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Card Patterns Challenge

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In my effort to finish the April birthday cards, I decided to play along with the Card Patterns challenge. Here's the sketch:

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I don't often follow along with sketch challenges, and I think I know why. I enjoy creating a card for them, but often the final product is not really me. This one falls into that category. Although I'm pleased with it, it's not a card I would create on my own. 

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I chose the papers first, both from a 6X6 paper pad, Random by Crate Paper. Papertrey's Raspberry Fizz and Vintage Cream cardstock were good matches, and I thought the Pretty Peony stamps worked well. The sentiment is from Delightful Dahlias, and the tiny butterfly from Butterfly Dreams. I used both Spellbinder's Lacy Circles and the Double Ended Banner dies from PTI, and finished it off with a Simply Chartreuse ribbon. The pearls are from Michaels.

Lots going on this weekend. On Friday I'm going to a lecture by the All Rochester Reads author, Debra Dean, who wrote The Madonnas of Leningrad which our book group read several years ago.  Everyone in the book group liked it, which is a good recommendation since we're a couples book group, and pretty diverse. Then we're having company for dinner later that night.

Saturday, I'm off with friends to a baby shower in Buffalo. Since we're all crafters, we're leaving early so we can spend some time at Buffalo Stamps & Stuff beforehand. It will be an all day event. When we get home, Tracy and I are going to friend's for dinner. I'm providing dessert, and will get it made so I can serve it on Friday as well. If it turns out well, I'll take photos and post it here. My friend made it for us last month, and it was fabulous! Hope you have some fun planned for the weekend as well.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge

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This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was to create a card using pastels and blacks. This finishes my stash of birthday cards for April. You'll see the rest of them in the next day or so.

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This gave me a chance to play with a couple more new purchases from Papertrey Ink:  the 2012 Birthday Tags (which I'm sure will get lots of use) and the new Tag Sale #6 die which I love. I stamped the image on Aqua Mist cardstock and cut the tag from Bitty Box, using the Aqua Mist pattern. I love the way so many of the Papertrey products are color coordinated. The card itself was created from paper I purchased at the very first stamp store in Rochester so it must be at least 15 years old. The store closed years ago. Since then we've had two other lovely stores, but they are no longer in business either. The other die is the Vine Border, and the ribbon and pearls are from Michaels. 

March Papertrey Blog Hop

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Today's the day for the monthly blog hop at Papertrey Ink, and I always enjoy playing along. I've been drawn to bright and cheerful colors recently so this inspiration piece was right up my alley.

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I'm still working on the stash of birthday cards I need for April, so that was the direction I took. I also wanted to use the new star border dies which arrived a couple of days ago. I think you'll be seeing a lot of them.

MarchPTIBlogHop

Aside from the colors, I was drawn to the polka dots on one of the gift bags in the inspiration piece so I backed my larger star with a piece of Distressed Dots patterned paper. The smaller star was die cut with a piece of paper from the Hodge Podge collection which I've had for years. I used the Seeing Stars dies for both. The cardstock is Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, and Harvest Gold, and the sentiment is from Simple Sentiments. All the products are PTI. Here's a closer look at the layers on the card.

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Yesterday was such a busy day. I was gone most of the day, and we celebrated Tracy's birthday and my brother-in-law's birthdays at Tavern 58 last night. In between I visited all the wonderful stops on Deb's fabulous Potluck Blog Hop. If you haven't had a chance to check these out, there are a lot of wonderful recipes to be had. 

CR84FN Challenge

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I've been really attracted to the bright colors of spring recently. I have my orange, yellow, and pink sweaters out of winter storage, so I was anxious to play along with CR84FN challenge this week.

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This CAS card was inspired by one created by Cristina Kowalczyk published in a Paper Crafts magazine.

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I started with some Bazzil textured cardstock in bright pink and added the Echo Park striped paper from their Dots and Stripes line. I stamped the sentiment from Papertrey's Birthday Basics right onto the patterned paper and added a couple of flowers and a brad from my stash. I just purged a lot of my flowers since I rarely use them anymore, but I was smart enough to keep a few around.  While I was at it, I made a second card with a slightly different color combination. 

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Same ingredients except I used Hibiscus Burst cardstock (Papertrey) and a Basic Grey brad that arrived in one of my Studio Calico kits.

The weather here is just amazing. They are predicting a high of 80° today. Tracy is out golfing and later we'll go for our fourth bike ride in four days. I don't believe we've ever had our bikes out in March. I know it can't last, but I'm enjoying every day we have of these summer-like temperatures.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge

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This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was to create a CAS card with the following element:

1. A Pattern
2.  An Image
3.  A Sentiment

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I needed a couple more cards for guys and made two of the same card. I chose the chevron pattern from a new Echo Park paper from the Style Essentials line. The image is a cute camera from Studio Calico and I created the sentiment on the computer with the American Typewriter font. I added the heart to add a touch of color to the card. Since they are both going to relatives, the heart was perfectly appropriate.

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I love this chevron pattern and wish I'd purchased several sheets of it!

