges with more Plum Pudding. Adhere to card.

Stamp the pansies  from A Year in Flowers Set 1 in Tuxedo Black, color with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out. Adhere, using foam dots.
Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:
Stamps: A Year in Flowers Set 1(Flourishes), Take Three:Spring(PTI)
Ink:  MementoTuxedo Black(Tsukineko), Plum Pudding (PTI)
Paper: Plum Pudding, Stamper's Select White, Lemon Tart (PTI), dp from stash
Other: Cricut Mother's Day cartridge, oval and circle Nestabilities, Prismacolor pencils, ribbon

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Waltzingmouse Stamps St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! And welcome to the Waltzingmouse  Stamps St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop! I'm so glad to be able to participate. Claire provided some GORGEOUS free digital images for this hop, but don't think these images are good for only one day of the year. They can be used throughout the year. The image I used along with a good luck sentiment would be perfect anytime for someone who may need a little encouragement!

I know you are anxious to visit the other blogs, so here's a brief description of the making of the card. While listening to the Chieftans on my I-Pod, I cut the card base using A Child's Year Cricut cartridge. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and cut it out with oval Nestablities. Love those oval Nestabilities! (Hint, hint, Claire). I embossed the gingham paper to give it a bit more texture. I used scalloped oval Nestabilities for a base for the image. Another piece of gingham was mounted inside to peek through each shamrock. I needed thin ribbon to fit the scalloped edge of the card, so I colored some cream satin ribbon with a Copic marker (V95) to coordinate with the ribbon on the image. I had intended to use a smaller button, but when I saw this button, I had to use it. The center of the button is perfect for this card.

Last, what's the most "touristy" thing to do in Ireland?  Kiss the Blarney Stone.
Here's the castle.

And here's me "kissing" the blarney stone.

 (No, I did not actually put my lips on the stone----uuuuugh--whose lips had been on that stone?)
And on that final Irish note...
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the hop,

Supplies:
Digital image:  Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: Spring Rain(PTI), gingham(The Paper Studio)
Other: New Leaf Vintage Buttons (PTI),Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, A Child's Year Cricut cartridge,  Swiss Dots Embosssing Folder, Prismacolor pencils, Copics

Monday, March 15, 2010

Happy Birthday, Kimberly

Kimberly, one of the Papertrey Peeps is celebrating her birthday today. So this card is filled with sweet wishes that she has a wonderful day.


I cut the mat in Spring Moss since Kimberly's favorite color is green. The cupcake is paper pieced using Spring Moss which I stamped with tiny hearts in Spring Moss ink. I colored the leaves with Copics and added some sugary glitter and a Berry Sorbet button. The cupcake is mounted on Aqua Mist which was die cut with the Fair Isle Pendant.

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Button Basics, Background Basics:Hearts, Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink: Spring Moss(PTI), Memento Tuxedo Black(Tsukineko)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Stamper's Seclect White, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss (PTI)
Other: Berry Sorbet Vintage Button(PTI), Fair Isle Shapeabilities Pendant(Spellbinders),tinsel glitter(Martha Stewart)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Morning Glory and Flourishes Celebration FLLCCEL1

The first Flourishes challenge to celebrate the opening of the new improved on-line store was issued on Monday. It is a sketch challenge, using this sketch by Becky Fleck, hostess of Pagemaps.com and Flourishes artist.

 I chose the morning glory image from A Year in Flowers set 2. I absolutely love all the gorgeous flowers included in each of the three sets.

I frequently look at online photos of flowers to help me choose my colors. The first image I colored I used magenta hued flowers, but I wasn't happy with it, so for the second attempt. I went with the more common blue variety. After stamping the image with Memento Rich Cocoa, I colored it with Copics.  I wanted to sew on this card, but it took three tries. My first two attempts were trashed; the feeder plate pressure was loose; of course, I couldn't figure out the problem after the first botched attempt even though I knew the paper wasn't feeding correctly.  It just didn't feel right. So I tried a second time and got  the ziz-zag stitching done, but then the straight stitching went bonkers. At that point, I was about to give up because Patience is not my middle name although my husband is always telling me it is. (He is so subtle. LOL). But then I realized the problem, so I decided to try one more time...and it worked. The the crooked stitching is completely user caused; I just told myself it adds to the handmade charm of the card. I frequently tell myself this :)   Adding the ribbon and buttons was such a relief after the problems. I chose blue buttons to mirror the blue flower and used white embroidery thread to mirror the white centers of the flowers. After several restarts, I finished the card. I  can't say that I'm  100 % pleased with end result, but I am happy that there was an end.
Thanks for taking stopping by,

Supplies:
Stamps:  A Year in Flowers set 2 (Flourishes)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Paper: Spring Rain, Lavendar Moon, Pretty Pastels,Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Other: Copics, Spring Rain twill ribbon and Vintage Buttons (PTI), Fiskars border punch

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

An Irish Blessing and FTTC57

First, thank you for all the kind comments that you have left lately. I so appreciate your taking the time to visit and then taking more time to leave a comment. I'm sending each of you a huge hug.

