Glitter Garden

I have a card for the Papertrey Ink blog hop this month.  I was inspired by the pretty colors in the picture provided and decided to use the Garden Gild cover plate die with glitter.  Lots of glitter!  It's so sparkly seeing it in person.

After cutting the Garden Gild die from white cardstock, I used a glue pen and a variety of glitter colors on the flowers and leaves.  Very simple technique, but definitely messy!  I glued the panel to a white card base and then stamped my sentiment in Lovely Lady and black ink.

Hop over to the Papertrey Ink blog to see other projects in the blog hop.  Lots of fun inspiration!

Stamps:  Garden Gild (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Lovely Lady (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Garden Gild die (Papertrey Ink); Limeade, Crystal Mint, Sugar Plum, Cotton Candy, Jelly Bean, and Lemon Drop glitter (Martha Stewart; glue pen

Sending My Love Valentines

Here's my first project finished in 2018!  I do have a pretty background I created using a technique from a recent Make-It-Monday tutorial, but I haven't decided how to use it yet.  :)  While scrolling through blogs in Feedly last week, I saw some darling cards made by Lynn Put on her blog, The Queen's Scene, using the Don't Forget to Write kit and some other dies by Papertrey Ink.  I loved them!  It made me itch to get into my studio and make them too.  It's not my original design, of course, but it got me creating again and that's what matters.

Aren't they sweet?  I adore the colors.  I had so much fun making these cards.  I stamped the flowers in Hibiscus Burst, Lovely Lady, Pure Poppy, and New Leaf inks.  The clusters are layered on hearts cut using the Shakers & Sprinkles kit dies.  They fit perfectly on the note card die from the Don't Forget to Write kit. 

Betsy Veldman gets me with her gorgeous designs.  Every.  Single.  Time.  I love her vintage style and want to own all of her stamps and dies.  I just can't keep up!  (darn budget, lol)

I know I've mentioned before how much I love polka dots.  I adhered a sheet of Hibiscus Burst Bitty Dot paper to the white scalloped note card.  Again, this is totally a CASE of Lynn Put's design.  There are faux pearls in the center of the bigger flowers.  I was going to use my Nuvo Drops, but I'm having issues with some of the colors.  I'm thinking I need to move them away from the outside wall, because it can get a bit chilly in my studio.  The large word is cut from Pure Poppy cardstock and the sentiment is stamped directly on the heart with black ink. 

Wouldn't this design look darling in purples?  It would also be elegant in white and metallics for a wedding.  It was fun to get the Don't Forget to Write kit out again to play.  Thanks to Lynn Put for the inspiration!

Stamps:  Don't Forget to Write (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Hibiscus Burst, Lovely Lady, Pure Poppy, New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst Bitty Dot (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Don't Forget to Write dies, Shakers & Sprinkles: Hearts dies (Papertrey Ink); faux pearls

A Look Back at 2017

I'm a little shocked to discover that I have been blogging for seven years.  SEVEN.  Slow blink.  Wow.  I have published 445 posts prior to this one.  Double wow.  I've been stamping far longer than that.  Since the year 2000, in fact.  That's a lot of projects.  Last year was my least creative and I gave up on my crafty goals pretty quickly.  It was a year of highs and lows.  Sometimes you just need to focus on other things that need attention.  The self-doubt monster was pretty ruthless last year in many areas of my life.  Still, despite it all, I made some projects that I really loved.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Click on the pictures to see the original posts.

My son Matthew got married to my lovely new daughter-in-law Meghan in July.  I made this pretty box in her wedding colors for a bridal shower gift that contained handmade jewelry by myself.

While I was in Utah visiting family for my son's wedding, I also attended a bridal shower for a nephew's fiance so I made her a similar gift in their wedding colors.

One highlight of the year was being featured on the Inspired By All the Little Things blog in May.  I made this sweet floral card that I gave to my mom for Mother's Day.

I love these darling chairs pieced with a polka-dot patterned paper.  I adore polka dots and it would be fabulous to have a couch in this print!  