Babies!

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This week a good friend and his wife had a tiny baby—just 3 pounds, 7 ounces. She's doing great, though, and I couldn't wait to go buy some little baby clothes. While I was there, of course, I had some other babies in mind as well. I still want to buy little Chloe a few more things, but I was only allowed to use one coupon at a time, so I'll go back in a day or two to use my $10 off coupon. Look at the difference between the premies on the right, and the three month size in the middle! The dress for Skylar is 9 months because I know she has plenty of clothes for the next few months.

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Here's the card for Chloe.

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I think the tag came from Paper Source many years ago. The papers are old Jillibean from my scrap drawer as is the ribbon. The flower is a new one from Pebbles, the stamp from Fillable Frames Additions 2 (PTI), and the die cut alpha is also Papertrey Ink. The wide pink ribbon is May Arts (I think) that I ordered from Emma's Paperie. The border punch is American Crafts.

At the end of the month, I'm going to Buffalo to a baby shower for one of my best friend's daughter-in-law. They're expecting a boy and doing a baseball theme in the nursery. I based this on a card Debbie Olsen did a long time ago, and was really pleased with how it came out. 

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I used Papertrey's Banner Builders to create the pennants with scraps in my "baby drawer" and Pure Poppy cardstock. "BABY" was stamped with the PTI "Fresh" alphabet, and the baseballs were cut from a piece of patterned paper from Michael's. Also from Papertrey is the twine, the patterned paper (Bitty Stars), cardstock (Pure Poppy, Blueberry Sky and Select White), and the sentiment (Bitty Baby Blessings).

 

Cards for Guys

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Three of my family members (all guys) have March birthdays. The first is one that I'm linking with the CAS-ual Friday where the challenge is to make the sentiment front and center.

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And here's my card for Tracy's St.Patrick's Day birthday. He's been warned to stay off the blog. I love the sentiments in the new Papertrey Ink "Movers and Shakers" set. The inside sentiment is just as great. All papers are Papertrey Ink as well as the Woodgrain Impression Plate.

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The next card is for my niece's finance. One of our big events this summer is their wedding in Hyde Park. I'm already looking forward to it. The papers here are old Cosmo Cricket "Boyfriend." The frame, sentiment, and circle border die are all Papertrey Ink.

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Last is the card for my BIL. We'll be celebrating his and Tracy's birthday at Tavern 58 the night before Tom's birthday, so I can hand deliver this one. The Houndstooth stamp, circle border and sentiment are, again, from Papertrey Ink. I used three different circle punches to create the tag.

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Birthday Cards

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I'm in need of some birthday cards. The other night while I was watching NCAA basketball (both men and women) I got a start. I still need a group of cards for guys. Fortunately, there's a lot of college basketball on now as March Madness gets underway. I've been a fan of college basketball ever since my childhood when my dad was on the faculty of Ohio State. He had faculty seats for every home game, and we were often there. OSU was in their heyday in the 60's. Lots of the players I watched then became NBA stars and college coaches. No one else in my family has any interest, so I can watch in my studio and create at the same time.

I got a chance to play with some new stamps and papers, too.

WishingYou

A very simple card. I cut out a section of the hexagon paper from a new paper pad, "Be Happy," by MME, tied a silk ribbon (Papertrey) behind it and stamped the sentiment (Impress).

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This card uses some new papers by Echo Park, some new Papertrey Ink stamps (Rosie Posie, Pretty Peonies, and a sentiment from Fillable Frames #4). The pearls are from Michaels.

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I lifted the design for this card from Ashley Cannon Newell. The patterned paper is an older Cosmo Cricket (DeLovely), and the stamps are from the PTI anniversary set, Pretty Peonies.

Our beautiful spring day yesterday (record high of 67°) is long gone today. It's been like a roller coaster here, and the long range forecast calls for more of the same. I can live with that since every now and then we're getting a taste of spring. Yesterday I sorted through all of my spring and summer clothes and donated about 1/3 of them. Since I've been retired I don't wear many skirts, and didn't need anywhere near the number of slacks I owned. It felt good to clean out, and I now have a very short list of things I need. 

Papertrey Anniversary Challenge: Part 6

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There was no way I could pass up the most recent challenge at Papertrey Ink:  use hearts. I think this is my last valentine, and just in time!

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I punched hearts from Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, and Hibiscus papers, and added a sentiment from "Sending You."

Papertrey Anniversary Challenge: Part 4

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One of the big announcements at Papertrey Ink today as part of their 5th anniversary celebration was the creation of Pinterest boards with cards by the design team, organized by theme. I was delighted to see this so I don't have to hunt through the gallery looking for card ideas for specific stamp sets or occasions. The challenge today was to take a piece of inspiration from Pinterest or use the inspiration piece chosen by one of the designers. My schedule was packed today, so I knew not to head over to Pinterest where you can literally spend hours without thinking about it. And once again, I was looking for some inspiration that would lead to another valentine. I found it on Lisa Johnson's blog. Here's her inspiration piece:

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It took three tries before I ended up with a card I liked, but this might be my favorite valentine yet. I do love a black, red, and white combination.

