Collage Card

I tried a new technique today after watching Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday challenge featuring Dawn McVey. She challenged us to use different stamps to create a collage effect on a card.

The stamps I used are Papertrey Ink (sentiment and gingham background), Stampin' Up (green foliage), Clear Art Stamps (birds), Autumn Leaves (lace), and Martha Stewart (scallop flower).

Mine didn't turn out nearly as good as Dawn's example or many of the other gorgeous cards posted for this challenge, but, hey -- I gave it a try and the winner is chosen by a random draw so I'll still have a chance to win!!!! A couple of things I really do like about my card is how the largest bird looks like it is saying "Happy Birthday" and the fact that I went out of my comfort zone in order to create it!

Speaking of going out of my comfort zone, we had lunch with friends today and I had a chance to try something new -- cactus salad! I have to admit that it wasn't my favorite but I did enjoy the homemade cactus tortillas we had with the chicken fajitas!! Here's a picture of my (mostly) delicious lunch......

Trying new things is a good thing!
Betty

Single Layer Card

I normally don't have lots of luck with single layer cards -- it always seems to me like there is a little something missing! But I made this card yesterday and was very pleased with how it turned out. It's difficult to see in the photo but I first embossed a scalloped circle onto the white layer. Next I stamped the flowers from Gina K. Designs Elegant Flowers inside the circle and used colored pencils and baby oil to color and blend. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, Gracious Vases; two corners were rounded off from the white panel and the card base and after adhering the white panel to the base, the card was done! Very simple and sweet!!

Wanted to share another photo with you today. We had a wonderful Easter service with inspiring music and sermon. To close out this fabulous Easter service we had some lively picking and singing of the old gospel song I'll Fly Away. Loved it!!

Hope your week is going well!
Betty

Watercolor Embossing

My card was made using the technique from Make It Monday with Papertrey Ink, which involves watercolor stamping and embossing. The flowers are from a Martha Stewart two step stamping set. The sentiment stamp is from Papertrey Ink, Gracious Vases and the background for the sentiment is a gingham background stamp from PTI. The watercolor technique was a little bit messy but sometimes messy can be fun!

Check out the link and perhaps you'll want to give this technique a try too!

Betty

Swirly Thanks

I had lots of fun making this card! Dawn McVey showed us how to take a small frame stamp and make a larger stamped image from it on Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday Video Series. I had to hunt through my stamps to find a frame that I could use for this technique -- finally found a clear stamp that most likely came from Michael's $1 bin.

Here's the little clear stamp and this picture shows how I stamped it twice on the white card stock. My next step was to cut out a tag from Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 2, emboss it and sponge to accentuate the embossed dots and surround the image. The little butterfly that you can see on my completed card is from a Martha Stewart clear stamp set. By the way, do you think I should have added a smaller version of this butterfly in the upper right corner of the frame or should I just leave it alone -- I'd be grateful for your input!

My background paper was made using the shaving cream and reinker technique. Colors are Stampin' Up Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and a dab of Pretty in Pink. This is the technique that I will be demonstrating at our stamping group this coming Saturday. I think all the ladies are going to have great fun playing with shaving cream and ink!! I have three other sheets of paper that I made with the same batch of shaving cream and I think they'll enjoy seeing the different patterns you can get just by "smushing" the paper into the shaving cream more than one time!!

Hope you all enjoy your Tuesday!
Betty

Thank You Card

Today my card is made with a sketch from Papertrey Ink. This is Day 6 of their 5th Anniversary and Nichole has given us a choice of five sketches to choose from. I chose Sketch #5 and my sentiment from from PTI's set Think Big Favorites #6 -- (too bad it wasn't Think Big Favorites #5!!) The beautiful turquoise paper with white dots is from a Stampin' Up Designer Paper pack, Island Oasis. Satin ribbon came from The Dollar Tree; I found the buttons in my collection and tied them with my homemade baker's twine. The shiny turquoise stickers are from a Martha Stewart pack and I also used MS Branch punch.

On a more personal note, it's a coldish, rainy, windy day in Chapala. This kind of weather is so infrequent it surprised all of us this morning. So, we'll think about how nice it was yesterday. I've been wanting to show you both a sunrise and sunset from the same day and we managed to capture it yesterday. So, now, for your viewing pleasure........

Sunrise on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 from our front porch

Sunset from the back, viewed from the mirador (roof) of our house



If you can stand a little more trivia, I've been listening to record albumns today -- yes, vinyl -- 33 1/3 rpm -- LPs -- nostalgia, right????  The Best of Sam Cooke (1962, RCA), Neil Diamond's "Greatest Hits" (1968), Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's Greatest Hits (1970), Simon & Garfunkel Bookends (1968) -- includes Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate. We only brought about half of our record albums with us to Mexico -- but I'm glad we brought the ones we did!

