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Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

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It's time once again for the monthly blog hop at Paptertrey Ink. As soon as I saw the inspiration photo, I knew I wanted to participate. I love this color combination.

MayInspiration

Although I had a vague idea of what I might want to create, it wasn't until late last night that it all came together. Luckily my May order with the On The Farm stamps arrived the day before so I had the perfect checked border for the cards. After I finished the first card, I had some reject pieces laying on my desk and reconfigured the card to make use of them. That's good because I have two June 1st events for which I need cards. These will be perfect.

PTIMayCards

Both cards use Select White cardstock, Simply Chartruese ink, the Rosie Posie stamps and dies, a circle punch, and the On The Farm checked border.

PTIMay!

This card uses Simply Chartruese cardstock, a sentiment from the Fillable Frames Additions: 2 and two tiny gems from KaiserCraft

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Here I used True Black cardstock and a sentiment from Round and Round. 

You can find more inspiration here.

Back to the Crafting Table

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It's taken us a few days to adjust to the new time zone and get settled in on our routines at home. It was a fabulous two weeks in Oregon, and there'll be more to share here soon. But almost as soon as we got home I needed a "quick recovery" card for my sister-in-law who suddenly needed a pacemaker implanted. The surgery was yesterday, and she's due home today. I took the opportunity to combine two challenges:  The Embellish Bicycle Color Challenge, and the most recent Retro Sketch Challenge. I rotated the sketch to fit my image.

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And here's my take on them. The inside message reads: Hope the road to recovery is short.

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Supplies:  Memory Box card; patterned paper:  Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky (MME); stamps: bicycle (Hero Arts), sentiment (Papertrey Ink); twine (Divine Twine); cloud die (Papertrey Ink); washi tape (Studio Calico kit)

A Cut Above: Silhouette Lessons

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The emphasis has shifted in A Cut Above from regular die cutting machines to working with the Silhouette. Between this class and the Kerry Bradford class at Jessica Sprague, I'm seeing a lot more possiblities from a machine I already loved! Here are three I made this morning:

SilhouetteHeart

This was a simple one. The heart came from the Silhouette store and is backed with red American Craft cardstock and then adhered to a white card. The inside sentiment reads "Happy Anniversary."

AnniversaryTree

This one started with two different Silhoutte shapes, both of which I altered. I originally thought I'd use a paper punch to cut out the heart, but it wouldn't reach the place where I wanted it, so I found a heart in my library files and resized it to fit. (The tree is also resized, and I deleted the interior branch design.) I hand cut the grass, and the clouds are Papertrey Ink dies. The background paper is Basic Grey and the stamp is a very old Savvy one that I still love after many, many years!

AEThankYou

I've seen Ali Edwards use these designs on her Project Life pages, but I didn't really understand how easy it is to cut it from the Silhouette. As part of the class, Ali donated six phrases perfect for cards. I just love it! The paper is from the American Craft Neopolitan line. I adhered the die cut with a spray adhesive. Another tip from this class. I've had some for years, but rarely use it. That will change!

April Papertrey Blog Hop & More from A Cut Above

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Today's the monthy PTI Blog Hop, and as soon as I saw the inspiration photo . . .

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I immediately thought of the Rosy Posy stamp set. I had just watched Nichol Magouirk's video on A Cut Above about stamping within an embossed frame, and thought the two would go together nicely. I reversed Nichol's process and masked off the area for the frame first, did my stamping, and then embossed the frame around the image. It's been a long time since I used masking to create an image, and I was surprised at how easily it went. I wanted to incorporate some polka dots as well, but couldn't think of any way to do it without the potential of ruining what I had, so here's another pretty CAS design. The sentiment is from Inside and Out: Birthdays. The frame was embossed with the largest of the Spellbinders Small Labels dies.

RosyPosyPTIBlogHop

Then in my desire to use the polka dots I went in search of some quilt-like patterns as seen in the photo. I found several, but the colors aren't as true to the inspiration photo as the first card. But that's OK, it's the patterns and polka-dots I'm focusing on here. I tried a whole variety of layouts, but finally ended up with two CAS cards:

HBDuow

In keeping with the focus on die cuts and embossing folders, I used the Beautiful Blooms 2 dies to cut the flowers and an old favorite Cuttlebug embossing folder, Swiss Dots. The brads are Basic Grey and the sentiment is again from Inside and Out: Birthday. I think I have all the cards I need now for the May birthdays. Just two more anniversary cards needed.

