Oh boy!

I made a card for this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I like the blocked layout and thought that the To the Moon set would be a perfect fit. I stamped and colored each animal with Copic markers on the smaller squares. The middle panel was stamped with white ink using Flannel Plaid, and then the sentiment was stamped three times vertically. Voila! One sweet little baby card. :)

Side note: I wish I would have noticed that measurements were provided in the sketch post BEFORE I made this card. It would have been so much easier! (and faster) lol

Stamps: To the Moon (Verve); Flannel Plaid (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Buckaroo Blue, Delicate Dots (Stampin' Up); White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Buckaroo Blue (Stampin' Up); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: 0 Colorless, T1, T4, t6, E41, E42, E4, E55, E57, E59, YR12, YR15

There's no one like you

I'm jumping in with a post for the January Papertrey Ink blog hop today. Here is the challenge:

This month, in honor of the new year, we are challenging you to pick your
favorite project from 2011 and share it with all of us! To take it a step
further, you are also challenged to create a second card that is inspired by
the favorite project you select. Your new version of an old favorite could
carry over the color scheme, the layout or the stamp sets. We look forward
to seeing your best creations from 2011 as well as one of your first projects
for 2012!

I actually chose two projects and combined elements from both for my new card. It was too hard to pick just one! Click on the pictures to see the original posts.

I chose colors from both cards and then went a little crazy with the polka dots. The Harvest Gold card base is stamped with Vintage Cream dots. I used Vintage Cream ink to sponge the flower panel on the original card, so that tied it in nicely, plus it's a nice soft effect on the yellow. Like before, I stamped Fresh Snow polka dots on Hibiscus Burst cardstock, but this time I used two sizes of dots for a fun change. I like how the dots look like Sweet Blush, which was a color in the original card.


I re-created the large flower using polka-dotted Hibiscus Burst cardstock, crumpled up each layer, and then sponged with Raspberry Fizz ink. The button makes a cute flower center that breaks up the pink and brings another touch of yellow. This time,I used Ripe Avocado for the leaves as well as the sentiment strip, which was again distressed on the edges. The three paper strips echo the strips in the original card, but with a completely different look.

Put it all together and there you have my answer to this month's PTI challenge. I really like my new card!

Stamps: Friends 'Til the End, Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Harvest Gold, Hibiscus Burst, Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Raspberry Fizz, Fresh Snow, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: button (Papertrey Ink); Blossom Two dies (Spellbinders)

A note for you

I case'd another card that I stumbled across this week that uses one of my favorite SU sets. I bought Aviary last year with grand intentions (lol) and then didn't use it until now. This card caught my attention, so here is my recreation with very few changes.


Since I don't have white satin-type ribbon, I just used a ribbon without the ruffle look. (nothing I had looked right with that technique) I also didn't use a real button. Instead, I die cut several buttons with black cardstock and then glued them together. It's tied with embroidery floss from my stash of cross-stitch supplies. Very easy and very quick. I think this card would make a cute gift set in different colors!

Stamps: Aviary, Sweet Little Sentiments, Friend By Definition (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Misc: 1/2" square punch (EK Success); Top Note die (Stampin' Up); ribbon, Buttoned Up #1 die (Papertrey Ink); DMC #3777 floss

I was cleaning up my desk and started playing with the scraps left over from the first card. This time, I turned the card sideways, used more of the red, stamped a different cage to fit the space along with another bird, and embossed a different sentiment on black.

Stamps: Aviary, Small Sayings, Friend By Definition (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White, True Black (Papertrey Ink); Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up); Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Misc: 1/2" square punch (EK Success); Top Note die (Stampin' Up); ribbon, white embossing powder (Filigree)

Unforgettable friend

I purchased this retired Stampin' Up set from my demo a few months ago. Isn't this elephant adorable? I kept it very simple with lots of white space, minimal coloring, and paper piecing. It makes for one very cute Valentine!


Stamps: Happy Heart Day (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper: White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Nordic Holiday 6x6 pad (Basic Grey)
Copic: R24, R29, YG13, YG17
Misc: Rickrack Border die (Papertrey Ink)

You warm my heart

I finally made another card! I've been spending time in my studio, but doing stuff like mounting stamps on cling foam and updating my inventory book. (note to self...do not get behind again!) Although it is satisfying to be making progress, I am getting sick of that project, so I had to take a break and do some fun stamping.


I was blog hopping and stumbled across a blog called My Craftroom Creations. She has some wonderful cards! This one caught my eye with the border of kraft-on-kraft hearts. I decided to case her card, but discovered that my heart punch was too big. I saw the rickrack border die on my desk and my card just evolved from there. After cutting out two kraft strips, I noticed the offset strip that was left in between and immediately saw how cool it looked with the regular pieces. Happy circumstance!

Warm Happiness is one of my favorite Papertrey Ink sets, so it's about time I used it for a card. I adore Heather Nichols' sweet images! The rest of the card is pretty basic. I just die cut and stamped the mug, embossed the white swirls, and cut a tiny heart from red cardstock. The mug stripes were stamped with VersaMark ink. The sentiment comes from another stamp set. Perfect, isn't it? :) I'm very happy with this card!

