Papertrey Peeps Challenge #10

Hi Peeps!

Our granddaughters are in the NYC School District and just finished up last Friday. They both received great grades and glowing comments from their teachers (Oh to be in Kindergarten or Second grade again. ) I really wanted to send something to congratulate them, bolster their confidence and inspire them to keep reading over the summer.

Back for the February Blog Hop I made a mini journal for Arianna and put it away to tuck in her Christmas stocking. (You can see it here.) Well, what better than to make another for Taylor, and maybe satisfy Heather's challenge at the same time. It came close.



The Chartreuse really clashed with the green pen, so it's New Leaf. The torn note paper is purple, the scalloped circle is turquoise, and the sentiment form Take Note was stamped in charcoal gray.
I added the yellow ribbon to match circles on the pen.

I added a gift card for Barnes and Noble for each of them and made cards inspired by this week's Mojo Monday #145.

Here's the whole set now well on it's way to Staten Island. Hope they enjoy!!



Thanks to Heather for a very challenging Challenge! What she makes look so fabulous and easy is quite difficult for some of us. This was a fun exercise outside of my usual box.

Thanks for dropping by.

PTI June Blog Hop - Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Cream

Welcome! I'm so glad we can all be here tonight. I wasn't sure I would make it. Many of you know that my Mom lives with us and has been recuperating from a broken hip since January. Just when we thought she was about to regain some semblance of independence, she broke the other one last Thursday. Well, I guess it could be worse (but don't mention that to her). In between emergency room, surgery, hospital visits, etc., I was able to color the new Year of the Flowers: Rose, literally one petal at a time. IMHO this is the most beautiful image Nicole has designed. It was so exciting to see it come to life. I'm in love!



I love the soft pink of SB with DC. I added the new 2009 Bitty Dot Basics in Kraft and cream. I had to substitute another cream cardstock in order to use the Martha Stewart border punch. ( I would have preferred Rustic Cream, but the fabulous quality of PTI cardstock makes it difficult to punch a design like this.) Color Box Sand ink complemented the Kraft nicely and was subtle enough for the Fancy Flourishes. The Sentiment, from Damask Designs, is stamped with DC.

I tried a little different approach to the rose. This is not a quick technique. It was first stamped on Neenah white with a combination of first Versa Mark and Sweet Blush (the newer formula). I then embossed it with Filigree clear embossing powder. This gave outlines to each petal, but almost disappeared when colored. (Don't color over the embossing. The Copics will dissolve it.) Copics used were R0000, 20, 22, 24. The first layer of pastel (Pink Beryl) allowed me to shade and blend for a very realistic image. I finished off with some strokes of a white Uni-ball Signo and a dew drop of Star Dust Stickles topped with Ranger Glossy Accents for dimension.

I'm hoping the recipient is going to enjoy this as much as I enjoyed making it. I hope you liked it.
Thanks for hopping by.

(Oh, and if you are so inclined, prayers and understanding would be greatly appreciated during the coming months. Thank you.)

The Shabby Tea Room Challenge

Many of the PTI Forum members have been playing along with The Shabby Tea Room challenges. So I thought I'd give it a try. I wanted another Father's Day card, so here's my entree for Week #13.



I had some nice feedback on the last card I posted using my mini road map. I wanted to try it again with some different elements.

All supplies are PTI unless otherwise stated.
I started with a card base of Soft Stone. I'm loving this CS and using it a lot lately. I love how it takes on the hue of the darker color you are using. Here I paired it with Ocean Tides.
Next is a panel of Kraft. I stamped a strip of SS with A Little Argyle in Smokey Shadow and Orange Zest, then added a rectangle of OT Bitty Box Basics. My map was found on the internet and printed on SS, scored and folded to imitate the real thing. The poster was also found when I did a Google search for free vintage bicycle image. I die cut SS with Mat Stack 2 and stamped the bike from Everyday Button Bits with True Black. I colored with Copics E08 and T1, 4, 6. The buttons are of an unknown manufacturer. Lots of distressed edges tipped with Vintage Touch Tea Dye Duo. I tied it all up with Rustic Button Twine. The Sentiment was stamped on white Twill Tape, heat set, and then spritzed with diluted Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink. It's tucked under my favorite Bobbin Ribbon in Black & White. I also used lots of Glue Dots, Score Tape and Sticky Strips.

