Less is More

 This is true. A clear concise thought is more powerful than a verbose statement. And a CAS card often makes a stronger impression than one with many layers and embellishments.  Not that I favor one over the other. It depends on what mood I am in. I mean I am a Gemini with that dual nature and attraction to opposites.  I have been intrigued with cards that are white on white with the only color coming with the focal point. I thought the latest Just Us Girls challenge to use dry embossing would be a great time to use this plan. I pulled out some of my metal stencils, light box, and stylus along with an impression plate.

I used PTI's Linen Impression plate on the upper portion  of a 5 1/4x 4 piece of card stock. (You may need to enlarge the photo to better see the texture.) Using the light box and stylus, I embossed the focal point on the bottom portion. Remember, running a piece of waxed paper over the cardstock, makes it easier to emboss with the stylus.

The focal point is a metal stencil from a local company, Country Stencils.  This company has some lovely designs. If you are a quilter and attend quilting shows, you may  see a Country Stencils booth; if so, be sure to stop and check out their products. Of course you can also order online.
After embossing, I stenciled the image using Lavender Moon dye ink and Spring Moss pigment ink. Use stiff bristled brushes and blot brush on a paper towel, so that the brush is fairly dry before stenciling.
Next I added  the rick rack border which I ran through the Cuttlebug with the impression plate after I cut it with PTI's rick rack die.  Finally, I attached the panel to the card base.
I like the light summery mood of this card.
Thanks for stopping by,

Little Sweet Pea

I am beginning to catch up on the Papertrey Peeps challenges--one down, two to go. All three are great challenges, so I don't know why I've been such a slug-a-bug. Lori's challenge here is to use red and green without a Christmas theme. I went to Baby Button Bits and the sweet pea image and to Cosmo Cricket's
Garden Variety Mini Deck for my card.

Steps:
1. Cut A2 card base in Vintage Cream.
2. Stamp bottom portion of card base with Polka Dot Basics 1 in Simply Chartreuse.
3. Cut patterned paper.
4. Cut border trim. Attach to patterned paper.
5. Attach patterned  paper  and trim to card base.
6. Cut scalloped oval and attach.
7. Stamp pea image in Simply Chartreuse ,cut, and attach to scalloped oval with dimensional tape.
8. Thread buttons with embroidery thread and attach.
9. Stamp sentiment in New Leaf ink. (The sentiment showed up much better on the dots when I tried it on scratch paper. It's so frustrating when my stamping works better in practice)

Note: I am having a lot trouble getting a good color with the Simply Chartreuse ink. I have the cube which is very moist; I've stored it face down; I used the spoon-smooshing technique, and I've stamped many times,
and the ink still has a very grey tint to it. Any other suggestions?

Finally, congratulations to Lori McAree the host of this challenge who is  the featured stamper in June's PTI Newsletter.


Supplies:
Stamps:Baby Button Bits (PTI)
Ink: Simply Chartreuse, New Leaf (PTI)
Paper: Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream(PTI), Garden Variety Mini Deck(Cosmo Cricket)
Other: New Leaf Vintage Buttons (PTI), Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars)

Tea Party

Yesterday afternoon as I was cleaning my crafting area, I picked up A Child's Year Cricut cartridge and flipped through the booklet. There was the image of the little girl serving tea--a perfect image for this weeks's The Shabby Tea Room Challenge--Polka Dot Tea Party, so a tea-themed card was in my mind last night and this morning when I woke up.

I used Basic Grey's Capella paper pad for the image,the shadow image, and for the floral background. I cut cream cardstock with  Labels 8 and stamped with Fancy Flourishes in Sweet Blush while the paper was still in the die.  I mounted the die cut image onto the Labels 8. I added some Baby Pink Berry vintage seam binding from Deb's Simple Treasures and a flower that I had spritzed with Glimmer Mist.  I stitched the floral background before mounting to the Sweet Blush card base because I prefer not to have my stitching showing inside the card.
I mounted the Labels 8 die cut  onto the floral paper. The final touch--a tiny pearl on the tea pot's lid.
This post is rather rushed as hubby has started dinner, and I'm feeling a little guilty not helping.

Grandbabies are Grand

Just a quick post this morning. This card along with a journal for grandmothers is for Sharon,who was one of my best  and dearest friends for over 25 years and is about to become a  first-time grandmother. Her daughter Laurel is expecting a baby boy any day now.