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Everything is by Papertrey Ink except the heart cut from a Nestability.

Papertrey Anniversary Challenge: Part 3

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Today was a color challenge at Papertrey Ink. I was determined to get another valentine made, but the color combinations were truly a challenge. I ended up using Lisa's colors.

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I punched three borders with the heart border punch (PTI) from  Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist. Then I die cut a spiral notebook page (PTI) with Classic Kraft and stamped a sentiment from Tiny Treats: Valentines. The patterned paper (Making Memories) had three of the colors in it so I decided it was a go, and cut it with a Nestability Hearts. I added a Kaiser Kraft rhinestone that matches the aqua mist to the center of one of the flowers. The best thing about this challenge is that I kept going and got two more valentines made which I'll post once the recipients get them.

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My friend, Nancy, and I are off to see The Artist in a few minutes. Another friend recommended it highly.

Papertrey Anniversary Challenge: Part 2

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Today the designers at Papertrey created a set of printables to be used on cards. I loved the little toaster and the sentiment suggestions by Lexi Daly. Since I haven't started making valentines yet, this was a perfect opportunity.

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Cardstock:  Select White PTI, Memory Box (red) & silver metallic Paper Source; patterned paper: Simple Valentine PTI; heart punch: EK Success; heart gem: A Muse; Prisma colored pencils; font:  CK Rugged.

I'm off to a Camera Rochester meeting, and still need to finish my layout for today's L.O.A.D. It's all arranged; just needs to be glued down.

Papertrey Ink’s 5th Anniversary: Challenge 1

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It's not often I post twice in a day but I'll actually be posting three times before it's over since my yellow post for Project 64 needs to be up in just a few hours. This second post is for the first of the anniversary challenges at Papertrey Ink. The challenge was to choose one of the design team's favorite cards and use it as inspiration. As soon as I saw Ashley Cannon Newell's card I knew it would be a perfect design for a baby card I needed to get in the mail. You can see her card here.

WelcomeBaby

I stayed with her banner and basic card design, but used patterned paper instead of stamping the background myself. I love Papertrey's Tiny Tags and Banner Builder dies and they were perfect for this card. I also used patterned papers from PTI: Tiny Stars and Bitty Box Basics, and the stamps from Round and Round and Tiny Tags. The ribbon is from Paper Source, and the pins and button are from my stash.

 

Home

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I must admit that leaving Oregon was MUCH harder than I expected it to be, and I never thought it would be easy. Fortunately, we already have our next trip planned, so that makes it a bit easier. For the first time in several trips we actually got home on time, despite a long delay leaving Medford. So here we are, a bit jet-lagged trying to get ourselves back into some semblance of routines. I've cleaned our basement pantry since we returned and done a huge grocery/pantry shopping. Today was filled with appointments and commitments, and tomorrow doesn't look a lot better.

But what I really want to do is get busy in my studio. I have over 100 photos of the baby to edit. (Don't worry, you won't be subjected to all of them!) I started working on Finding Photo Flow, an online course by Kayla Lamoreaux, while we were away and which I can already recommend. I really need to get through the next lesson soon. Then in just a week or so, two new courses begin:  a BPC class on type with Cathy Z. and a class by Amy Tan at Studio Calico on stretching your scrapbook kits.

January is a month filled with birthdays. I got most of them made ahead of time so I could mail them from Oregon. Most of them are for guys, so I made a set of cards with a new Hero Art set I picked up in Buffalo earlier in the month. 

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All four cards were made with small ready-made cards from Paper Source, the new Hero Arts "Past Times," "Simple Sentiments" by Papertrey Ink, and patterned papers from the "Funday" paper pad by My Mind's Eye. The tags are from my stash, and I wish I knew where to get some more of them.

And because I'd hate to leave you without a baby photo or two, here are two favorites. The first one Adam took with Caleb in one hand and his Rebel in the other. Nothing I'd ever be able to do, and I just love how it came out.

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And one of Sarah and Caleb:

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He's so tiny now, but he gained over a pound in the second week we were there, so I know he's not going to be tiny for long.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge

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One of my intentions this year is to limit the number of card-making challenges I read each week. I chose five to check each week, and here's my interpretation of the CAS-ual Friday challenge to use brown paper and string. I need several birthday cards for men this month so this was a perfect combination.

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The first card uses a sticker from Imaginisce that I knew I'd use either for cards or for a travel page in a scrapbook. I adhered it to a Hero Arts card, and stamped the banner and the sentiment from Papertrey Ink's "Fly Away" sent, attaching them with some twine. The twine and Scarlet Jewel button are also from Papertrey Ink.

The next card is for my nephew's 40th birthday this week. 

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This is a really CAS card that reads inside "looks good on you!" I die cut the numbers from MME's "Fun Day" paper pack with Papertrey's By the Number dies and layered them on the Mat Stack #3 die cut from a dark brown scrap in my scrap file. I inked the edges with the Tea Dye ink from Papertrey.