I really enjoyed this one. Hope you liked it.
Thanks for dropping by.

Papertrey Peeps Challenge #9

Hello everyone and a Very Happy Official Unofficial Start of Summer! Well, at least here in the US, Memorial Day signifies the start of summer. It may still be 50 degrees and three weeks until the Summer Solstice, but get out those shorts and don the flip-flops. Damn the mosquitoes, full speed ahead. It's off to the beach, the lake or the pool. Roll out the grill and get cookin'.

So I thought for this challenge what could be better than to make a project that has to do with vacation or travel. No involved, complicated rules, just hit the road! And I chose the best trip of all -



This is a birthday card for a fellow that has been facing a lot of challenges since his retirement. When you have a conversation with him, he always winds up with a smile and the statement "Life's a trip". So right away I grabbed Enjoy the Ride. It was inspired by Melissa Phillips' card you can view here.

The sentiment is computer generated in fonts similar to Enjoy the Ride. I used the PTI sentiments inside, so it wasn't necessary that they match.

A Little Argyle is stamped in Smokey Shadow & Pure Poppy on Soft Stone cardstock. The map of our town was found on the internet and printed also on SS. I scored and folded it to look like the real thing and edged it with the Vintage Touch duo. I also used some Enchanted Evening CS for the background.

I loved Melissa's car. If you were a child of the sixties, as I was, VW bugs/beatles were the absolute rage. All of my friends wanted one. Me too, but my folks got me a secondhand yellow Corvair - "unsafe at any speed" is how Ralph Nader described it. Oh well, I managed to survive and that's another story for another time. The hip bugs were painted with flowers and hearts and peace signs. I loved the polka dots, so I stamped my own PP with Pure Poppy Polka Dot Basics on Kraft CS. I paper pieced several images and added an acetate windshield, rhinestone headlights and even a steering wheel. The ribbon is from Michaels and reminds me of the road.



Inside I stamped the large argyle diamond in Smokey Shadow & Pure Poppy and topped it off with the sentiments from Enjoy the Ride.

Well I hope you've enjoyed this ride. Once the festivities die down, get those stamps inky. Let's start summer out with a fresh new project, be it a card, a layout, or maybe a Bon Voyage gift. Keep it loose, think of vacation and stamp away.

I'd like to leave you with one more image.



That's my grandmother wrapped up in Old Glory and it was taken shortly after my grandfather left for WWI. My Dad served in WWII. Whatever you're doing today, I hope my friends in the US will pause for a moment and remember what this day is all about. Go watch a parade, thank a veteran, or just wave a flag. I sincerely appreciate if you read this far. Now I'll get off my soapbox.

Thanks for dropping by.

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

Hi. I'm Linda and I'm a Papertrey Fan-addict. But I must confess, I am a member of that oh-so-small group that does not own any felt! There, I've said it. I hope I can still participate in this Hop tonight. If you've exiled me from the group, you can stop reading now.

The reason for not purchasing the PTI felt is that I have a humungous, ginormous investment in felted wool. This rather similar product is achieved by laundering (eeeek!!) 100% wool fabric and then tossing it in a hot dryer (double eeeek!!) When I was a teenager my mother did this to one of my beloved sweaters, she felted it, and it didn't cost $64 a yard! Have you seen the felted purses? They're made from knitted wool yarn and are really yummy. The end result is that the fabric is thicker and tighter and will not ravel. Most of mine are over-dyed. You can find plaids, tweeds and textures which are not available in felt. I have made candle mats, table runners, pin cushions and make-do's. I have appliqued small motifs and I just ordered a pattern for a small crazy quilt. Wool felt can always be used in any of these patterns. Here are some pictures I could find of things I have made.