A Cut Above: Dry Embossing with Dies

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Yesterday's lesson for A Cut Above was a series of four videos about embossing folders, Tim Holtz diffusers (I'd never heard of them), and dry embossing with dies. All the lessons are accompanied with pdf documents with the steps to creating all the sample cards. The best part of this class is that all the videos remain available to you after the class ends. This might be my favorite card yet, and certainly one of the simplest ever. The inside sentiment says, "Happy Anniversary." I need four anniversary cards in May. Since we'll be gone for the first two weeks, it's good to get them completed now.

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I used some black wire to create the antennae (another tip from an earlier lesson), and used Copic markers and glitter markers to color the Hero Arts "Antique Engravings" stamp. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's "Pretty Poppies." I embossed the circle with two Small Classic Circles by Spellbinders. Here's a closer look at the butterfly.

ButterflyDetail

I'll definitely be using this technique again.

Here's a view of our front yard yesterday morning:

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Luckily we didn't lose any trees, though some of our neighbors lost large branches from the trees. It's not that we haven't had April snowstorms in the past, but this winter was so mild, this seemed really shocking. It's just as windy and cold today (30's), but the sun is out.

I spent a lot of time yesterday editing photos from our weekend in Washington. I'm doing it in Lightroom with the Visual Quickstart Guide right next to me. I watched the "Up and Running with Lightroom 3" videos at lynda.com so I knew some of the possibilities, but it's impossible to remember where all the tools are, and exactly how to use them. It's taking a long time, but I'm learning a lot in the process.

A Cut Above: Lesson 5 Other Than Paper & Retro Sketches

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Recently I've seen the Retro Sketch site show up on some of my favorite card-making blogs. This week's sketch appealed to me and was perfect for trying out the lesson on cutting materials other than paper in the Cut Above Class.

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I used some Magenta Adhesive-backed cork and some Papertrey Ink felt to die cut the banner.

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The cardstock is Classic Kraft by Papertrey Ink and the patterned paper from the new Neopolitan line by American Craft. The twine is from Paper Source and the brad is an old Making Memories one.

We've had a fabulous weekend despite cold, rainy weather. Yesterday afternoon I attended a three hour workshop with Cole Thompson on Black & White Photography. If I had paid double or triple what I did, I would have thought it worth the money. An excellent speaker, very well-prepared, adn wonderful content.  I've been reading some books by David DuChemin (Within the Frame and Vision and Voice), and Cole's workshop was a perfect accompaniment to what I've been reading. The lessons from my current online course, A Sense of Place, also fall right in line. I could easily immerse myself all day in this material!

Today was the birthday brunch and later this week, I'll have several posts heavy on photography. The egg boats were fabulous (thanks, Deb!) as was the cinnamon French toast, and Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake. My sister-in-laws brought wonderful fruit salads. It was great to have the family together. Most of them had not seen Matt since January, or Skylar since October. 

A Cut Above: Lessons 2 & 3 Plus 1

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Lesson three in A Cut Above was about making shaped cards. It's something I've done in the past, but I used a different die than I've ever used in the past, and am very happy with it. I know I'll do this again. (Had to edit this since I had the lessons reversed in the original post!)

ShapedCard

I started with a Memory Box premade card and lined it up with the top of a Spellbinders Grand Nestability Labels die so the top did not cut. Then I cut a the orange piece with a regular Small Labels die and added the die cut "Thanks" from Memory Box. The patterned papers are both from an older MME paper pack: Lime Twist "Fly A Kite." The stamp is from Hero Arts "Everyday Sayings."

Lesson Two was to create a window card. I loved the star card Jennifer made, and did a very close copy of it.

WindowCard

The angle I shot the photo from makes the top look as if there is more space than on the bottom, but IRL the green layer is even all around. I didn't have time to take the photo again. I used Lifestyle Crafts Nested Stars, and patterned papers from Echo Park's "Hometown Summer" Petite Paper Pack. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's "Tiny Tags." Here's a look at the inside:

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Since I had all the scraps from this project laying on the table I decided to make another birthday card.

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The only supply I used that is different from the card above is an Edger die on the yellow border strip from Papertrey Ink. The inside sentiment reads: "Have a star-spangled day!"

