"Papertrey December Blog Hop Challenge"

Hello again!

I LOVE this blog hop!  I look forward to it all month long.  So many talented paper crafters, using so many great techniques and products is a great inspiration to me.  To see what I am talking about, please click HERE.  The challenge is to make a project from scraps leftover from all of the Christmas stuff.  I was also inspired to use the color block technique demonstrated by Maile Belles HERE.  While Maile used a die to cut out her color blocked design, I used an Angled Labels die to cut out the window for my sentiment.  This project became a gift-card for my daughters birthday:

Other products used:  PTI card stocks, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Soft Stone, White.  

Happy Day stamp set (PTI)

Recollections dimensional stickers

Tonic corner punch

Sakura Glaze Pen

The cute little birdie embellishment is compliments of my son who gave me a package full of delightful embellishments for Christmas!  Great gift, by the way!  The interior of the card explains the gift:

I hope you are participating in the blog hop and will leave a comment here so that I can see more of your projects as well.

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

All About Jonah

Hi Friends!
I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration with your family and friends.  We are enjoying some sweet time with our son from Colorado, a little extra time with our grandson as my daughter and son-in-law celebrate her birthday going to an afternoon movie.  Heck!  I even had a massage this morning after my workout at the gym.  Life is good!
I thought I would take advantage of this break in the action to share with you a project that I did back in November for a precious friend whose first grandchild is soon to be born.

Papertrey Ink products:  Sweet Baby Die, Block Alphabet dies, Hanging Out stamp set, Vintage Cream card stock
Patterned paper:  Lil' Man, by Cosmo Cricket
Ink:  Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink





Papertrey Ink Products:  White card stock, twine, Tag Sale #1 die, Fresh Alphabet stamp set, "To" and "From" (I don't remember which set)
Ink:  Memento Bamboo Leaves
Vine and Monkey from Hero Arts CL155
Copic Markers


I'm sorry that I did not get a picture of the packaging. I used a small kraft bag to hold the gift tags with the giraffe die cut used as a tag.  It was really cute!  These monkey tags are a gift idea from my daughter.  When her son was born, she received a set of adorable little tags with his name on them and it was one of her favorite gifts.  She said, "there is just something special about seeing your child's name in print!".  So, I often make these gift tags for the little one to use for future birthday party gift giving.  The surprise for me was that upon arriving at the shower, I learned that the nursery colors are green and brown with a monkey theme!  How cool is that?

I would appreciate any comments you might have!

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzanne

Make It Monday #46: Any Die Into a Folded Tag

What a timely inspiration from Erin Lincoln!  If you would like to watch the video tutorial and/or play along, click HERE.  I have made a lot of tags this season, but I never get tired of them!  Tags are so much fun, don't you think?  Anyway, here are my two quick and easy folded tags:

In the tutorial, Erin cut a separate piece to cover the folded part, but I just made the "joy tag" from Tag-Sale #5 from a folded piece of paper from Sugar Plum Collection, cut a standard circle from Fine Linen card stock and a scalloped circle from Plum Pudding card stock using Spellbinders, stamped the circle with a snowflake from Background Basics:Christmas, and "Joy" from Believe, and topped it with a Plum Pudding Ribbon.

I followed the instructions more closely for this tag, using a second die cut to cover the white folded tag underneath.  Products for this one include: Pure Poppy card stock, Fillable Frames Die, Fillable Frames Stamp set, Holly Jolly Die, Holly Jolly Stamp set, Baker's twine,  (all from Papertrey Ink)  Versamark Ink, White Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

This is the tag I want on my gifts! 

I hope you are ready to settle down and enjoy the last few days of the holiday with your family and friends.  Shall we make New Year's Resolutions regarding all of the things we PLANNED to do THIS season?  I have a list and I would bet you do too!  I would love to hear some comments from you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzanne

Merry Christmas!!!

2012 Calendar Project

Hi There!
 