I made this card following the requirements for tonight's Blog Hop. It was inspired by this card by katielawton. Thank you Katie and if you're hopping, I'm so glad you posted your beautiful card to the gallery.



You may notice the PTI die cut the felted wool quite nicely. I had to pass it through my Cuttlebug several times. A thicker piece would have been a bear to cut.

My love affair with the Delightful Dahlia continues. I think one of my best investments this year was the set of Pastel Copic sketch markers. They're mostly the ones with four 0's. Here I colored the entire flower with Y0000 and then went back and shaded with Y21. The dahlia was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with white embossing powder.

I hope you enjoyed your stop here. I hope I'm off somewhere enjoying your project. Thanks for hopping by.

Supplies
stamps: PTI Delightful Dahlia, Life, Floral Frenzy
ink: PTI Simply Chartreuse,True Black; VersaMark
paper: PTI Berry Sorbet, 2008 Bitty Box Basics;Neenah white
ribbon: PTI Sweet Blush Swiss Dot Satin, Leaf Ribbon
other: pearls, Martha Stewart border punch, Copic markers, white embossing powder, PTI Butterfly die

PTI Peeps Challenge #7

Nerina presented us with a challenge to take a delightful trip to A Creative Mint ....

There, we were to select a photo that would be an inspiration for our design. Now be aware that it is extremely easy to get lost in the sheer beauty of this blog. Be forewarned that you may spend a lot of time there. Here's what I chose from the Feb. 1, 2010 post:




I loved the simplicity of the two colors and the texture in the bottom left photo. I thought I could translate this into a Birthday card for our DIL. Mind you, she was disappointed she didn't receive a handmade card last year. So, here goes . . .



I hope I haven't bored you with my Dahlias. But I absolutely love them and love coloring them. For this one I stamped it on white cardstock (Neenah) and embossed it with white embossing powder. I then created the shadows with a Copic marker C00. The center is a Making Memories large flat-back pearl. Here's a close-up of the flower.





For the background, I wanted to imitate the look of the tablecover (or whatever is under the ball of perle cotton). Well, after several failed attempts, this is what I came up with. The Lavender Moon CS is stamped with Damask Designs in Fresh Snow and again embossed with white embossing powder. The lower half is Tin Type stamped in Lavender Moon.

The leaves (PTI leaf ribbon) aren't attached yet. I have time and am waiting on the new Chartreuse ink before I decide on a stamped image or the ribbon. The lace with pearls is from a local fabric outlet. The bow is Lavender Moon satin ribbon. And the sentiment is from Year of Flowers: Sweet Peas.

Hope you all enjoyed your visit. Thank you Nerina for a truly inspiring challenge.
ETA: After I received the June release stamps, I decided not to send this card, but went with this one.
Thanks for stopping by.

PTI Peeps Challenge #6

Late, but done! Signed sealed and on it's way to Florida. From conception to completion, this card underwent so many changes it doesn't resemble anything I started with. Now it looks like this by Barbara of Paper Pursuits. It's going to my 93 year old MIL and I hope she likes it. She's such a sweetie. I'm sure she will.

Quilter's Sampler was the first set I ordered from PTI in January '09 and I made my first stamped cards with it. Here I used one of the sentiments. For the background design I also used one of my older sets, Background Basics: Retro. I had only used one of the stamps in that set. I added the small flower and leaf from Delightful Dahlias. You might have to hunt for the bling. It's some Star Dust Stickles in the flower center. Inside I stamped the flower and then stamped over it with the Sentiment from Delightful Dahlias. I added the Dahlia & leaf on the enveloped.



Hope you liked it. Off to see if I can catch up on the next challenge. Thanks for dropping by.