I used Webster's Pages Petite Papers and had the pefect matching ribbon that has just been waiting to be used.  Because I used polka dots ,this card qualifies for this week's The Shabby Tea Room challenge --Polkda Dot Tea Party. You must create a tea themed card or used polka dots.
Here's a look at the inside of the card.

I love this quote and know Sharon will also; we have teared up together over Winnie-the-Pooh quotes. This quotation is actually a stamp in PTI's Inside&Out-Baby stamp set. However, I don't own this set, so I printed it from my computer. I had to add this paper inside also because Sharon is a lover of fairies.
Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Love (Flourishes)
Ink: Rich Cocoa(Memento),Antique Linen(Ranger)
Paper: Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Petite Papers-Collection Combo Pack-Lullaby Lane  & Life's Portrait
Other: Border punch(Fiskars); Berry Sorbet & Aqua Mist buttons,cream jute twine(PTI); ribbon,pearls (Hobby Lobby);Oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities;computer; sewing machine

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge--How Are You Felting?

Woohoo! It's blog hop time again. Time to see all those amazing ideas and creations you PTI fans have created with this month's focus---felt.  Is your PTI felt a precious commodity? Well, mine is, and not knowing exactly how my project would turn out, I opted not to use my PTI felt, but instead used some felt purchased in the fabric department of Hobby Lobby.  As for quality, this felt falls between those felt pieces in the craft section and PTI felt. It is heavier than the craft pieces, and it does cut smoothly with a die; although, it is not as smooth or as dense as wool felt. However, at $1.50 for 1/4 yard, I will continue to use it as well as my "valuable" PTI felt.

I used the largest Cuttlebug  flower die that coordinates with Beautiful Blooms 1. I used five pieces for each flower. I folded each scalloped circle in half and then stitched the five petals together. I cut a smaller piece to cover the center and then added a covered brad.
 There are so many ways to use these flowers. I opted to make shoe clips;because I didn't want to head to the craft store the day I made these, I attached the flowers to some recyled clip earrings. A new look for a pair of woven flats:

Or a pair of suede sandals. I actually prefer the felt with the suede.

For less than a dollar--new looks for older shoes.

I am looking forward to seeing what you have created.

The Shabby Tea Room Challenge #10

With Memorial Day fast approaching, The Shabby Tea Room's latest challenge is "Stars and Stripes".
We are to use red, white, and blue and/or stars and stripes. Since I just used some striped  paper from Webster's Pages Petite Papers for my last posted card, I knew exactly the paper I wanted to use for this card.

I found the image for the focal point at Vintage Holiday Crafts. The focal point is attached to the Webster's Pages papers. (Two cards in a row using these beautiful papers--does that mean my hoarding of them has officially ended?) I separated the two patterned papers with  a scalloped border of Enchanted Evening. I used a running stitch to gather and ruffle the gingham ribbon. I cut two stars in Pure Poppy using my Cricut, glued them together, and coated with garnet glitter.After adding the flower and star, a little more weight was needed at the bottom, so I added the buttons to the bottom stars and then for more balance added the third button to the glittered star. The card front is attached to a base of Aqua Mist  to pick up the aqua background of the focal point.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:
Paper: Petite Papers: Postcards from Paris & Sweet as Cherry Pie(Webster's Pages); Aqua Mist, Enchanted Evening,Pure Poppy(PTI)
Other: Ribbon (Hobby Lobby);  Border Punch (Fiskars);Tag,Bags,Boxes, and More cartridge(ProvoCraft);garnet glitter(Martha Stewart);Enchanted Evening Vintage Buttons(PTI)

I'm Back!

I took a little break from blogging for a few reasons. One good reason was a few days spent here

Enjoying this

It's always a great treat to get away for a few days.
I've two graduation ceremonies to attend this week. This is a card I made for our sweet great-niece Kristin, who is graduating from high school this Friday. The school's colors are red, blue, and white which is the reason for the colors I chose. I wanted a more feminine feel, so I chose to include some flowers. The card is based on one by Debbie Olsen seen here. I colored the dahlia with Copics, and I wanted to color the scallops blue, but I didn't have the right color of blue Copic; I guess I'll just have to add dark blue Copic to my shopping list.

Well, I've got to run and check off some more items on my to-do-list. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: For the Graduate, Delightful Dahlia(PTI); Cling Write Your Own(Hero Arts)
Ink: Pure Poppy(PTI); Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy(PTI); Petite Papers-Postcards from Paris & Sweet as Cherry Pie(Webster's Pages)
Other: Delightful Dahlia Dies (PTI),ribbon(Hobby Lobby)