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Papertrey Ink September 2017 Blog Hop & Time Out

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As soon as I saw this month inspiration for the Papertrey September Ink Blog Hop, I knew I wanted to participate. I love the colors and the way they pop against the black background.

BlogHop

Although it's certainly not necessary to use a bird as the focal point, I turned to one of my favorite PTI sets, "Songbirds," and used some of the same colors and elements seen in the inspiration piece.

PTISept

There are no wing dies in this set so I drew and fussy-cut one for the little bird. I sponged some "Honey Nut," "Cocoa Bean," and a touch of "Terracotta Tile" on the bird after die cutting it with Rustic White cardstock. I trimmed one branch from the leaf dies after they were cut from New Leaf and Green Parakeet cardstock. The little flowers were punched from very old punches in my collection. The banner and sentiment are both part of the "Songbirds" set.

PTISeptFlat 

Before adhering the black piece to the Pure Poppy card (love red and black!) I adhered a piece of fun foam to the back so it's popped up a bit. I'd love to have a stamp set that features the bird and flowers in the inspiration piece, but "Songbirds" will have to suffice for now.

I'm linking up to Papertrey Ink's Blog Hop and also to the Time Out Challenge:  "Paint The Flying Spirit Of The Birds Rather than its Feathers."

 

 

 

Stemmed Statements and A Floral Challenge

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The days are flying by, and blogging seems to be at the bottom of the "to do" list; not intentionally, but by the time the day ends there's not much creative energy left for a blog post. I did get some crafting done over the weekend: a few cards, and another month of Project Life completed. Before I share those, however, I thought I'd share some more cards made with "Stemmed Statements." I think this might become a go-to set for floral cards. I have two sets of cards to share. The first with pansies and an ombre stamped background with the "Cover-up: Diamonds" background stamp. Both the "Stemmed Statements" and "Cover-up: Diamonds" stamps were in my July Papertrey Ink order. 

PurplePansies

I used some of the Altenew mini-cube ink sets to stamp the ombre pattern for the background. The ink pads come in sets of four coordinating, and increasingly darker shades which really speeds up the process of creating an ombre pattern. The pansies and clovers were colored with Copics. I cut the background with a "Stitched Rectangle" die and added a trimmed "Double-ended Banner" with the sentiment.

Pansies

This card is nearly a duplicate, stamped in a blue palette. I wanted to have a couple cards ready to send when I hear of someone in need of cheering up!

CelebrateGeraniums

The second set of cards use the geranium image in the set. It's one of my favorites. Once the geraniums were colored, this card came together quickly, thanks to the patterned paper (also PTI) from the Lovely Lace kit. I didn't purchase the kit, but a friend recommended getting the paper pack, and I'm glad I did. Once again, a "Stitched Rectangle" die that I adhered to Simon Says Smoke cardstock. Their three gray papers are my favorite grays. The banner die is an old Spellbinder die, stamped with a sentiment from "Stemmed Statements."

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I added three rainstones to the card for a bit of sparkle.

PinkGeraniums

This time some pink geraniums mounted on a Spellbinders Oval die cut from another piece of patterned paper from the "Lovely Lace" pack. I made six score lines down the side of the card for some texture on the Fresh Snow Linen cardstock, and tied a bow from the white silk ribbon Papertrey Ink used to sell. I wish I had stockpiled a couple of spools of it before they discontinued it.

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I think this card qualifies for this week's challenge at Addicted to CAS: Florals so I'll be linking it up there.

ATCAS - code word florals

 

Color Throw Down Challenge

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ColorThrowDown459

This week's Color Throw Down Challenge is my favorite color combination: red, black, and white. I have a quick anniversary card to share, and may be back before the challenge ends with another card. One of my favorite paper packs from Papertrey Ink was Black and White All Over. It's no longer available, and when they had their big paper sale back in February it was sold out before I got my hands on some more of it. 

XO

This giant XO was one of the papers, and I was never quite sure what to do with it. . . until now. I cut it down, used a corner punch on the top corners, and adhered it to a Pure Poppy card, cut a banner for the sentiment which I adhered with foam tape, and added a puffy heart sticker from Bella Blvd. The sticker was a dark pink so I colored over it with a red Copic marker. I made two of these since there are two sets of friends are celebrating their anniversaries. Now I wish I had a couple more pieces of this paper. I'm quite happy with the card, and it went together very quickly.

