There's No Place Like Home

I'm participating in the Papertrey Ink blog hop again this month. This time the challenge is interactive cards, which really got me excited because I knew exactly what to do. When I made the cupcake pop-up card for one of the anniversary challenges, this card started taking shape in my mind. The blog hop gave me an excuse to finally sit down and make it!


I used the Home Made set for the card front. I stamped the door on Ocean Tides cardstock and cut it out. I stamped the curtains with Ocean Tides ink and then the windows in black, cutting those out as well. Subtle shading was added with Copics. I used Smokey Shadow for the bricks, but stamped it off first to get a softer color. Then I punched branches from Simply Chartreuse cardstock and placed them under the windows for greenery.

Now for the inside! Remember how I used the Mat Stack 3 die for the pop-up mechanism in my previous card? I did it again since it's so quick and easy. Only this time, I created a scene. You open the door (i.e. card) and then "walk" right into the living room. :)



Isn't that adorable?? I love everything about it, from the sweet argyle couch to the side tables and decor. I topped it all off with the perfect sentiment from Boards & Beams. Because after all, there really is no place like home! On My Couch is one of my favorite stamp sets and it goes so well with the other two sets. Hooray for finally using them all on a card!

The couch print is from the Marjolaine Basic Grey line, and it set the colors for the rest of the card. I just added cut-out pillows and then colored my accessories to match. I made one big mistake. Can you guess what? Yep, I completely forgot that Copic markers bleed through! I colored the picture frame right on the card instead of adding as a cut-out piece like the others. Oops! You can see it on the card front and I'm so glad it isn't darker than it is. I also forgot to add some shading to the couch, but that's relatively minor in comparison. Live and learn!

Stamps: Home Made, On My Couch, Boards & Beams (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Ocean Tides, Simply Chartreuse, White (Papertrey Ink); Marjolaine 6x6 pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Ocean Tides, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: O Colorless, C1, T1, T4, T6, BG72, BG78, YG13
Misc: Branch punch (Martha Stewart); Mat Stack 3 die (Papertrey Ink)

Cousins

I thought I'd pop in and share another digital scrapbook page that I made this week. :) It's one of my favorite pictures from last September. Thanks to my class, I now know how to use all those digital templates I've saved!


Kit credits:
Twitterpated by Wendy Tunison
Twitterpated by Queen Wild Scraps
Twitterpated by Karen Diamond Designs

Fonts:
Brittanic Bold
Kristen ITC

February 2012 Template Challenge template by Christin

My Boys

Slight change of pace here. I've been collecting digital scrapbooking kits for years now and finally purchased Photoshop Elements 10 during the last Black Friday weekend. One of my goals for this year is to learn how to use the program, so I've been taking an online class over at Scraps N Pieces. I am still very much a beginner, but I'm pretty proud of how this layout turned out.


It uses a kit called Nightengale by Scraps N Pieces that was available during the Designer Survivor contest. (in 2010, I think?) Anyway, I just had to share! :)

PTI Anniversary Day Ten: Pop-Up Cupcake

Today's PTI challenge was interactive cards and I had so many ideas, but very little time. Between a rehearsal, errands, after school stuff, and a performance, I'm lucky I was able to get one card done. The front didn't turn out quite like I envisioned in my head, but I'm very pleased with the inside. I nearly squealed over my discovery!

The Mat Stack 3 die makes a perfect popup base. I simply used a ruler and bone folder to make scoring lines right below the curve, halfway through the square section, and right above the lower curves. I will definitely be using this die to make popup cards again! I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring that out! :D


Isn't that cool? I tried to get the pic at an angle so you could see the die cut base. I added Stickles to the cupcake frosting and used Copics on the candles. Really, the inside is my favorite part on this card. The colorful cupcakes really "pop" against the white card. lol Pun intended. :)

Stamps: Cupcake Collection, Polka Dot Basics, Simple Alphabet, Shapes By Design (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Hawaiian Shores, Harvest Gold, White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: Y15, YR15, YR18, BG11, BG23
Misc: Mat Stack 3 die, Banner Builder dies (Papertrey Ink); silver cord; Frosted Lace (Stickles); Scor-Tape

PTI Anniversary Day Nine: Butterfly Thanks

Today's PTI challenge was to use both butterflies and leaves in a project. I dusted off my Butterfly Dreams stamp set and paired it with Turning a New Leaf for this card. (pardon the lousy indoor lighting)

I first stamped the leaves using Ripe Avocado ink and then stamped the sheet music using Crumb Cake ink. The kraft cardstock was sponged with Chamomile after stamping to soften the edges. I used my die to cut three butterflies and stamped them with Plum Pudding ink as well as the sentiment. Now I have an elegant thank you card ready to use!