Staying inside, taking a trip down Memory Lane,

Betty

Thanks with Satin!

Oh My Goodness!! Have you al seen the calla lilies blooming at Flourishes? Beauty, beauty, beauty!! This is one that I definitely need to add to my collection!

There is a Noon Day Challenge there today and another one tomorrow -- today, we are to be inspired by the following photo....

The beautiful satin ribbon was the inspiration for my card. All of my colored satin ribbons were not the proper color, so I went with white. I added a strip of ribbon to the horizontal stripe and then added a bow. I think that I would feel properly thanked if I were to receive this card!

Another wonderful challenge going on today is at Nicole Heady's Papertrey Ink blog, Capture the Moment.
If you follow this link you will not only find today's challenge, but their new products for February. This challenge inspired my color choices. Each one of the PTI design team picked a favorite color combo and we were to choose one for our card, using at least one Papertrey Ink product. Yesterday, or maybe it was the day before, Nicole gave us a freebie download with a number of wonderful images. The little flower with the stem "frame" was designed by Tiffany Pastor and provides the focal image for my card. The sentiment is from a PTI set, Gracious Vases. The color combo is a favorite of Dawn McVey:

The sketch that I used is from Freshly Made Sketches, #21, with its clean beautiful lines.

I hope you enjoyed my card and that you will join me in one or all of these challenges!
Betty

Love These Colors!

I'm going CAS with this card even though something makes me want to do more with it!!  The layout is from

Card Positioning Systems 5th Anniversary Day 8. I have flipped the sketch but I think you can still see it in my card. Here's the sketch:

There is another 5th Anniversary to celebrate -- Papertrey Ink! This is Day 2 of their festivities and there are free downloadable, printable images to be had for the taking (and thanking, of course!) I've used a beautifully colored  image by Melissa Bickford for this card as well as Papertrey Ink white card stock for my card base. The printed papers are from a Stampin' Up Designer Paper Kit and the mat is SU Rose Red. Melissa's image provided the inspiration for my paper choices.

I would also like to enter my card at Flourishes - Bring Back Beautiful - The Beauty of Love challenge.

Hope you enjoyed my card -- the colors make me happy!

Betty

Vases and Gourds

This card was made for a challenge at The Ribbon Carousel to use paper piecing and, of course, some ribbon, lace, twine or most anything that comes on a spool. All of my vases are paper pieced with paper from a pack by Pressed Petals, Baby Boy. The flowers are stamped onto the ivory card stock. Vases and flowers are from a set by Papertrey Ink, Gracious Vases. The shelf is a stamp from a Gina K. Designs set, Nana's Needlework. The ribbon is from Michaels and was a absolutely perfect match for the patterned papers -- almost like they came together as a kit.

We visited with our friends yesterday afternoon who gifted us with that beautifully carved gourd. We saw so many lovely, fascinating pieces that he has carved, both from wood and gourds. I'm going to post a link where you can see all the pictures I took yesterday afternoon but I'll give you a sneak peek so that you'll know it will be worth your time to look at all the pictures!

The gourds still in their natural state.

This is Herschel, in his workshop, with the gourd he's working on now.

Some completed projects

A wood carving

Here's the link to a Picasa Web Album (crossing my fingers that it works!)

 https://picasaweb.google.com/117097305471329563789/HerschelSArt?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-d3LiRp-WIGw#

edited: looks like you'll have to copy and paste the link

"Talk" to you later,

Betty

Make It Monday on Tuesday

This is my second post today. It's good to be back having fun creating -- I was in a bit of a funk for a few days last week!

Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday video was delayed until today but it was worth waiting for! Nicole shows us how to make a dimensional sentiment banner. Please check out her video because she can explain it much better than I could. I let the patterned paper do the work for my background but Nicole stamped a beautiful background and then added the banner. After adding my banner and the flowers I felt like my card still needed something. I added a pleated ribbon and even though I completely love the effect I don't know that I will do it again. It almost had me ready to scream it was so tedious. Anyone know an easy way to do this?????

My sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Everyday Button Bits and don't you just love those light plum colored pearls -- I think they came from Michaels.

I'm going to save this for my mother-in-law's birthday. She can't see very well up close but this has lots of texture that she will be able to feel.

Betty

Make It Monday Ghost Masking

My card today was inspired by Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday with Betsy Veldman -- Ghost Masking. Friends, you have to check out the video -- it's a terrific technique! I had to improvise with what I had on hand and even though it didn't turn out quite as nicely as Betsy's, I was quite pleased with my first attempt!

I would also like to enter this into the challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow -- embossing.

My good friend, Mary Anne, let me know that my card would fit the challenge at Art Impressions and Do You Stack Up so I would like to enter my card at these sites also.  AI's challenge is Pink, Pink, and More Pink -- isn't that a fun title? DYSU also wants us to Be Pinky!

