In My Thoughts

I got out my Don't Forget to Write kit by Papertrey Ink again.  I want to use up the patterned papers and pre-printed embellies, since otherwise they will sit there forgotten.  I had one large bouquet left and a small piece of this green-striped paper.  I think I spent more time picking a sentiment than I did on the actual card!

Love these colors!  I used my stand-by favorite Polka Dots embossing folder on the Orange Zest cardstock and mounted it on a Fresh Snow linen card base.  I glued the patterned paper to the lower half of the card.  I cut a circle frame from the same linen cardstock and stamped the flourishes in Summer Sun ink.  The sentiment is pieced from two stamp sets, Simply You and All About You, in Dark Chocolate ink.  I glued the pre-printed flower bouquet above the sentiment and then adhered the frame to the card.  Easy peasy!  :)

Stamps:  Simply You, All About You, Don't Forget to Write (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate, Summer Sun (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Orange Zest, Fresh Snow linen, Don't Forget to Write dsp/embellishment (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Don't Forget to Write die (Papertrey Ink); Polka Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Camp Create: Smile

Woohoo!  I have completed all five days of Camp Create!  I finished my final card last night and got it photographed this morning.  I'm so proud of myself.  It's been a very stressful week helping my son with last-minute merit badge stuff and worrying over his Eagle Scout project.  His proposal has been accepted, thankfully, so we can move forward on that.  My little studio has been my saving grace.  A haven in the storm, so to speak.  I've really enjoyed doing these challenges.  Spectacular Shakers is the last one and was so much fun to do.

Isn't that fun?  I really love the colors!  I decided to use the Smile dies to create the shaker element on my card.  I cut it from white cardstock and stamped a sentiment from the Smile stamp set by My Favorite Things in black ink.  It's followed by a layer of clear cardstock, foam tape, and the backing piece.  I pulled out four colors of My Favorite Things dye inks (Lemon Chiffon, Daffodil, Orange Zest, and Persimmon) to create a sponged ombre background.  I was thinking sunset colors and I absolutely love the result!  It is so striking in person, especially paired with the Hawaiian Shores background.

I used five colors of sequins from Pretty Pink Posh for the shaker: Sparkling Clear, Lemon Meringue, Lemon Drop, Pumpkin, and Metallic Gold.  I think they are the 4mm size.  I apologize for the strong shadows in my pictures.  The sunlight is very bright today!

I stamped the Hawaiian Shores piece with another sentiment from the Smile set in VersaMark ink.  I love how it continues the thought stamped on the shaker.  Happiness can brighten the soul of any person and they can't help spreading that same joy to others.  It just keeps on going.  I cut a strip of black and white chevron print paper to place behind the shaker.  It adds just the right amount of graphic pop.  I adhered everything to a white card base, tilting the shaker for dynamic interest.  Love it!

So, there you have it.  Here's the final Camp Create badge that I earned for this project.  Click on the image to see the instructional video so you can make your own shaker card.  Thanks to My Favorite Things for a fun week of challenges!

Stamps:  Smile (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Lemon Chiffon, Daffodil, Orange Zest, Persimmon (My Favorite Things); VersaMark; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White, clear, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink); Basics 6x6 pad (WeR Memory Keepers)
Misc:  Smile dies (My Favorite Things); Sparkling Clear, Lemon Meringue, Lemon Drop, Pumpkin, Metallic Gold sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); sponge applicator (Tim Holtz); ScorTape

Camp Create: Forever Love

You know, it's funny how challenges that should be easy for you can sometimes turn out the opposite.  My daughter Emily said that the Delightful Die Cutting challenge would be no problem because I use dies on almost every card.  Truth.  Even I thought so.  Famous last words.  I got stuck because I really wanted dies to be the showcase on the card.  It took me ALL DAY to decide on a design.  lol 

Love.  Seriously, love.  (pun intended)

I pulled out the Love die by My Favorite Things and cut it into a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of white cardstock, carefully placing it where I wanted for my design.  I stamped the sentiment from Always & Forever in Dark Chocolate ink just above the cutout.  Then I used a glue pen to liberally cover the cut letters in White Gold glitter.  Oh, how it sparkles!