I've missed visiting with you but I expect that you have been as busy as I have been.  As of a few minutes ago, I have put away all of the "Christmas" stamp sets and supplies.  With them I put a list of the things I wish I could have done this year-I plan to start in August for next Christmas.    The packages are wrapped and under the tree.  The third batch of homemade rolls and the cinnamon rolls will be made tomorrow.  We are so excited about Christmas morning with our two year old grandson.  I am ready to sit back and enjoy the view!

But, for now, I want to share with you a project that gave me great pleasure to create.  I know that practically no one uses a desk calendar anymore, but, I like the idea of giving a little beauty that lets the receiver know that she is important to me and that I think of her everyday.  So here is the calendar I made for my friend Jan.  Since there are so many pictures, I have only noted the products that are not from PAPERTREY INK.



Soft Pool Shadow Ink, Hero Arts



Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, applied with an AquaPen

Copic Marker - Y21

London Fog Dye Ink-Memento

Rose Bud Dye Ink-Memento

EK Success flower punch, 1/4" hole punch

Sentiment:  Verve Stamps, Let it Shine

Copic Markers

Copic Markers, Sakura Clear Star Pen

"Happy Birthday"-Hero Arts

Versamark Ink, Zing Embossing Powder: Leaf

Patterned Paper:  Basic Grey, Out of Print

Perfect Pearls: Biscotti, Perfect Medium,  Versamark Ink

Distress Inks:  Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Shabby Shutters

The December page was actually my submission for a Make-It-Monday #39: Multi-Stamp Background Building and was the starting point for the whole calendar.  It didn't take long for me to figure out that to create a separate page for every month was a bigger undertaking than I anticipated!  It seems that I can make any project more difficult than it needs to be!  None the less, I had a great time making this and I think Jan will enjoy it all year.

Some of you actually asked to see this finished project!  I hope you will enjoy it, too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

Make It Monday #43: Ribbon Pleating

Hi there Everyone and hello to December!
I am getting serious now that the page has flipped on the calendar.  Time to get down and inky as we all know the next few weeks will fly by!

Do you ever find that something wonderful occurs in your card making when you least expect it?  I had pretty much given up on entering a project for this Make-It-Monday challenge, I simply was not inspired although I thought it is an excellent way to jazz up a ribbon trim.  So, there was this piece of Hibiscus Burst card stock laying on my desk and I looked up to see a spool of pink and white ribbon that I bought for $1 at Michael's and thought the two matched very well.  So I applied the ribbon per Dawn's Make-It-Monday tutorial and went from there!  The second step (which should have been the first) was to make streaks of white over the card stock using Distress Stain in Picket Fence.  I was already thinking "cute little penguin" so the sentiment from Tremendous Treats: Christmas went down in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The four little glittery snowflakes (cut with a Marvy punch on Recollections glittered paper) were also laying around my work table waiting for service so they went on with some 3/16" Glue Dots.  Finally the little penguin was stamped, cut out and the scarf was paper pieced using My Mind's Eye paper ALSO laying out on my work table. (I really do clean up my work space-promise!)  I used Copics to color the penguin and cut a
1 3/4" circle from more white PTI card stock, popped him up on foam adhesive, rounded the upper corners of the pink layer as well as the 4 1/2" X 4"card base, and was done.

And here is my project:

I think I included all of the product details above. Would you please leave a comment and 

tell me what you think of my little pink card? 

I hope you are enjoying the Advent season and the process of making all of the beautiful 

goodies you will share with friends and family in this celebration of giving!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne

Ellen Hutson Anniversary Celebration

I have made one card for two of the challenges over at Ellen Hutson's Classroom.  A color swatch challenge by Julie Ebersole and a sketch challenge by Julia Stainton.  I was delighted to find that I have a pad of My Mind's Eye Wonderful winter glittered holiday papers, bought on sale two years ago with exactly the colors of the swatch challenge.  How fun is that?  So I used the sketch from Julia and the card was easy-peasy!