I made this card for my youngest daughter Emily.  She loves emojis (like every other teenager) and it's super fun and colorful.  Just like her personality!

I really like how the soft flowers pop against the black background on this card.  It was a labor of love and fun to make.

So there's my past creative year in a glance.  I have quite a few crafty goals for this new year.  Create more.  Use my stuff.  Actually send cards to people.  Make one hundred projects to post.  Participate in blog hops.  Tackle the self-doubt monster head-on and create anyway.  Embrace imperfection.  I've been straightening up the clutter in my studio.  Purging too.  I love to organize my things almost as much as I love to create.  Here's to lots of crafty adventures in the year ahead!

Cookie Cutter Rudolph Tag

Here is the second tag I created for Christmas last year.  I only had two of my children home for the holidays.  Next year, however, will be a different story!  Everyone will be here and I simply cannot wait.  :)  For this one, I used Cookie Cutter Christmas by Stampin' Up and Holiday Trimmings by Wplus9 Studios.

I opted for simple designs last year because I waited until the last minute.  Honestly, I was tempted to skip making them altogether.  The last few months have been a real struggle creatively, but I couldn't let my kids down.  It's a family tradition and they look forward to seeing the new tags each year and guessing whose is whose.  I admit that it's fun for me too.  Next year, I will need to make five designs so I had better start much earlier!

This cute little reindeer is from the Cookie Cutter Christmas set.  It has a matching punch that makes it super easy to use.  I stamped and colored my reindeer with Copic markers, adding little black Nuvo drops eyes and a glossy nose for dimension.

On the black tag cut using dies from the Holiday Tag-Along kit by Papertrey Ink, I repeatedly stamped and embossed a sentiment from Holiday Trimmings in white powder.  I cut a red glitter strip using a die from Blueprints 8 by My Favorite Things and glued it to the tag.  I adhered the reindeer with foam tape.

It's simple, but I like the bold black and white with pops of red.  It makes a striking tag!

Stamps:  Cookie Cutter Christmas (Stampin' Up); Holiday Trimmings (Wplus9 Studio)
Ink:  VersaMark; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White, True Black (Papertrey Ink); red glitter
Copic:  E55, E57, E59, RV13, R29, R59
Misc:  Holiday Tag-Along die (Papertrey Ink); Blueprints 8 die (My Favorite Things); Cookie Cutter punch (Stampin' Up); white embossing powder (Filigree); red ribbon; Glossy Accents (Ranger); Ebony Black Nuvo Crystal Drops

Fleece Navidad Tag

Well.  It's been a few months.  My computer failed and it took several weeks to purchase and set up the new computer.  That's November in a nutshell.  December was crazy due to Christmas and family schedules.  In January, I've been working on other big projects.  Today I finally got Photoshop Elements reinstalled on the new computer so I can edit my photos.  I made this adorable Christmas tag using Baaah Humbug by Lawn Fawn for Christmas last year.

I love this little sheep!  After stamping and coloring the face and feet with Copic markers, I added Hazy Grey Fun Flock for the sheep's fur.  It gives it a wonderful soft, fuzzy texture.

I used Copic markers to color the little Santa hat and gift.  All the pieces are hand-cut.  I added glitter to the hat trim and clear Wink of Stella to the gift box ribbon.  After layering patterned paper on Garden Green cardstock, I glued it to a Cherry Cobbler cardstock tag cut with a die by My Favorite Things.  I adhered my sheep with foam tape and stamped the sentiment directly on the tag with black ink.  Really simple, but oh so cute!

Stamps:  Baaah Humbug (Lawn Fawn)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White (Papertrey Ink); Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Trim the Tree dsp (Stampin' Up)
Copic: E41, E42, R20, R29, R59, R89, G24, G46
Misc:  Tag, You're It die (My Favorite Things); Hazy Grey Fun Flock (Stampendous), Sugar Cube glitter (Martha Stewart); clear Wink of Stella pen; green ribbon