Yeah, it's a girl!

My brother Nate and my sister-in-law Rana recently had a baby girl. It is cause for great excitement in my clan because she is only the fourth granddaughter out of eighteen grandchildren. I happen to have two of them (16 and 8 years old) and my brother Corey has the other girl (nearly two years old). The girls are precious and few! I want to send a card, naturally, so I chose to use this month's SFYTT sketch.

Side note: I am not known for getting cards sent out to family and friends. In fact, I'm pretty lousy at it! Even when I have actually MADE a card for a specific occasion. Therefore, I am trying to overcome that particular weakness this year. Baby steps! (pun intended)

I indulged in lots of pink. Did you really expect otherwise? Lots of bright pink. I had so much fun! I used two older sets from Stampin' Up called Cuddles & Tickles (1996) and Baby Talk (2005). I adore the cute illustrations. I even decorated the inside of my card. (Shhh...don't tell anyone that I originally stamped the sentiment crooked and covered it up with a matted sentiment. It's our little secret. I planned the whole thing, okay?)

I used a sentiment block image on the light pink card base, which may be hard to see. I also stamped an image in light pink behind the inside sentiment. White dots were added to the baby's outfit. Here is the sketch I used for my card.

(image linked)

So now that the card is done, I need to get cracking on a baby gift to accompany it. Yet another thing I'm lousy at doing. Wish me luck!

Stamps: Baby Talk, Cuddles & Tickles (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Razzleberry Lemonade (Stampin' Up); Cute Pink Flower Dots (The Paper Studio)
Ink: Pink Pirouette (Stampin' Up); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: E000, E00 E30, R20, R83, R85, T1, T4, T6
Misc: Scallop Circle punch (EK Success); Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); white pen (Inkssentials)

Mother

I saw this card two months ago and stashed the idea away until I finally got my hands on the Simply Soft stamp set. I knew the design was perfect for a Mother's Day card and here it is!


Isn't that gorgeous? It's so soft and pretty. I just love it! I'll definitely be making a few more of these. If only the button wasn't a one-of-a-kind!

Stamps: Simply Soft, Friends By Definition (Stampin' Up); Women of Life, Iconic Images (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up); White, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Copic: YG23, YG25
Misc: Scallop Edge punch (Stampin' Up); Labels One die (Spellbinders); Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Spring Rain button (Papertrey Ink); #3032 embroidery floss (DMC); Stamp-a-ma-jig; glue dots

Ooh La La

I've had this stamp set for years, but this is the first time I've used it for a card. Gasp! I adore the cute Parisian girl riding on her scooter. I used the diecut that was left from the cupcake card I posted three days ago and colored the image with lots of Copic markers. Twenty-four, to be exact.

Yep, that's a lot of colors. But it was so much fun! I just LOVE how it turned out. I did another dotted background with Pure Poppy and Enchanted Evening cardstock to match my girl and to alude to the French flag. I stamped and cut out the Eiffel tower for a little dimension and to break up the shape. Besides, you can't do a Paris card without the Eiffel tower! lol

Ooh la la!

Stamps: Paris in the Spring (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White, Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Copic: 0, C1, T1, T4, T6, E000, E00, E30, R20, R30, R32, BG11, YG25, Y13, Y15, BV29, E55, E57, E59, B34, B37, R24, R29, R59
Misc: Labels 10 (Spellbinders)

Wishing You Sunshine

Today is the Papertrey Ink blog hop! Prepare yourself for a splash of bright and cheery because this month's challenge is a sunny inspiration picture.

(photo linked to source)

I love the colors! I made TWO cards for this challenge, believe it or not. For my first card, I used stripes of polka-dotted cardstock for my background. I've had this card base sitting around for weeks waiting to be finished. Lucky me that the colors were perfect! And, it already had the white polka dots! I simply added a polka-dotted umbrella and stamped my sentiment on a panel that had been sponged with two different colors of yellow. (Note to self: I really need a Harvest Gold inkpad!)

For the second card, I took my inspiration from the striped gift bag in the photo. Notice the yellow-striped sun?

Yep, I re-created it for my card. Love those distressed yellow stripes! I stamped white raindrops on a strip of Hawaiian Shores cardstock to add the aqua color and then pinked the edges. I used my Yo-Yo Yellow inkpad since I (sob) don't have Harvest Gold yet. It's a bright, cheery color just like the inspiration photo. Since I chose to use the sentiment, "The sun will come out tomorrow", I just had to add a gray cloud partially blocking the sun. It was necessary! lol Besides, I needed to break up all that bright yellow a little bit.