The card base is Papertrey Ink White card stock, the sentiment and snowflake are from Tag-its # 10 stamped with Memento Rose bud and Rhubarb Stalk.  The snowflake has a few touches with a Sakura Rose Star pen to give it a little shine and the Spellbinder Lacy Circle is matted under the sentiment circle punched with a 1 3/4" EK Success punch.

So check all the fun stuff happening at Ellen Hutson's and thanks for taking a look tonight!

Glad you stopped by,

Suzanne

Make It Monday #42: Layered Background with Sentiment Stamps

Hello and Happy Saturday!

Well, the front door decorations are up and the Christmas  tree is in the living room.  We'll get to decorating it tonight after dinner.  For now, I have a card to show you that I have wanted to make since the release of Bells and Boughs.  When I saw the stamp set, I immediately recalled a sentiment from Inside and Out: Holiday and wanted to pair up the two, so this MIM challenge is exactly what I have been waiting for.  AND I got to use a product that is new for me.  Flower Soft makes border stickers that can be peeled off and cut to the length you need.  There are quite a few in the package and a good variety to choose from. It provides a very delicate detail but I like it applied here around the background layer.  Here's the card:

I have listed the product details below.  Thanks so much for taking a peek today; 

please let me know what you think!

Glad you stopped by,

Suzanne

Product details:  (Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)

Card stock:  Scarlet Jewel, Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado, Pine Feathers

Stamps:  Bells and Boughs, Inside and Out: Holiday, Fancy Flourishes

Inks: Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Haystack Palette, Forest Moss Distress Ink

Other:  Bells and Boughs Dies, Martha Stewart branch punch, Flower Soft Gold Stickers

            Gina K. Wine with Everything ribbon, Sakura Clear Star pen

November 2011 Blog Hop

I love traditional Christmas colors and decorating with natural greenery.  This image could evoke so many Christmas memories for me both as a child and as an adult.  In fact, I made this card today instead of putting the garland over the front door, but tomorrow, it will go up!  It's TRADITION to do the front porch decorating and put up our tree over the weekend following Thanksgiving.  

Here's my take on the inspiration photo:

I focused on the overall color scheme with attention to the gingham checked pillow in the foreground.  Obviously, I included the garland descending the stairs accented with red ribbons. This photo truly inspires my sense of home, family and bringing together those we love in this joyous season.  So the sentiment and little house tag seemed to be the finishing touches the card needed.

I really enjoy sharing this part of my life with all of you and want to officially extend hopes for the "warmth and joy of the holidays" to you and yours.

Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

Products:

(Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)

Card Stock:  White, Pine Feather, Ripe Avocado

Stamps:  Love lives Here, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday, Background Basics: Gingham

Inks:  Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Branch punch and red seam binding, both from Martha Stewart

Snowflake Sparkle Redux

This card did not keep me awake last night, but it was the last thing on my mind as I went to bed, and the first thing on my mind this morning!  As you saw in the previous post, I not only struggled with the photography, but also with the design of the card.  I am happy with it now.  I hope you will like the revision as well!

The photography is still poor, but I hope you can see more of the sparkle.  The focal image is mounted on white card stock edged in Tea Dye Distress Ink that was also highlighted with a Sakura Clear Star pen.  The top portion only of the focal image is popped up on dimensional foam.  The same ink and Clear Star pen were used on the sentiment.  The card base is also white card stock that has been colored using a Blending tool and Hero Arts Soft Pool ink to coordinate with the background of the focal image.

Additional products:  Hero arts stamp:  Merriest Christmas Wishes

                                  Distress Inks:  Gathered Twigs, Barn Door, Fired Brick

                                  Papertrey Ink stamps:  In the Meadow (sentiment & snowflake)

                                  Other:  AquaPen, White Embossing Powder, Colorbox Frost 

                                 White Pigment Ink

Thanks for stopping by again!

Suzanne

Crafting by Designs Challenge

Good evening and Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Tomorrow is the feast, Friday the tree goes up and the front porch gets it's annual decorations.  The "Friendly Village" dinnerware goes on the table and we open a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau in honor of the season of harvest.  I start playing my "peaceful holiday" station on Pandora while I make cards and other projects including some new delectables from the kitchen that I have found on Pinterest this year!  I will NOT be shopping on black Friday!!!