CASology: Juicy

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A quick post to enter a couple of cards in this week's CASology challenge: Juicy.

Week 260 - JUICY

One of my go-to kits for quick cards is the Papertrey Ink: Still Life-Summer kit. When I saw this challenge, and needed a couple of thank you notes, once again, it filled the bill.

FruityThanks

I scored a pattern onto some white cardstock, added a strip of patterned paper from the kit and four die cuts. A quick, easy, and cheery thank you note.

Recently, I've been attracted to bright colors on dark backgrounds, so for the next card, I made essentially the same card but with a black background. The all black was too stark, so I layered it on a Raspberry Fizz card. Bright and cheery, even on dark cardstock.

CherryThanks

The cherries reminded me of one of my favorite treats in the summer:  Rainer cherries—expensive, but oh, so sweet.

07.12Cherries

Hope your day is bright and cheery, too!

CASology Balloons and Color Throw Down

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It's CASology's fifth birthday, and they're having a party! You can find the blog hop right here. The word for the week is "balloon."

Week 259 - Balloon

It was the perfect opportunity to get a birthday card ready for an upcoming birthday, and to use a combination of old, but loved, and brand new products. The "old, but loved" is Papertrey's Balloon Bash set. This set is a fave for it's birthday sentiments, but this time I pulled out the three balloons. The Balloon String dies (PTI) are also a favorite. The new product is Papertrey's "Infinity Frames," which was just released this month. When I purchased the die, I had lots of ideas, but ended up using them in a totally unexpected way to create a white on white background for the pretty balloons.

Balloons

The sentiment from "Initial Sentiments: Birthday" (PTI) was embossed in white on black, cut out by hand, and popped up with dimensional tape. I chose the colors of the balloons from this week's Color Throw Down Challenge. Although I've been aware of the challenge for awhile, this is the first time I've played along.

ColorThrowDown453

I used Raspberry Fizz, Bright Buttercup, and New Leaf inks to stamp the balloons before die cutting them. They seem to be a perfect match!

BalloonsFlat

Another morning of steady rain here. It was a good day to stay inside and craft, so I'll have more to share very soon.

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

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I've been so busy recently, that I didn't even realize it was the 25th of July until I got on the computer this morning. Luckily, I had time before I set off on errands and to the refugee center to volunteer, to make a card since I loved the inspiration post. Now that I'm finally home, I can get it linked up to the July Papertrey Blog Hop Challenge. 

JulyPTI

Soft blues and white, clean and simple design. I really like the lovely leaves, so started with the leaf diecut from Songbirds in two colors: Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with them so I cut quite a few. Once I laid two of them on a white card, I knew I wanted to try the new Mix and Mat: Postal as a background. I must say I'm a fan of the new Mix and Mat die cut sets.

DSC04974ed

Just two of the leaf clusters was all I needed. I backed the open part of the Mix and Mat die with a soft blue vellum that's been in my stash forever. The sentiment is a die from Still Life Summer Mini-Market kit. I sponged some ink on the bottom of it to create an ombre effect to set it off. 

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Since this card is totally die cuts, no stamping at all, I'm also entering it into the current Less is More Challenge: Anything But Stamping.

 

 

 

One Card: Three Challenges

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I'm trying to get all the cards I need for the month of July completed, and I started with three challenges for an anniversary card for my niece and her husband. The first is Addicted to CAS: White on White,

ATCAS - code word white on white

and the second is The Card Concept with this beautiful photo inspiration.

TCC76

And third, the Time Out Challenge for Celebrations.

When I saw the challenges, I immediately had an idea for using another new Papertrey Ink product:  the "Mix and Mat-Pretty Brackets" dies. I used two of the dies on this card, taping them together before running them through the die cutting machine on the front of the card. 