Stamps: Butterfly Dreams, Turning a New Leaf, Background Basics: Sheet Music (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Plum Pudding, Kraft, White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado, Chamomile (Papertrey Ink); Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up)
Misc: Butterfly die, Double-Ended Banner die (Papertrey Ink); ribbon

A few cards

I went to a Valentine brunch at my Stampin' Up demo's house yesterday and made these two cards. The typewriter card is definitely my favorite. I had such a good time making these!

Stamps: You're My Type (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Island Indigo, Basic Black, White, Sweet Shop (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Basic Black Craft (Stampin' Up)
Misc: Flower Garden embossing folder, Fashionable Hearts embosslits die, ruffled ribbon (Stampin' Up)

Stamps: unknown (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Peach Parfait, textured, Everyday Enchantment (Stampin' Up)
Markers: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Poppy Parade (Stampin' Up)
Misc: ruffled ribbon (Stampin' Up), pearls

My daughter Emily made these next two cards with very little help from me. Naturally, she requested that I post them on my blog! :)

Stamps: Hoppy For You (Stampin' Up); Warm Happiness Too (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: flowers (Prima), Warm Happiness die (Papertrey Ink)

PTI Anniversary Day Seven: Love Bug

I'm barely squeaking in a card for today's challenge. Too much going on and too little mojo. The challenge is to use hearts in a project. So here's my card!

I deliberately kept it simple and it almost has a coloring book feel to it. The hearts really pop and that's what I was going for anyway. :) Love the result!

Stamps: Simple Valentine, 2010 Love Tags (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: R24, R29 (Copic); Heart die (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); pop-dots

PTI Anniversary Day Six: Hello Friend

For today's PTI anniversary challenge, we were given a choice of five sketches. You can see all of them here. Between a busy morning and then an afternoon fighting a headache, I didn't feel much like stamping today. I picked the simplest sketch (#2) and followed it exactly. It still took me much longer than it should have! Here's the finished card:

I used my Copic markers to add shading to the flower and I opted to stamp my sentiment on a vellum strip so as not to block too much of it. I'm not sure that I like how it looks, but maybe the sentiment itself looks a little too busy. I managed to smudge some of the ink, naturally. I do like the "Hello Friend" sentiment. :) Despite having sewn for years, this was my first time stitching on paper. About time I tried that technique, huh? lol

Stamps: In Bloom, Around & About Sentiments, Little Labels (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Lemon Tart, vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: Y11, Y13, Y15
Misc: Binding Edge punch (EK Success)

PTI Anniversary Day Five: Pinterest-Inspired Thanks

Today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge is to choose a Pinterest photo and create a card inspired by it. I loved the photos chosen by the design team! While browsing Pinterest this morning, I stumbled across this photo from House Beautiful magazine of a bathroom with a cool geometric pattern on the walls.

original source

I love the combination of turquoise and white! The geometric wall pattern immediately made me think of the Shapes By Design set, so I used one of the border images to recreate the pattern for my card. I used Fillable Frames vertically like the mirror frame in the inspiration photo. I added silver brads in the corners of my card to mimic the chrome wall sconces and faucet. I stamped Bermuda Bay circles (stamped off once) on the white strip with buttons on top to mimic the round wall sconces.

It turned out really well. I love these colors! I will definitely be using this technique again. Make sure you check out the PTI design team's cards and inspiration photos here.

Stamps: Shapes By Design, Fillable Frames 1 (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Hawaiian Shores, White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink); Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up); Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Misc: Hawaiian Shores buttons (Papertrey Ink); silver brads (Making Memories); white embossing powder (Filigree)

PTI Anniversary Day Four: Home Sweet Home

For today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge, we were given several color combinations to choose from for our project. (no challenge yesterday) Does anyone else struggle with color challenges? I picked three possibilities and laid out the colors in hopes of inspiring an idea. I love several of the color combos, but had a difficult time getting them to work for various reasons. I hope a Simply Chartreuse inkpad is released soon! Anyway, the combo of Aqua Mist/Spring Moss/Kraft/Pure Poppy is the only one that finally resulted in a finished card.

I used my Wonderfully Whimsical set to create a simple scene using Aqua Mist for the sky and Spring Moss for the rolling hills. I swiped my white inkpad on the cardstock to create the look of wispy clouds. I used Kraft for my card base and the little house, and then added Pure Poppy with the heart. Some simple shading and additional red touches were added using Copic markers. The sentiment comes from the set Boards & Beams.