I actually have two cards to post tonight but the first one is for a challenge going on at Crafting By Designs.  This one is called Tie it Up! requiring the use of ribbon, twine, etc. so here's my submission:

In the midst of all the new inks and stamp sets that I have acquired lately, I had an urge to bring out a set of peg stamps I haven't used in quite a while and combine them with this wreath.  It was fun to use the random stamping technique after so much attention to detail and precision on most of my cards.  The little bird perched in the center of the wreath is just an omen of what I will see as decorations go up outside my house!

products:

Card Stocks:  PTI Rustic Cream, SU! Soft Suede

Stamp sets:  In the Meadow-bird, Wreath for all Seasons, First Fruits-"Thankful" all PTI

                    Indian Summer pegs by Rubber Stamp Tapestry

Inks:  Gathered Twigs, Ripe Persimmon, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, Wild Honey  

          (all Distress Ink by Ranger)

Other:  Woodgrain Impression Plate and Chocolate Baker's Twine by PTI

             Scalloped Dot More Mustard ribbon by SU!  

I apologize in advance for the photography on the next card.  It has a lot of glitter and it is nearly impossible for me to do a good job of photography with the equipment and lighting I currently have.  (I have a table top light box on my Christmas List!)  I was so excited to get this stamp because I saw Jennifer McGuire use it in one of her YouTube Videos and I fell in love with the watercoloring on the trees and bird.  As I said, I added a lot of glitter on the edges of the tree trunks, the small branch and the bird as well as along the center line of the sentiment below.  I also added some small snowflakes in white pigment ink, embossed them in white, and topped them with glitter, too. So use your imagination and maybe you can glimpse the happy sparkles that REALLY are there!

One of these days I will learn how to put in my photos so that you can click on them to

 enlarge for details!

Products:

Card Stocks:  PTI-White, Pure Poppy

Stamps:  Hero Arts-Merriest Christmas Wishes, PTI-In the Meadow (snowflake and sentiment)

Inks:  Hero Arts-Soft Pool, Distress Inks-Tea Dye, Walnut Stain, Fired Brick, Barn Door, 

          Colorbox-Frost White Pigment

Other:  White Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Fine crystal glitter, ZIG glue pen

In this season of gratitude, I am truly thankful to have met all of you and to share this 

passion for paper crafting with you.  As always, I would love to hear your thoughts 

and comments!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne

More Holiday Card Boot Camp Projects

Good morning and happy Sunday!

I have really enjoyed this online class and learned so many new techniques, but I pooped out on my goal of daily posting what I had made.  So I have several to show you today.

This card is a composite of several techniques demonstrated by Jennifer McGuire.

1.  It is a gate-fold card which I rarely make but was glad to be reminded of the design.

2.  The background of the focal image is covered in a blend of Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks.  Next, I used Hero Arts Holly background stamp, inked with Picket Fence Distress Stain, and misted with Perfect Pearls before applying it to the paper.  I love the watercolor-look achieved from this technique.

3.The dimensional holly leaves are hand made using a simple technique of punching a circle, then moving the paper over to re-punch on one side of the circle.  Then use a smaller punch (1/2") or hand cut the little shape around the edge.  They are cut from the paper colored with the blended Distress Inks.

Other products:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream and  Ripe Avocado Card stocks, Bitty Box Basics patterned paper, twine, red button and sentiment from Tremendous Treats: Christmas

Versamark ink, White embossing powder by Stampendous

The next card is from a design by Julie Ebersole from Day 5:  Reproducible Cards. 

 I really like the way this turned out and plan to reproduce it on white and cream 

backgrounds as well as kraft.  Lots of stamping fun here!

Products used:  (All Papertrey Ink) Kraft and Pure Poppy card stocks

Stamps:  Background Basics:Twinkle, Love Lives Here:Christmas, Holiday Lights, 

   Tree Trimming Trio (sentiment selectively inked)  

Die:  Double Banner

Inks: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, 

   Memento Tuxedo Black, Grape Jelly, Rose Bud, Versamark.