I added a stitched Pure Poppy heart from the Hot Cocoa Cups dies and a trio of tiny Pure Poppy hearts from the Blueprints 11 dies.  I covered the backside with foam tape and adhered it to a Pure Poppy card base.  This is one of those cards you just have to see in person!  The dimension and sparkle really catch the eye.  I needed a wedding card and this will be perfect.

Another successful day at camp!  Here's my newest badge for this challenge.  Click on the image to see other linked cards and the instructional video.

Stamps:  Always & Forever (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Love die, Blueprints 11 die, Hot Cocoa Cups die (My Favorite Things); White Gold glitter (Martha Stewart); glue pen

Camp Create: Flurry of Prayers

Here is my project for day three of Camp Create over at My Favorite Things.  I'm all caught up!  (at least until the next one is posted)  This challenge is called Wonderful Watercolor.

I embossed several images from Snowflake Flurry using white powder on a piece of watercolor paper.  Then, using a waterbrush and three colors of Distress Ink reinkers, I watercolored over the snowflakes.  Love the result!  After it dried, I added flecks of Pearl Pearl Mist. I didn't spritz this time.  I made a puddle of the mist on my craft mat and lightly spattered it on with a paintbrush.  Hopefully, you can see the subtle shimmer in the closeup.

I matted the watercolored panel with True Black cardstock and glued it to a Hawaiian Shores card base.  Then I was stumped for a bit.  I didn't want to cover up my pretty snowflakes.  I also didn't want to use a winter or Christmas-themed sentiment.  Plus, I realized I don't have any MFT word dies!  What to do, what to do? 

Once I remembered that I had the Prayers die by Hero Arts, it came together quickly.  I used part of a sentiment from the Flurry of Love Pure Innocence stamp set.  I cut the word from black cardstock and placed the sentiment above it.  Perhaps it's an unusual sympathy card, but I really like it.

So here's my new badge!  Click on it to see other cards created for the challenge and the watercolor instructional video.  Looking forward to another day of camp!

Stamps:  Snowflake Flurry, Flurry of Love (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  VersaMark; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Hawaiian Shores, True Black, White (Papertrey Ink); watercolor paper
Misc:  Prayers die (Hero Arts); Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon (Distress Ink reinkers); waterbrush; Perfect Pearl Mist (Ranger)

Camp Create: Ewe Have My Heart

Oh my goodness, this was fun to create!  Fair warning: it took a few hours.  It's a bit complicated!  Day two's challenge for Camp Create was Sensational Sliders and my card needed to have some kind of movement.  I instantly thought of this darling stamp set called Ewe are the Best by My Favorite Things.

So sweet, right?  There are several layers on this card, but the best part is that the sheep moves across the card to join its sweetheart.  They end up touching noses!

The grass is three separate layers and the top one is popped up with foam tape to accommodate the sliding sheep.  The fence is a Dark Chocolate layer behind all those.  I used my Movers & Shakers: Spinners die by Papertrey Ink to cut out the sliding track since I don't have the MFT dies.  (yet)  lol  I tucked three little flowers in the hillside from the Ewe are the Best stamp set.  I hand-cut all the images for this card and colored them with Copic markers.  The sheep are flocked too.  I love the fuzzy texture!

I swiped the Sweet Tooth inkpad on the Spring Rain card base to mimic wispy clouds.  I cut the two clouds with the Flat-Bottom Clouds dies and added shading with a C1 Copic marker.  There is clear Wink of Stella shimmer on the windmill blades, but it's difficult to see in the picture.  I stamped the sentiment "ewe have my heart" between the two sheep with black ink.

I absolutely love how this card turned out!  I grin every time I look at it.  Based on the hours spent, I earned this camp badge for sure.  :)  Click on the image to see other cards for the challenge and the instructional video.  Try it out for yourself!

Stamps:  Ewe are the Best (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Sweet Tooth (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  White, Spring Rain, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Garden Green (Stampin' Up)
Copic:  0, C1, E30, E55, E57, E59, R20, T1, T4, T6, Y13, Y17, YG17
Misc:  Grassy Edges die, Rolling Hills dies, Flat-Bottom Clouds dies (My Favorite Things); Movers & Shakers: Spinners die (Papertrey Ink); clear Wink of Stella pen; Hazy Grey Fun Flock (Stampendous); glue pen

Camp Create: Donut Forget

My Favorite Things is doing a summer camp event this week called Camp Create.  Now that the school year and my son's high school graduation are over, I have a little more free time to spend in my studio, so I decided to join in.  Glitzy Glitter is the first challenge and right up my sparkle-loving alley!