Stamps: Warm Happiness, My Punny Valentine (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); VersaMark
Paper: Kraft, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Rickrack Border die, Warm Happiness die (Papertrey Ink); white embossing powder (Filigree); pop-dots

Beary Valentine's Day sketch card

I absolutely love how this card turned out! It's a new year of sketches for the SFYTT sketch challenge and I want to participate every month like I did last year. January's sponsor is The Cat's Pajamas, so I chose one of their cute sets called A Beary Good Year. Since I'm still on a Valentine kick, this is the result of my stamping session.


I started with an old Stampin' Up background stamp and added color to the hearts with Copic markers. Then I embossed both the kraft and red layers to add some texture. I layered a stitched black ribbon over the black strip, and then added my main focal point. It's comprised of a beaded circle die layer that is sponged with red ink and a white circle with traced black outline. The bear image is colored with Copic markers and cut out. Inside the card, I stamped the sentiment, "Have a beary happy Valentine's day."

Stamps: A Beary Good Year (Cat's Pajamas), Soft Swirls (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White, Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Copic: R24, R29, E42, E55, E57, E59
Misc: Basic Black marker (Stampin' Up); Standard Circles Large die, Beaded Circles die (Spellbinders); Heart Blocks embossing folder, Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

My heart is yours

I broke out another unused set for this card. It's called Heartbreaker and is from the BCDzyns line by My Favorite Things. Only four sets were released and I have three of them. I missed out on Text Me, since it seems to be no longer available. I love the sweet girl images and the accompanying sentiments.

I used a pretty paper from Stampin' Up for my background and kept the rest of the card very simple. I paper-pieced the heart, popped up the main image slightly, and then cut up the sentiment for an artistic look.

Stamps: Heartbreaker (BCDzyns by My Favorite Things)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Razzleberry Lemonade (Stampin' Up)
Copic: 0 Colorless Blender, T1, E000, E00, E30, E55, E57, E59, R20, B91

Sweet and simple with a touch of glitter

I used one of the techniques Nicole Heady posted on her blog (Make It Monday #3) to make the glitter strips on this card. Stick down some double-sided tape, add a healthy dose of glitter, and voila! I also scored two horizontal lines to frame the line of heart images. So simple, but oh so sweet!


Stamps: Sweet Love (Close to My Heart); Love Songs (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Noir Black (Palette)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: double-sided tape, iridescent glitter

You make my heart hop

I'm still on a Valentine kick. This time I pulled out a Flopsey set that I've had for years and has remained uninked until now. (shock, I know) I paired the bunny image with a paper-pieced background that I cut with the Top Note die from Stampin' Up. First time it's been used! (yet another shock - I can hear the gasps from here) My mantra continues to be "Use my stuff." So far I'm doing pretty good!

The patterned paper squares were punched out and then adhered to a piece of cardstock before using the die. I used a white pen to add some faux stitching along the seam lines. The sentiment is actually vertical, but I used masking to make it all one line. I managed to stamp it a wee bit wonky, but that just adds character, right? :)

Stamps: Valentine Flopsey (My Favorite Things)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Urban Prairie (Basic Grey)
Copic: 0 Colorless Blender, E55, E57, e59, RV13, RV14
Misc: Top Note die (Stampin' Up); 1-1/4" square punch (EK Success); white opaque writer (Zig)

Be Mine

I can't count how many times I printed the weekly MFT sketch last year with intentions to make a card and then never did it. Not this time! It took a while playing with patterns and walking away to come back with fresh eyes, but I made a card for the current sketch challenge. The stamping part was quick. It was the design part that took the most time, even with a set sketch. I don't typically use multiple patterns on a card, but I fell so in love with the great patterns in my Sultry 6x6 Basic Grey paper pad that I just had to use them all!

I adore the sweet Pure Innocence line by My Favorite Things and this particular image is so versatile. I had planned to color her, but ran into a snag. (see #1 below) I chose to keep it simple instead and rather like the results.


A few things I learned in the process:

1. I need the Rich Cocoa Memento inkpad so I can use my Copic markers.
2. I don't have a small heart punch. I must have gotten rid of it in the great purge of 2010.
3. I really DO need the small standard circles dies for layering.
4. Light pink embossing powder would be nice to have on hand.
5. I can make do without all that in a pinch. :)

I wanted a thin mat margin on my layers for this card and quickly realized the gap was too big between circles on the dies I have. I ended up pulling out my Cricut and cutting the two brown circles with it. Since I haven't used Cricut Design Studio in quite some time and our current printer is wireless, you should have seen me hunting all over the attic for the missing USB printer cable. My son scared the pants off of me when he brought the stronger flashlight and I didn't hear him coming. lol Still, my mission was a success and the problem was solved. Giving myself a big ol' woohoo!