Flourishes refurbished the online store and this week is celebrating this grand opening. Check each day for some great challenges with prizes up for grabs. This week Maki  Jones is hosting Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge, and her challenge is to create a celebratory card. I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day with my card and the fantastic set Irish Blessings. St. Patrick's Day was my father's birthday, so there were always St. Patrick's Day birthday cards along with birthday cakes decorated in green.  And then when I married, I gained an Irish last name, so I like  to observe this holiday.




And the inside . Isn't that blessing beautiful?
 And the steps.
Cut card base.
Cut smaller piece of yellow cs. Stamp, stitch, and adhere.
Die cut green gingham with deckled rectangle Nestabilities. Adhere.
Stamp image with Memento Tuxedo Black,cut with Nestablities die, color with Prismacolor pencils, and adhere.
Stamp small shamrock, cut, color, cover with Glossy Accents. Adhere.
Adhere pearls and buttons.
Stamp inside message and image. Cut with Nestabilities. Adhere.

Thanks for stopping by and


Supplies:
Stamps: Irish Blessings (Flourishes)
Ink Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko),New Leaf (PTI)
Paper: New Leaf, Lemon Tart, Stamper's Select White(PTI),gingham paper(Paper Studio)
Other: Prismacolor pencils, Nestabilites, Glossy Accents, purple buttons (Hobby Lobby), New Leaf Vintage Button(PTI),pearls

Monday, March 8, 2010

Peeps Challenge #3

Over on the Papertrey Peeps blog, Kim issued a challenge to create a feminine card based on her sister's favorite colors-orange.  "So that is the challenge: a feminine card featuring orange zest. Bonus points if you work in Spring Rain, her second favorite color or a tea theme, since tea is one of her favorite things in the world."  No bonus points for a tea theme since I don't have tea stamp.. I know, I know ---you're gasping! . Unlike my English great-grandmother who had her daily afternoon cup of tea, my cup of tea is quite infrequent. Remember, for most Southerners "tea" means sweetened, lemoned, and ICED. 

But I can do Orange Zest and Spring Rain and  some feminine details--how about flowers, buttons, ribbon, a bow, and scallops?

I used the floral image from Baby Button Bits and stamped it along with the sentiment from Birthday Basics in Peacock  pigment ink from Chalkbox since my Spring Rain cube is way too dry. I hate to get ready to stamp and realize the pad is dry and no reinker, but I've been avoiding buying any reinkers since PTI is switching its ink formulation. A couple of Orange Zest buttons and blue embroidery thread finish the flowers.  I used an eyelet scalloped border and scored a line (peeking from underneath the bow) with my Score bug to make the card more dainty.

The Peeps would love for you to play along with us and link up your card here.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

FTTC 56

Cindy Haffner, host of the most recent Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge, challenges us to use scallops.
I loved Melissa Phillips's recent inspiration photo from A Creative Mint that included purple and orange, so I decided to go with that color scheme again for this card.

 The background is Vintage Wallpaper stamped in Orange Zest that I distressed with Antique Linen ink. The scalloped and embossed strip is also distressed with ink. The the crocus is stamped in Rich Cocoa and colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Hope your having a good weekend,

Supplies:
Stamps: Calendar Set 1, Vintage Wallpaper(Flourishes)
Ink: Orange Zest(PTI), Rich Cocoa(Memento), Antique Linen (Ranger)
Paper: Stmper's Select White, Plum Pudding (PTI), White(Georgia Pacific)
Other: Prismacolor pencils, oval and oval scalloped Nestabilities(Spellbinders),  scalloped border punch (Fiskars), Plum Pudding ribbon(PTI)

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Spring Time

Spring time,hopefully, is just around the corner. This sentiment is expressed on so many blogs. In fact we are supposed to get a taste of spring Sunday and Monday with the temperature in the low 60s. And this morning the trees are casting shadows! Woohoo-a sunny day!
This morning is the deadline for Lisa Johnson's first Poppy Seed Challenge. I love her concept of three details to include on your card.


For my card I chose the Year of the Flower:Violet stamp. While we normally think of violets being all  purple, there actually are many varieties of violas. Some of my favorite violas and pansies are the sorbet variety. Here is a picture of a Lemon Swirl sorbet viola which was the inspiration for my card.