I pulled out the Donuts & Sprinkles stamp set by My Favorite Things, along with the matching dies.  I cut the donut base from Dark Chocolate cardstock and the frosting layer from Harvest Gold cardstock.  Naturally, I added sparkly yellow glitter to the frosting!  Who could resist?

For the rest of the card, I cut my pieces using dies from Blueprints 1.  I stamped the sentiment in Dark Chocolate ink on the white scalloped mat, glued it to a yellow polka-dot layer, and then to a Dark Chocolate card base.  Simple and sure to make someone smile!

Here's the badge I earned for participating in this Glitzy Glitter challenge.  Click on the image to see other entries and view the instructional video.  Feel free to join in!

Stamps:  Donuts & Sprinkles (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Brights Collection Patterns Stack (Stampin' Up)
Misc:  Donuts dies, Blueprints 1 dies (My Favorite Things); Lemon Drop glitter (Martha Stewart)  

Berry Blush

I'm back to post more cards using the Don't Forget to Write kit by Papertrey Ink.  Again, these are not my original design, except some tweaks on the one based off the card box.  I followed the instructions for the Berry Blush colorway in the kit.

Aren't those pretty colors?  I had so much fun making these and did it all in one evening.  It helps when all the design work has been done for you!

I know I've said it before, but I love the scalloped notecard die in the kit.  I cut it from Sweet Blush cardstock and adhered a square of Fresh Snow linen cardstock that I stamped with a small floral bouquet and the sentiment.  (see ink colors below)  I punched a 3/4" square of Sweet Blush cardstock and notched one end for the little banner flag.  I stamped the flourish on a label die cut with Aqua Mist ink and trimmed off just that portion.  Once assembled, it makes a darling little card.

This A1-sized card is a Sweet Blush cardstock base adhered with a striped watercolor paper from the kit.  I cut an open square frame from Fresh Snow linen cardstock and stamped the flourishes with Aqua Mist ink.  I glued it to the card on an angle and trimmed off the overhang.  I stamped my sentiment in Ocean Tides ink and added a "note" die cut from Sweet Blush cardstock that I sponged with Berry Sorbet ink.  I love the look!  I barely touched my Berry Sorbet inkpad prior to getting this kit and it's been getting a workout lately.  How did I overlook this color?  The flowers are pre-printed embellishments from the kit.  Simply die cut and glue in place - couldn't be easier.

This card took the longest to make, because of the stamped floral bouquets.  Lots of colors!  It still went fairly fast though, due to Betsy Veldman's ingenious design of the stamps.  The card base is Sweet Blush cardstock, the stamped panel is Fresh Snow linen cardstock, and the strip of patterned paper is from the kit.  I used Berry Sorbet, Autumn Rose, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Sweet Blush, Simply Chartreuse, and Mint Julep inks to stamp the bouquets.  You can bet I was holding my breath doing each step, hoping that I wouldn't mess it all up!  It's so pretty.  I love how the texture of the linen cardstock comes through the ink and makes it look like it was printed.  I stamped the sentiment in between the bouquets with Sweet Blush and Ocean Tides ink. 

My final card is based on the card box design in the kit instructions.  I simply translated it to a card.  On the Sweet Blush card base, I stamped Background Basics: Text Style in VersaMark ink.  Love the look!  I stamped a Fresh Snow linen frame with Aqua Mist flourishes, Sweet Blush stripes, and an Ocean Tides sentiment.  I glued a strip of patterned paper to the base with the frame on top and added a large floral embellishment from the kit.  Quick and easy!

I am so glad that I purchased the Don't Forget to Write kit.  The included instructions really got me using it right away.  I'm not done, surely.  I want to finish up the patterned papers and embellishments instead of hoarding them.  I have a few previous kits that haven't seen much use yet and I'm trying to change that!  Now I have a lot of pretty cards in my stash to send out as needed.

Stamps:  Don't Forget to Write, Background Basics: Text Style (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  VersaMark; Aqua Mist, Autumn Rose, Berry Sorbet, Mint Julep, Ocean Tides, Simply Chartreuse, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Sweet Blush, Fresh Snow linen, Don't Forget to Write dsp (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Don't Forget to Write dies (Papertrey Ink), 3/4" square punch (EK Success)