PTI May Blog Hop

Flowers

May is the month when many flowers finally go into full bloom after a long winter's sleep.  For the blog
hop this month we want to see your favorite take on flowers.  You can stamp backgrounds, create
custom floral embellishments, showcase unique flower center additions (buttons, rhinestones, beads,
etc...), flowers die-cut from different materials (like fabric, felt, vellum, etc...) or anything else you can
dream up!  We are looking forward to seeing all of your amazing creations!
You can read all the information here.

Welcome! I hope you're enjoying the hop.

When I first saw the theme for this month's Blog Hop, I immediately wanted to do something with the seed packet. Several of us enjoy sharing seeds (no, I really don't need anymore Morning Glories, thank you). And I'm dying to color the new mini Flowers of the Year. But, sadly no package yet.

So on to Plan B. What to do, what to do? You might have seen some of the tissue flowers I've been playing with of late. If not, see here or here. I've been picking up some interesting tissue packs when I see them on clearance and decided to try some of that stash. This flower is made with blue and white gingham.

At first I was going to do a baby card even though there are no babies anywhere on my radar. A dozen layers of each of two sizes were cut at once just by folding the tissue and using the two smaller dies from Beautiful Blooms II #1. I punched a small hole in the center and held them together with a tiny blue brad. Uh, so-so. It needed something. So I added a light blue pom-pom to the center. Cute, but still lacking something. So I added another layer of vintage lace that I purchased at a local thrift shop. Now that I like. But for a little boy?

On to Plan C. How about a hair clip for one of the girls? These flowers are fantastic. The more you squish them and mush them, the fuller and better they look. But for a six year old? After all, they are only paper.

Okay, Plan D (and if this doesn't work, I give up). If I only had one of those alligator clips.  How about a clothespin? I bought these fabulous minis from Michelle Wooderson's Etsy shop. I had tiny ones, but too tiny. Sort of like Goldilocks - the one I used would be Mama Bear size. Okay. now what? Stick it on a tag! I picked up a paperback for a dear friend who last week broke a bone in her foot - off her feet for a while. Light bulb! Gift package. Yes, yes, yes. I love it when a plan comes together. (Even if it is the fourth in a series.) I slipped the book into a sack from Michelle Phillipi. Tied it with some tea dyed twine and there you have it. The evolution of a simple (uh, yeah, sure) project.

I gave it to her on Monday. And you know, with a really good friend, it's all worth it. She loved it and hobbled into the kitchen to clip it on a wire framed message board - tag and all.  Oh . . . and she liked the book, too.

Thanks for hopping by. If you read all of this, thank you so much! Any comments are truly appreciated.

Enjoy the rest of the hop!!

Supplies:

Paper: PTI Rustic Cream, Kraft

Stamps: PTI Green Thumb

Ink: PTI True Black, Vintage Touch Chamomile

Dies: PTI Beautiful Blooms II #1, Tag Sale #3

Other: Spare Parts ribbon by Paper Studio; Timeless Twine - overdyed with tea solution; Tissue paper by International Greetings

Papertrey Ink - Make it Monday #14 - Selective Inking

This week's technique was selective inking. You can view the video and information here.

This card involved a lot of trial and error. I used the technique twice. The first was on the sentiment stamp. Part is stamped on the front panel and the rest is on the inside on the Rustic Cream card base. That was easy. I've done that before. The second is the thread coming off the spool and through the needle. (You might want to click on the photo to see the detail better.) I wanted the longer, looped thread that is used on the "Handmade by" needle stamp. I inked part of the thread on the spool stamp and then part on the needle stamp. I practiced lining them up quite a few times and then stamped on the PP panel using Smokey Shadow. Didn't like that because the thread disappeared in the background. So I stamped the whole thing on Neenah white, colored it and cut it out. Yuck, that looked terrible. So back to the drawing, er stamping board and stamped in two parts -- Lavender Moon on the Pretty Pastels panel and Smokey Shadow on the white. I colored just the spool and cut that out. The needle was now lavender, so redid that and embossed with silver powder, cut out and adhered over the original on the panel. I used a craft knife to cut around the curve of the thread and slipped the Kraft Button Card under. By the time I was finished, I'd gotten pretty good at selective inking. I guess that's the point of this whole thing. Thanks Erin Lincoln!

All supplies, except lace trim from a fabric store, are PTI. The stamps are from Quilter's Sampler and Button Boutique.

Papertrey Peeps May Challenge -April Showers Bring May Flowers

May is all about the blooms. Terri brought us this months challenge. Check it out and you'll see her take on some fun dimensional blossoms. And now I'm trying to plan what to do with this month's PTI Blog Hop which is also about flowers.
One of the reasons I haven't been creating much lately, is that we've been spending every available minute in our gardens - weeding, mulching, separating, dividing, planting, and on and on and on. It's been wonderful when it isn't raining. The temperatures have been cool with low humidity. We want to get as much done as possible before the heat and humidity set in.
Here's two little posies I made for our granddaughters.

The felt (just the inexpensive kind from Joanns) flowers are made in a style I first saw by Betsy Veldman with six Beautiful Blooms II #1 die cuts, each folded in quarters and adhered to a covered hair clip. (already wrapped and purchased from Michaels ) The centers are fabric covered brads using the I-top tool from Imaginese. I cut two slits in each Button Card stamped with Raspberry Fizz and Spring Moss. I am anxiously awaiting the new inks. I only had the cubes and they are getting so-o-o dry.
Well, that's it for now. I hope to be back later with my Make It Monday card. Waiting for my battery to charge on the camera so I can download. Thanks for stopping by.

Papertrey Ink - Make It Monday #12

Another quick post today to show you the card I made for the April Papertrey Peeps Challenge and Make It Monday #12.

PeggySue  asked us to use black and this week's Make it Monday technique was using a Line Frame. I combined the two. The rosebud from Year of Flowers: Roses is colored with the Pure Poppy and Ripe Avocado Copic trios for PTI. The sentiment is from Damask Designs. Thanks for dropping by.