WhiteonWhite

I layered another piece of linen cardstock behind the open die cut but only attached to the edges of the card so there's a bit of dimension. I added a small red heart since the inside sentiment is "Happy Anniversary." Here's a closer look:

WhiteClose

It's a great match for The Card Concept and Celebrations at Time Out, and looking at the Design Team's submission at Addicted to CAS, it appears one little pop of color also works for that challenge. The Card Concept asks you to choose a style, and although there is a bit of layering here, I'd label this one "Clean and Simple." I love when a card comes out exactly as you envisioned it. It doesn't happen often enough. I'll be relying on this design for another wedding in September.

CASology Challenge: Fly, Take 2

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CASWeek 255 - Fly

As promised, I'm back again with another card for the CASology Fly challenge. And it's another feather card, this time a very quick and easy one created with one of the patterned papers from the "What the Doodle Feather" set by Papertrey Ink. The feather was already printed on the paper, and just needed to be colored with Copic markers. I die cut the sentiment from Raspberry Fizz with one of the "Scripted" sentiments also by Papertrey Ink. All it took then, was to mount it to a True Black card.

HelloThrere

The sentiment was die cut and layered three times to add a little dimension to the card.

HelloThereClose

 

You can check out the other entries to the challenge right here.

CASology Challenge: Fly

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CASWeek 255 - Fly

This week's challenge at CASology is "FLY," and I have a card to share that fits right in the challenge.

FeatherThanks

I'm not sure why I fell in love with this Papertrey Ink set when it was released over three years ago, but I did. I typically go for sets that have multiple images for different kinds of cards, or florals.  "Feather Finery" is nearly all feathers but I loved the feathers and the overlay that can be applied to the top. It also has a set of beautiful sentiments although I didn't use them here. I have to admit, however, that I don't often think of this set when I need to create a card.

 I double stamped the feather with Ocean Tides, first with full ink, then slightly offset without reinking. Then I embossed the dotted layer with Platinum Embossing Powder. The sentiment is die cut from silver Paper Source cardstock with Wplus9's "Hand Lettered Thanks." I love the font of this die cut. The stamped sentiment comes from the same set. After adhering the white panel on an Ocean Tides card, I added a few clear sequins for embellishment.

FeatherThanksClose

I have another idea for this challenge that's pretty quick and easy, so hope to be back in another day or two with another "feather" card.

 

Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

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A quick post to join in with Papertrey Ink's June Blog Hop. Here's the inspiration photo:

JunePTIBlogHop

When I first saw it, I immediately thought of an older Papertrey Ink set called "Gracious Vases." Then life got really busy, and I couldn't get to my desk to create a blog hop card until late this afternoon. I stamped my favorite flower and then two vases from the set on watercolor paper, and watercolored them. Then I used a new My Favorite Things die cut for the frame and mounted the image behind the frame. I stamped the sentiment from Papertrey's "Round & Round" and mounted it all on a Tropical Teal card.

WithGratitude

Off to check out the other cards created with this inspiration piece.

Time Out Challenge: Celebrations

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The new Time Out Challenge is "Celebrations." There's an optional twist to make a one-layer card, but as usual, I wanted to use my dies for a little dimension. A good friend recently retired, and I wanted to get a card (and gift card) to her.

RetirementJC

In addition to wanting to create a card, I wanted to use two new sets that I ordered from Papertrey Ink in April, but still hadn't used. The first was "Gran's Garden." I passed it up when it was first introduced, but saw so many cards on blogs that I liked, that I broke down and purchased it. No regrets. The second was this year's Anniversary Set, "Grand Finale." It can only be acquired with reward points. I don't always opt to use mine for the anniversary set, but I thought this one had quite a few possibilities. It made a perfect frame for the flowers. The sentiment came from a Simon Says "Banner Sayings" set that I've had for a long time. The card really didn't come together, though, until I found the patterned paper from the "Lovely Lace" mini-kit by Papertrey Ink. I didn't order the kit, but I loved enough of the papers to order them. 

RetirementClose

I hope my friend enjoys retirement as much as I do!

Card Challenges

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I subscribe to several card challenges through Feedly, and frequently post to one or another of them. Rarely do I set out to create a card specifically for two challenges at once, but yesterday I did. I thought I had checked the dates for both, but this morning was rather dismayed that one of the challenges had been closed before I got my post written. Ah, well. Here are both the challenge images even though one  has closed.