After completing the ghost masking technique, I embossed my panel with one of the Cuttlebug folders in the set Paper Lace II, and then sponged some Distress Ink Tattered Rose on top of the embossing. Also used this same ink to sponge on the edges of my ivory card base. The flowers are from a Martha Stewart set, Clear Camellia Stamps, and they were stamped with Stampin' Up ink, Rose Red, Regal Rose and More Mustard. The circle is a Gina K. Designs stamp from the Spring Mix StampTV set and was stamped with Momento London Fog.

Added a little piece of ribbon in the corner with a couple of buttons tied with a piece of that shiny embroidery floss for embellishment.

Hope you'll check out the video and try this technique -- would love to know how you like it!

Betty

Make It Monday with Papertrey Ink

Dawn McVey demonstrated the technique for making a background with border dies. I don't have any of those gorgeous border dies from Papertrey Ink (will have to be satisfied with a "wish list" for now) so I used a Martha Stewart border punch.

My card design matches the one that Dawn created here very closely. She used stitching where the borders backed together and I used a strip of the colored paper. She put her sentiment on top of her butterfly die which she had decorated with a button but I didn't want to cover up this beauty. Next I stamped the sentiment in Cameo Coral and was very pleased with the overall look.

Check out the video -- you might want to give this a try!

Betty

Another Make It Monday Technique

Okay, I'll admit it, it's a little hard to see in the photo, but this technique is for a vellum sentiment. I think it needs to be on a darker background to be seen better, but this is the way it was made! The "thanks" sentiment is from my new PTI set, Think Big Favorites #6 and the flower was stamped with PTI's Background Basics: Gingham, also a new set. The flower is a two stamp process from a Martha Stewart set and the flourish that is stamped in Versamark ink is from See D's.

The vellum is scored and Scor-Tape is added behind the score so you can adhere it to the cardstock without the tape showing. Of course, in the picture, you can't even see the score! Guess I really do need to do this again with a darker background!

It was driving me a little nuts, so I decided to make another card with a darker background but I think I figured out that the actual "problem" was the type of vellum I used. On this card, the vellum is more opaque so it can be seen much easier. What do you think about this one?

The nightingale is from the same set as the above flourish from See D's and the sentiment is from PTI's Gracious Vases. The metallic accent was purchased in the jewelry making section at Hobby Lobby.

Later,
Betty

Papertrey Ink Go-To Sentiment Card

This is my second card for the review of Papertrey Inks Make It Monday Video Series. This technique of using sentiments for your card was their very first video and presented by Erin Lincoln. The "take care Feel Better Soon " sentiment is from PTI Think Big Favorites #6 and the "hope you're feeling better" is from PTI Everyday Button Bits. The upper sentiment was purchased from Michael's. The little butterfly is from a Martha Stewart set and the leaves are from Stampin' Up. I made two of these flowers quite a while ago; one was used for a Roses challenge and I never used this little guy so now it's his turn to shine!!

Hope you enjoy my card and your day as well!

Betty

Am I Blue?

Well, I'm not blue but my card sure is!! I'd like to enter this card in Annabelle Stamps Bling Sketch Challenge #45, Jellypark Friends Old Year/New Year Challenge to use something old and something new, and For Fun Challenges to show New, Something New.

My "something old" is the lighter color paper that I've embossed with Cuttlebug's Checker Board folder; this is actually one of the first papers I bought when I first started stamping, if you can believe that! And the "something new" is my Papertrey Ink stamp, Background Basics: Gingham. I just got it today, it's that new! Many thanks to my friend Ruthie who brought it down here to me!

Wanted to share another photo with you too. I made another valentine similar to the one I posted yesterday, only reversing the colors -- red where the first card was white and white where the first card was red. I used white embossing powder and versamark to stamp onto the red paper. I also made envelopes for both of the valentines. Love how they all turned out -- my thanks again to Melisa for her inspiration!

Bye for now,
Betty

Papertrey Dec.Blog Hop Challenge

This is my second post today and I have a card for Papertrey Ink's "Holiday Leftovers Challenge".  They aren't referring to food, but all of the wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, tags, canceled postage from holiday cards received, photos from holiday cards and anything else that might be laying around after the holiday has ended.  The challenge is to use some type of leftover materials to create a project. And for a further challenge, create a non-holiday card from these leftovers.

My snowpeople are from a piece of wrapping paper. Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Everyday Button Bits and I wrote the 2012 on the pail of snowballs. This is a Happy New Year card for friends who are having us over to their home on New Year's Eve.

I am looking forward to another friend's arrival back in Chapala toward the end of the year. She is bringing some new stamps and a die that I had ordered earlier from Papertrey -- can't wait till I can play with them!

Hope Santa filled your stockings with exciting new crafting items!! Another year of creating is almost upon us!

Betty