White Embossing Powder and White Gelly Roll Pen

The last card today is one of those unexpected things that really gives me a kick. 

Everything I put in this card was already laying on my work table as rejects or l

eftovers from other projects.   It came together almost magically.  The sentiment 

is provocative to me and made me think of Luke 2:19.  "But Mary

 treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."  

What imagination it must have taken for her to believe that her child would be

 the Savior of the world.  What awe and wonder she must have experienced as 

she watched Him grow into a man.  The inside of the card will have the contextual 

passage of Luke 2: 15-20.  Yes, I will make more of these.  

After all, He is the Reason for the season.

Products Used:  from Papertrey Ink: Ripe Avocado, Vintage Cream Pure Poppy and Kraft card stocks, Holiday Spirit Sentiments stamp set, Holly Jolly Dies

Other:  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Martha Stewart punch, Sakura Glaze Pen

The "cedar branches" are colored and misted using the same process of applying distress inks described above although it is from a project previously posted. 

Holiday Card Boot Camp, Day 6, Projects 1 & 2

Hi There! 

I hope your new week has begun well.  Can you believe we will be eating turkey in just over a week?  In the U.S. at least.  I am truly grateful for many, many blessings and one of them is this terrific card class.  I have made several new friends and been offered new opportunities that I would not have had without it.  AND I am grateful for each of you that takes the time to visit and leave a comment.  You are much appreciated, indeed!

I am also submitting these two cards to Karen's challenge at littlescrappieces.blogspot.com.  You might like to drop by and see what's going on over there.

So...here are today's projects from HCBC




I have never made a round card before, and honestly, I haven't made one yet!  I would rather see this on the outside of a gift so I am calling it a tag.  It was die cut with Spellbinders Standard Circles, large so the diameter is approx. 4".  There is a lot of improvisation on this project which required more time than the original project demonstrated by Jennifer McGuire.  The sketch is identical but that's where it ends.  My flower is hand made (according to Jennifer's instructions) as well as the wreath which is made up of two shades of green card stock punched with a Martha Stewart punch and overlapped on top of a circle of glue. Jennifer is such a whiz at using Distress Inks, I followed her lead and directly applied Peeled Paint and Forest Moss inks to a piece of white card stock to create the two shades of green.  These two squares were then spritzed with Perfect Pearls before the branches were punched.  The background is stamped on Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream card stock with Hero Arts, Collage Music Background, using Antique Linen Distress Ink.  The card front is Gina K. Fresh Asparagus and the back is Vintage Cream.  The little sentiment, from PTI First Fruits stamp set,  is die cut with PTI Double Ended Banners, stamped with PTI Pure Poppy Ink, on PTI Rustic White Card stock.  Assorted pearls and metallic embellishments were added to the wreath along with some gold yard I had in my stash for a little flourish around the flower. 


Sweet Hubby thinks this would make a nice ornament as well!


Project #2





This card was inspired by Kristina Werner, one of the three sketches she made for our class today.   I have ended up being very pleased with it.   Again, I used the sketch just as it was presented, but changed the elements and sentiment.  I chose all Papertrey Ink products for this project except for the ink.  The Woodgrain Background Impression Plate gives some texture to the card base of Pure Poppy.  The Kraft layer is stamped with a sentiment from Holiday Spirit Sentiments using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I also used this ink for edging all of the elements on the card and enhancing the woodgrain.  The kraft layer is tied up with Pure Poppy Baker's Twine and popped up on dimensional foam.  The leaves and berries are from Holly Jolly dies collection.


So there you have it.  Another day of getting to do what I enjoy most.  Yes, I am grateful, indeed!


Thanks for stopping by,
Suzanne

Holiday Card Boot Camp, Day 3, Project #2

Happy Sunday!

My motor is already running...I can hardly wait to get back to class with HCBC.