FMS Final 290-001

The second challenge is the Time Out Challenge which is their "Inspired by Words" challenge:  'Flowers and Friends make life a garden.' I recently purchased a new stamp set from Simon Says called "Friends of Life," which had the perfect sentiment for this challenge.

Friends

I stamped the floral images from the set with Altenew's mini cube set, "Cool Summer Night." I have just a couple of their layering ink sets, but have some more on my "wish list," as they make the layering process much easier. I die cut a piece of dotted vellum from Papertrey Ink with an old Grand Nestability Scalloped Circle die and then cut it in half. I adhered it to the card with a strip of narrow Washi tape, added the die cut sentiment and flowers, and embossed the remainder of the sentiment on a narrow strip of black cardstock.

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I'm linking this up to the Time Out Challenge which closes soon as well. 

Simon Says: Anything Goes

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A quick post to share two identical anniversary cards for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes. 

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9Hearts

Using some Fresh Snow Linen cardstock, I die cut a Simon Says "Stitched Rectangle" and then the "Tic Tac Toe Hearts." I die cut the hearts again from a piece of patterned paper in Echo Park's "Blowing Kisses" paper pad. With some fun foam behind it, I mounted the squares on a card from the same Fresh Snow paper. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

9HeartsClose

I'm a fan of inlaid die cuts and this is a quick and easy one when you need a couple of anniversary cards! Hope your week is going well.

The Card Concept: Freshly Elegant

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Today is Sarah and Adam's 11th anniversary—how is that possible!!! Nonetheless it is, and I have a card for them inspired by The Card Concept: Freshly Elegant challenge. Here's the inspiration photo:

TCC74

I was inspired by the colors that are throughout the photos–pinks–light and dark–yellow and golden colors. The card itself is based on one I pinned awhile ago. I liked it so much I bought the die. 

S&AAnniversary

I watercolored a background and then added some splatters with Studio Calico's "Piglet" spray. Neither are fortes of mine, but this time I was satisfied with the result. The gorgeous "Stacked Hearts" die is from Simon Says and I die cut it three times and layered them. The sentiment from an old Papertrey Ink set "Mat Stack 3" was white embossed on a scrap of black cardstock that was then cut with a banner die from My Favorite Things.

AnniversaryClose2

The watercolored panel was cut down just a bit and layered onto a Memory Box card. One of the interesting feature of The Card Concept challenge is to identify your card by its style. I think 90% of my cards fall under the Clean and Simple category, but in this case I think "Clean and Graphic" might be the better choice. You can find the explanations for the different styles right here. How would you classify this one?

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Furry Friends

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Wednesdayblog-logo

It's been awhile since I participated in a Simon Says Challenge, but I wanted to break out the Simon Says April Card Kit. The Furry Friends challenge was a perfect fit for it. I knew when the kit arrived, I'd have lots of opportunities to use it. This card is for my grand-nephew who turned two on Monday. The stamp set is called "Wild Cuddly Critters," and features four animals. I managed to use three of the four on this card, and it's also the very first pop-up card I've made.

Pop-up

I used some patterned paper from Lawn Fawn's "Into the Woods" pack, die cut one of Lawn Fawn's "Meadow Borders" from New Leaf paper, and fussy cut the little lion. The balloons were stamped and die cut from Papertrey Ink's "Dress-up Dolls: Birthday." The number 2 is a PTI "By the Number" die.

Simon Says had a Mother's Day sale and I picked up the Meadow Borders, some tree border dies, and a set of "Everyday Pop-ups." I'm no engineer so it took me a little while to figure out how to get the pop-ups exactly where I wanted them, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

Pop-upInside

I used the second of the "Meadow Borders" on the inside along with some more of the papers from "Into the Woods." The sentiment is from Simon Says "It's No Secret" stamp set, from an earlier card kit.

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I'll be hand delivering this card to Finn this weekend. He came very close to having a big birthday gift like Caleb—a little sister, but his was born a day after his birthday! We're off to see the new baby, and celebrate with Finn tomorrow.