Since I didn't have a small heart punch, I used a light pink inkpad to stamp a heart from the Hooga Booga set on the same light pink paper used for the central image. Then I just cut it out and glued it to the sentiment strip. Very subtle but it works. I used my cream pigment inkpad to stamp the sentiment.

So there you have it! Now I can cross that goal off my list. :)

Stamps: PI Being Cute is What I Do, Hooga Booga (My Favorite Things); Heart's Desire (Verve)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Pink Pirouette (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink); Sultry 6x6 pad (Basic Grey)
Misc: Standard Circles Large dies (Spellbinders); Accent Essentials cartridge (Cricut)

Love ya bunches

Here's another Bella card, this time with the second image I pulled out in my search for love-themed stamps. It's nice to finally ink these up!


I used some gorgeous decorative paper from Stampin' Up called Razzleberry Lemonade. (retired, unfortunately). It goes along with my favorite in-colors Stampin' Up has released so far. I didn't actually use my inkpads for this card, but I love the colors and patterns in this paper. I kept the layers simple and then used dies to make a sweet little flower to echo the flowers in the heart wreath.

Stamps: Loveybella (Stamping Bella); Love Ya Bunches (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Razzleberry Lemonade (Stampin' Up)
Copic: E000, E00, E30, E55, E57, E59, T1, T4, R20, R83, R85, Y11, Y13, Y15
Misc: Blossom die, Labels Five die (Spellbinders); pink brad (Stampin' Up)

Valentine, Be Mine

I decided to tackle this week's Mojo Monday sketch and use one of the Verve Stamps sets that I had pulled out in my quest for love images. It's called Heart's Desire and has cool sketchy-style hearts along with great sentiments.


I chose this set because of the circle image (to match the sketch) and the card just evolved from there. I didn't like the empty solid center in the circle (felt like too much kraft), so I cut out the center so it became more of a frame for the cutout heart. The kraft layers needed just a little something so I edged them with a black marker. It gives the appearance of another layer without the bulk. The red banner looked too plain so I crumpled the paper and smudged it with red ink. I added tiny dots with red Stickles and called it good. I'm pretty happy with the result!

I have another Bella card that's scheduled to post tomorrow morning. (first time trying out that feature) Feel free to drop on by!

Stamps: Heart's Desire (Verve)
Ink: Noir Black (Palette); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Kraft, Pure Poppy, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Standard Circles dies (Spellbinders), Xmas Red (Stickles), Basic Black marker (Stampin' Up)

Sending you a great big hug

Posting those old Valentine cards got me in the mood to dig out all my Valentine sets and images. The rubber sets are in a stack on my desk, but I haven't even touched all the clear sets. This might take a while! I pulled out two Bella images I have and made a card with one of them. It's called Balloonabella and since the balloons are heart-shaped, it fits the theme.


I did minimal coloring with Copics and paper-pieced the rest using decorative paper from Basic Grey. (love their paper!) Then I used strips of the same paper behind the main panel to add more punches of color. The sentiment is from a clear Changito set. That wasn't planned but it fits the space nicely and works perfectly with the cute Bella.

Stamps: Balloonabella (Stamping Bella); Changito Valentines (Stampendous)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Urban Prairie (Basic Grey)
Copic: T1, T4, E000, E00, E30, E55, E57, E49, R20, RV14
Misc: Labels Eighteen dies (Spellbinders), pop-dots

A Flashback and a Sneak Peek

I've been seeing a lot of bloggers post a "year in review" of their favorite twelve projects over the past year. Since I only did 37 blog posts (which feels like an accomplishment!), I thought it would be a bit redundant for me. It wouldn't take you all that long to scroll back through my posts thus far! This weekend, while searching for some papers, I stumbled across three cards I made for my husband in past years. I thought it would be fun to post pics of those instead.

This first card is my personal favorite. I made it for Valentine's Day in 2006. I stamped the flowers and layered them using brads. Stamped leaves were tucked in behind the flowers when I assembled the card.

Stamps: Paint Prints, Too Terrific Tags (Stampin' Up); alphabet (PSX)
Ink & Paper: ? (Stampin' Up)
Misc: brads

I made this next card for Valentine's Day in 2007. It was based off a card I made at a Stampin' Up party, just with different sets.


Stamps: Happy Hearts, The Wheel Thing (Stampin' Up); Sweet Talk, Country Burlap (Close to My Heart)
rest unknown

I also made this card in 2007 for my wedding anniversary. Very simple, but a sweet little card nonetheless.

Stamps: Wonderful Words, Weather or Not (Stampin' Up); Retro Caps (My Sentiments Exactly)
rest unknown

I hope you enjoyed the cards! It's a bit ironic that they are all love-themed, considering that Valentine's Day is coming up next month. I'm getting the itch to break out some stamp sets and play. :)

Now that I've taken a trip down memory lane, let me leave you with a sneak peek of a different project I've been working on. This is what has been finished so far. More to come upon completion! Happy New Year!