These cards were quick and fun to make. So here's some cheer just in case your day is overcast like mine. Bring on the sunshine!

Stamps: Scattered Sunshine (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Harvest Gold, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink); Daffodil Delight, Barely Banana (Stampin' Up)
Misc: Curved Rectangles (Spellbinders)

Stamps: Scattered Sunshine Additions, Distressed Stripes (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Yo-Yo Yellow, Basic Gray (Stampin' Up); Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Misc: Pinking Edge die (My Favorite Things); Standard Circles die (Spellbinders); pop-dots

Welcome Home

I absolutely love this card! I need to make some cards for real estate, so I pulled out one of my favorite sets. Boards & Beams has the cutest houses and sentiments for that purpose. I based this card on one by Nichole Heady found here. I loved how she cut out the windows and backed it with acetate.

I didn't want to bother with acetate, so I simply stamped the house in black on the cream panel underneath. Works just as well! I used my Copic markers on the house and trees, and then added shading around the fence.

The terracotta panel was a happy accident. I originally stamped it using Guidelines in the matching ink, but it completely faded into the paper. In an effort to save it, I sponged Dark Chocolate ink all over the paper. I really like the rustic-style result and it even brought out the stamped pattern, almost like a resist. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's there!

Did I mention how much I love this card? I think I'll be making a few more of these in other colors! :)

Stamps: Boards & Beams, Guidelines (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Kraft, Terracotta Tile, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Dark Chocolate, Chai, Terracotta Tile (Papertrey Ink)
Copic: 0, T1, E55, E57, E59, YR18, YR23, YR25, YG97
Misc: white pen (Inkssentials)

Celebrate Today

I finally got a card made yesterday after a couple of weeks not doing any stamping. It felt so good! I case'd a card I made last year (found here) that was based on a card made by Belinda Chang Langner. (found here) I love the design! I could make a whole series of cards with it. This time I used Harvest Gold cardstock since it's such a cheery color and chose a cupcake from the Cupcake Collection stamp set by Papertrey Ink.

This card makes me happy. It can't help but bring a smile to the recepient, don't you think? I used the small confetti stamp to create a subtle background with VersaMark ink. The cupcake and sentiment are embossed in white and the frosting has a healthy dose of glitter. :) Love the sparkle!

Stay tuned....I have two more cards ready to post over the weekend! :)

Stamps: Cupcake Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Harvest Gold, White, Dark Chocolate
Ink: VersaMark
Dies: Double-Ended Banners die (Papertrey Ink); Labels 10 die (Spellbinders)
Mics: Frosted Lace (Stickles); white embossing powder (Filigree); pop-dots

Shakespeare Camp

For last week's PSE lesson, I used pictures from Shakespeare Camp in July 2010. As part of the production, my daughter Melody sang a song from "Much Ado About Nothing". I included the lyrics from the first verse and kept the colors muted to complement the pictures.

(Kit: "Something Beautiful" by AmyDane Designs; Font: Angelina)

Snow Day and Bosom Buddies

I'm still learning new techniques in my Photoshop Elements class over at Scraps N Pieces. This time it was photo overlays and feathering, both really cool techniques! I used them both in this layout.

I've always loved these silly pictures from the Shaw family reunion back in 2008. Emily and her cousin Joseph were like two peas in a pod that summer. I'm so glad these goofy moments were captured for posterity. :)

(Kit: Heidi Ho by Scraps N Pieces; Font: Andrea Karime)

My next layout was done for a speed scrap with specific instructions to follow. It's a good thing I had a day to finish because it took me far longer than an hour! I used a picture of Emily from our single snowfall this winter.

(Kit: Evening Elegance by Amy's Designs; Fonts: Palatino Linotype, Showcard Gothic)

So what do you think? Not bad for a beginner! :D

Provo Canyon Hike

I just completed another digital scrapbook layout for my Photoshop Techniques class, so I thought I would pop in quickly to share. I'm pretty pleased with this one!

Most of the layout uses At the Cabin by Scraps N Pieces. The ribbon slider comes from the Romantic Valentine Mini Kit by the same designer. I used Palatino Linotype for the font.