I'm glad I persevered and got this card done. My personal goal is to participate in all the challenges this week, but I was about ready to throw in the towel! I printed out the color combos to save for future reference at least. Either way, I managed to make a decent card after all! :)

Stamps: Wonderfully Whimsical, Boards & Beams
Paper: Kraft, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Pure Poppy
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: 0 Colorless, C1, T1, R29 (Copic)

PTI Anniversary Day Two: You Warm My Heart

I completed a second card for today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge. I also used the February SFYTT sketch, so that means this is a double challenge card. :D Two for the price of one! I love this cute image designed by Lexi Daly and just had to use it for a Valentine card. I was thrilled when I realized it works perfectly with the February sketch.

Isn't it cute? It was very quick to make, even with coloring the toaster image. The three hearts are slightly raised using a sliver of cardstock. I am having so much fun with the anniversary challenges and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Stamps: free anniversary digi image, Love Song, Warm Happiness Too (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Kraft, White, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy, Chamomile (Papertrey Ink)
Copic: 0 Colorless, C1, T1, T4, T6, E42, E55, E59, R29

PTI Anniversary Day Two: Hey Chick

For day two of the Papertrey Ink anniversary celebration, each stamp designer contributed a free digital image. Today's challenge is to make a project using one of them. Go here to download them for yourself. I chose Lisa Johnson's cute chick image for my card.


I used a card base I've had sitting around for months that was buried in my scrap drawer. Almost like buried treasure! I had punched the scallop edge and then lined the inside with a narrow strip of decorative paper. All I had to do was add the Spots & Dots border and then add accents to the scallops.

I colored the chick image with Copic markers and then traced a partial circle around the image to give it some framing. Then I layered my circle on top of two Banner Builder pieces and the Mat Stack shape. At the last minute, I added a little bit of color to the background strip and accents with a Copic marker.

I really didn't have a plan when I started and it was fun to see how the card evolved. I like the end result!

Stamps: free anniversary digi image, Background Basics: Spots & Dots (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Lemon Tart, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink); 8x8 Slab (Provo Craft)
Ink: Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)
Copic: Y11, Y13, Y15, Y35
Misc: Mat Stack 1 die, Banner Builders die (Papertrey Ink); Diamond Lace border punch (EK Success); Basic Black marker (Stampin' Up)

PTI Anniversary Day One: It's Your Day

The Papertrey Ink 5th anniversary celebration started today! I've been a fan since the very beginning and I am determined to participate in as many of this year's anniversary challenges as I can. Today the design team shared their favorite projects from last year and the challenge was to create a new project based off one of them. I chose Dawn McVey's project mostly because I already had a Tag Sale #4 cut out on my desk. Oh, sweet serendipity! ;) I also really liked the flower accent and wanted to make another flower with my Spellbinders dies.

I chose Orange Zest cardstock for my flower, crumpled it up and sponged it as usual, and then finished it off with a Dark Chocolate button. I stamped the leaf sprigs using Turning a New Leaf and then cut them out. Boy, do I wish I had the matching dies! I angled the tag slightly on my card and stamped a sentiment from Tag-Its #2. The background is stamped with Dark Chocolate circles and then I added Orange Zest centers to echo the color of the flower. It makes a fun background without detracting from the flower itself.

This was a fun card to make and fairly quick. It's obviously inspired by Dawn's card, but has my own personal touches as well. Thanks to all the PTI design team for their amazing projects month after month! Hopefully, I did them justice. :D

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Polka Dot Basics, Tag-Its #2 (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Tag Sale #4 die (Papertrey Ink); Peony dies (Spellbinders)

Polka dot cupcake

I'm addicted to polka dots. At least, my desk looks like it with three other polka dot cards in progress. This is the one I've finished so far and I just couldn't wait any longer to post it. :)

Once I stamped and assembled my first polka dot background, it occurred to me that the cupcake from Everyday Classics was a perfect match. I decided to make another background from soft pink and brown for the cupcake card. The first card still isn't finished! lol

I scored and folded the sentiment banner to give it some dimension, which is a technique I first saw on Nicole Heady's blog. (I think) I added pink Stickles on top of the cupcake. After all, what is a birthday without some glitter? lol It turned out to be one very cute birthday card!

Stamps: Everyday Classics, Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up); White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Double-Ended Banners die (Papertrey Ink); Lacey Ovals die (Spellbinders); Cotton Candy (Stickles)