Meanwhile, I have made another card inspired by Jennifer McGuire from her tutorial video on Day 3 of class.  I really like the vintage look achieved with this technique using Versamark ink on the impression side of an embossing folder and then heat embossing the card with white powder.  The most interesting part of this to me, is using a subtle color of patterned paper.  Here, I have used one from the Eskimo Kisses collection by Basic Grey (I think).  Jennifer actually sanded the raised design after removing it from the folder and before she enhanced it with distress ink.  I skipped that step, but used Tumbled Glass distress ink which did give a richer look to the project.  Using the same basic sketch, I turned it on it's side and scooted the sentiment over to the left so that the view of the sparkly snowflake mounted on the inside of the card would not be obstructed.  I love this sentiment (Star of Wonder by Papertrey Ink) in combination with the brief gospel message inside (from Silent Night, also by PTI).  The snowflake is made with Spellbinders Create a Flake #3 of white glitter paper by Recollections and the base layer has been colored with the same Tumbled Glass ink.  Spellbinders Standard Circles was used to cut the window in each of the three layers of paper.  The cardstock used here is Gina K. Ocean Mist.  The mat layer is edged with Versamark and heat  embossed with white powder, then adhered to the base card using dimensional foam.

The next card was started more than a week ago but I did not finish it until today so I thought I would just add it on.  I have repeated the sentiments outside and in but as you will see, I added the beautiful star from Silent Night to the inside.  These are all heat embossed with white powder.  The Card stocks used are PTI Night Sky and Silver Shimmer papers.  The stamp is Hero Arts Starry Night, stamped with Colorbox Frost White Ink.  the stamped layer is raised up on dimensional foam while the silver mat is not.  I have a lot of this silver thread I bought in a mixed lot from a weaver a long time ago. It works really well in a lot of unexpected ways.  The stars have been touched lightly with Icicles Stickles.

Well, I guess that's all for now.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope your week will be filled with peace and happiness.

 Thanks for stopping by,

Suzanne

Babies and Birthdays!

Hello Everyone!

Happy Saturday to you.  Sweet Hubby is playing golf so I'm making cards.  I know, what a shocker!!

I had a baby shower to go to today and a friend's birthday coming up on Monday so while I am taking a break from making Christmas cards, I am still using inspiration from Holiday Card Boot Camp.  The first card to show today is made with a technique I learned from guest designer, Shari Carroll on Day #3.  On my card, I used Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks to color the white card stock that had been stamped with this HUGE Hero Arts flower in Versamark and embossed in white powder.  The next step was the fun part.  I mixed some gold Perfect Pearls with water and misted the flower until the colors began to move.  This was set aside to dry, but in my impatience, I gave it a shot with my heat gun to speed up the process.  I also lightly misted the card base of Melon Berry card stock.  I attached the white layer to a gold shimmer layer, and mounted these on the card base with foam dimensional tape.  I seem to want everything to sparkle these days, so the  The "Happy Birthday" sentiment, from Big Birthday Wishes, is embossed in Detail Gold.

  

Now, this birthday girl has been on a mission to lose some serious pounds and she is going to announce exactly how many on her birthday.  So, I thought it fitting to offer a non-traditional message inside the card:

And she really does!

Next up, is the happy baby card for my friend Meagan.  It's her first and this little bundle will be named for her great-grandmother.  This is the girly version of a baby boy card from a post on October, 22.  Instead of stamping the background, I found this wonderfully soft and shiny paper by SEI in my stash.  Which prompted the unusual color combination of Sweet Blush and Melon Berry.  Melon Berry is probably my least used PTI color and now I have used it twice in one day.  Go figure...

The sentiment from Hanging Out, and "Naomi" are stamped with Smokey Shadow Ink and the Outline Alphabet letters are colored in with Copic markers.  The giraffe is die cut from the Sweet Baby dies. The tiny glittered heart on the giraffe's rump is a Martha Stewart graffiti punch. 

Just in case you didn't know, all of the products are from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted. 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Suzanne