My three seeds: Violet stamp
                          Yellow center in the flower and the card base
                          Three gems in the center of the violet and one dotting the i in the sentiment


I stamped the violet in Rich Cocoa and colored with Prismacolor pencils, blending with baby oil.For this card I wanted the softer colors I get with colored pencils as compared to the richer colors of Copics. I mounted the violet on an embossed flourished panel to loosely mimic leaves. The border punch is a new Martha Stewart pansy punch which I had to order as soon as I saw it. I tied this bow several times. I have such a time getting satin  ribbon tied tightly. It was turning into satan ribbon by the time I called it quits.--LOL. Any tips you'd like to share  for working with satin ribbon? Thanks for stopping by and I hope the sun is shining on you today.
Cammie

Supplies:
Stamps: A Year In Flowers:Violet, Take Three:Spring(PTI)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Ripe Avocado (PTI)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado, Lemon Tart (PTI)
Other: Prismacolor Pencils, Pansy Border Punch(Martha Stewart), gems and ribbon (Hobby Lobby)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Thank You, Melissa

Hey all. I'm finishing that first cup of coffee of the day. Come on caffeine--kick in! I've a busy day ahead so this will be a quick post.
Last week Melissa Phillips posted another beautiful  inspiration photo from A Creative Mint. starting this

My card is a thank you to Melissa for starting this wonderful inspirational series.
I wanted to include both the graphic images and the more muted images in the inspiration photo. For the graphic detail, I stamped Background Basics:Petal Power in Orange Zest. For the muted focal point, I used Life, stamping in Aqua Mist, Plum Pudding, Lavendar Moon, and Orange Zest. The card  base and mat for the focal point are Lavendar Moon. The sentiment is from Vintage Picnic. An iridescent Lavendar Moon button on Orange Zest ribbon completes the card. All supplies are from PTI.
Thanks for stopping by,
Cammie




Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Spring is in the Air or on the Cards

That pesky groundhog's prediction of six more weeks of winter certainly seems to be holding true, while everyone is longing for some sun and  mother nature wearing something besides gray and white.  At least we can create some spring with our stamps, inks, and paper.

Nichole Heady challenged the PTI design team to use their favorite spring colors, and what great combinations they used. I chose Michelle Wooderson's color combination and used 2S4Y 47.


I used Tags for Spring for the focal point and the sentiment is from Take 3:Spring.


Thanks for stopping by,
Cammie

Supplies: Stamps: Tags for Spring, Take 3:Srping (PTI)
Ink: Aqua Mist(PTI), Old Paper(Ranger)
Paper: Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, Pretty Pastels(PTI)
Other:  Aqua Mist, Lavender Vintage Buttons ; Lemon Tart twill ribbon (PTI), yellow and green buttons (Hobby Lobby),ribbon labels die (Spellbinders),circle punch, scalloped circle punch, sewing machine


Monday, March 1, 2010

FTTC 55

A second post today? I had two challenges whose deadlines were today. I meant to post one last night, but Blogger was quite contrary last night and I had a few words and then gave up trying to post. Fortunately posting is going more smoothly today.
The latest Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge is hosted by Iwona Palamountain whose challenge is to use flowers. Everyone is talking about her longing for spring flowers and spring color. I chose the spring flowering lilac for the focal point of my card  I stamped it on cream cardstock and colored it with Prismacolor pencils. A few purple gems finish the card.

Thanks for stopping by,
Cammie

Stamps: Lilac (Flourishes), Ticking Stripe(Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Lavendar Moon(PTI),Tuxedo Black(Memento)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Lavendar Moon
Other: Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Prismacolor pencils














Cupcake Compose a Card (A little alliteration for Monday)

I had a chance this weekend to make a card for Compose a Card with Becky created by Becky Oehlers. Her latest challenge included a nice pop of color and an inspiration photo full of vintage charm.






The cabinet color reminds me of my own Hoosier cabinet with flour sifter that was rescued from the garage of my childhood home. It originally was white with black art deco detailing. My father used it store nails and other small items he used in his construction business. This cabinet spent many grimy years in the garage. When my husband and I bought our log home, I was able to convince my father to give up this cabinet. Daddy, who was a child of the Depression, parted with very little. With a lot of cleaning and some milk paint, the cabinet moved from garage to my kitchen. Here's my blue cabinet today.



Now for my card.




I chose that fun cupcake from Baby Button Bits. I was charmed by that little cupcake when I first saw it. However, I knew I really didn't need another set of baby images. I know these images aren't limited to baby cards, but I was using that reasoning to show some restraint in my order. But I kept thinking about that little cupcake with that button cherry, so I ordered the set last month. I'm looking forward to using more of these fun images. Have you ever purchased a stamp set because of one image? 
Wishing you a great week,
Cammie

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Pure Poppy(PTI)
Paper: Bitty Dot Basics, Aqua Mist (PTI)
Other:  Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist Vintage Buttons(PTI), border punch, crystal coarse glitter (Martha Stewart)