Matt arrived safe and sound this afternoon. It's always good to get my eyes on him and my arms around him!

A Cut Above

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Traveling for four days put me a bit behind with all the classes I'm taking. But today I almost got caught up with the lessons for A Cut Above, a card-making class using die cuts. This afternoon I got a card finished for the first lesson on layered die cuts.

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I used a Lifestyle Crafts layered bloom die for the flower, and the Sending You die from Papertrey Ink for the leaves. I gave both some dimension by using some distress inks around the edges and bending them slightly. The flower is popped up with dimensional dots and the leaves slid in underneath. The patterned papers are from the new Classic Calico (Studio Calico) paper pad and an old MME pad, "Rosy" Lost & Found. The border punch is a new one from American Crafts. The button is from Papertrey Ink, and the twine from Michaels.

We had a fabulous weekend away. It started a bit ominously, but ended up being great. More on all of it later. I took a lot of photos, and have them all uploaded into Lightroom with key words :-), and have started editing them. I hope to have enough for a first blog post by the weekend, but Matt arrives tomorrow so I'm not sure how much time I'll have. I'm signed up for a class on black and white photography with Cole Thompson on Saturday afternoon. One of the photography galleries has brought him in for an exhibit and this class. On Sunday I'm having the family for brunch so everyone can see Matt, and we can celebrate two birthdays (one for 91 years and one for 29). I'm planning to serve Deb's egg boats, French toast, and fruit salad—and a birthday cake of course.

Cards for Friends and Family

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I took time out from a major purge and clean project here to make two cards. The first is for a good friend who fell off a ladder several months ago. Although it might well have been a fatal fall, he has undergone multiple surgeries, the latest of which was Tuesday. He'll be in a cast/brace for 6-8 weeks, and can't drive or lift for 6 months! Although we keep tabs through phone calls and emails, I thought this latest episode required a card as well.

GetWell

I've purged about half of my wooden rubber stamps. My plan at the moment is to store them in the basement until the next garage sale at Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. If I don't want any of them between now and then I'll see what I can sell there. After that there may be a giant give-away here on the blog. This cute pill bottle was one stamp I hadn't used in several years. I can't read the name of the company on the side of the stamp any more. The card turned up in another purge/clean episode a couple of days ago. I bought several sets of these years ago, and am no longer sure who makes it.

The next card is for a much happier occasion. My niece is getting married this summer. Her wedding shower is in two weeks. Normally I would drive down to my brother's for it, but Matt is coming home that weekend, and I haven't seen him since January. My brother sweetly agreed to buy and wrap the gift for me. I mailed this card to him today, and my other niece will take it to the shower for me.

ShowerCard

Another similar card from the set. I used a Memory Box die for the wreath, and some very old Prima flowers. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Mat Stack 2 Collection.

Easter Cards

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Well, I know I'm not too late for this challenge, but I wasn't planning on posting these until Sunday. But since The Scrapbook Trends CREATE blog is looking for Easter cards, I thought I'd get them up today.

EasterCards

I actualy made the pink card a year ago for a Scrap-Mart post but I recently found it and realized that unlike last year, I have two cute grandchildren to whom I can send cute bunny cards. Both cards use Jillibean patterned paper, Papertrey Select White cardstock, doilies cut with the Lacy Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder) and a bunny cut with my Silhouette and scraps from the scrap folder. Skylar's tag was cut with a Papertrey Tag Sale die, and Caleb's is a tag I bought years ago from Impress. Both sentiments are from Papertrey, and both bunnies are embellished with some Fun Flock. (I knew I kept that around for a reason!)

ColorQ Challenge

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ColorQ has another bright and cheerful palette. As soon as I saw it in my Reader I knew I'd be playing along. 

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Here's my card. I ended up with two cards (nearly identical) since I cut each star border out of the four different papers.

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Nothing but cardstock (all Papertrey except for the green which came from my scrap folder). The star borders are also Papertrey Ink as is the sentiment from the "Fillable Frames Additions 2" set. Now I have a start on the many May birthdays on my calendar.

Well, it turns out I was a day late to post this for the challenge. Too bad as I had it done in plenty of time!

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. 

HBCardPatterns

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.

PTIBlog Ho

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.

BlogHopDetail

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.

CR84FN50 Graphic

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

HappyBD

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. 

MakeAWish

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.