My babies brag books

... OK so my babies are both in high school and one is poised to graduated and start her collegiate career this school year.  But a mamma's gotta brag, so I am ...

I used Lisa Johnson's mini-fold book tutorial to make these.  The only change is on Erin's I cut it 3.5 " tall instead of 2.75".  I didn't want to trim out so much of Erin's pictures since for the most part I wouldn't have been able to.  I was able to trim down Nicole's Senior pix much easier.  I think these took maybe an hour each to make ... Lisa's directions are great - simple and straight forward complete with pictures

I decorated each page just on the edges because only a little peaks out from behind the pictures.  I also kept the color schemes pretty simple - brown and pink for Nicole (and pink only because it is on her hat in her pix)  and black and pink for Erin (because I always do black and pink for Erin)

Nicole's pictures are her Senior pix that my friend Tara took.  Erin's are from our family picture session last summer (also taken by Tara), but they captured her so well (from brooding to laughing) that I thought it would be OK to use them  

These little books will be going to my folks for Christmas.  Me and my siblings already got their Christmas present (the 30 yr old washer and dryer needed to be replaced) but I still like to make something for them every year too.

Oh and I didn't get pictures of the book spines, but I did stamp Class of 201X  on the spines(2011 for Colie and 2013 for Rin)

Thanks for stopping by!!

{Supplies}

Stamps: Extreme Elements, Baroque Motifs [SU!]; Background Basics:Text Style, Take Note, For the Graduate, Calendar  Basics [PTI]

Ink: Fresh Snow, True Black, Smokey Shadow[PTI]; Melon Mambo [SU!]

Paper: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Newsprint Patterned [SU!]

Other: Circle punches, corner rounder, Velcro closure

Shimmering wedding

Two very good friends of mine got married last weekend.  They've know each other for {ever} like 10-15 years.  I've known them for just over 5.  They were just really good friends for a long time, started "dating" more seriously a year or so ago and finally tied the knot.

Here is the card I made for them:

I used SU! Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder (love that pattern, so classy and elegant).  I cut some black wool felt with the new Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die (pg 17 of the SU! holiday mini catalog), and used Labels Two nestabilities for the sentiment layer. 

I spritzed the card front and the sentiment layer with Vanilla Shimmer smooch spritz to make it all sparkly

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}

Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages [PTI]

Paper: White [Bazzill]

Ink: True Black [PTI]

Tools: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Tasteful Trims Bigz XL die [SU!]; Labels Two [Spellbinders]

Other: Black wool felt [PTI]; Smooch spritz - vanilla shimmer [SU!]

Snow Globe

My first thought when I saw the Friendship Jar Holiday Filler set and the snow man stamp in particular was "snow globe"  how could I make a snow globe out of this.

 I traced a circle using a nestability cutout.  Stamped the sentiment from Framed (made my own frame this time, but I told ya I was hooked on this :) then stamped the snowman form Friendship Jar Holiday fillers.   It didn't quite fill up the whole circle so I used the scrap I had cut the circle out of for a mask and stamped from Itty Bitty Backgrounds ... the open circle and random pattern was a good match

I made the center strip wood-grained to mimic a stand on a snow globe

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Framed, Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers [PTI]; Itty Bitty Backgrounds [SU!]
Ink: Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]; Dark Chocolate [PTI]
Paper: Ocean Tides, White, Dark Chocolate[PTI]; Jolly By Golly mini deck [Cosmo Cricket]
Other: Wood grain impression plate [PTI]; Various Sketch markers [Copic]

Christmas Monster

A friend has been asking me to make a monster card for my monthly stamp camp ... I've wanted to but just haven't gotten around to it until now.  And with the holiday spirit in the air, a Christmas monster seemed just the thing!

I cut a circle using my nestabilities and used it as a guide.  I lined up the sentiment from Merry Little Christmas along the edge of the circle (looking through the acrylic block ... circle then block then sentiment ... make sense?).  I used the same circle as a mask and traced it to finish off the circle around the monster and stamped the string and star from Merry Little Christmas .

I added a hat from the Made of Snow set and colored him all with Copics ... non-traditional colors for a non-traditional holiday card :)

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}

Stamps: Merry Litttle Christmas, Made of Snow[PTI]; Make a Monster [SU!]

Ink: Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]

Paper: Aqua Mist, White [PTI]

Other: Sketch Markers: Aqua Mist trio, Enchanted Evening trio, C1, Y08 [Copic]; White gel pen [Signo]; Glitter gel pen [Spica]

CPS 190

The CPS sketch this week is a simple layout, but I had the perfect use for it:

I've been wanted to make simple mass-producible Christmas cards ... I'm trying to fill a box for Operation Write Home before the Christmas card deadline coming up.  Don't know how many Christmas cards I'll get done, but at least I can send the general purpose one so they can fill the boxes. 

For heartwarming and encouraging messages from soldiers who have used cards from OWH check out the Hero Blog

And if you are a card maker consider being a part of the OWH mission.  Restrictions and recommendations are available on the OWH website (check out the main page for restrictions  such as no glitter on cards and more shipping info in the Mail room).  You can also support their cause with financial donations to help cover the costs of purchasing envelopes and shipping.

Thanks for stopping by!

Variation on a theme

I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over, but I just can't help myself ... I love this Framed set and just want to keep using it over and over!

This time i created a mask and stamped the large bloom from In Bloom inside.  I also stamped it on a scrap of white colored with the raspberry fizz copic trio and cut it out.  I adhered it with foam tape.  I also used Tim Holtz Distressed Notebook embossing folder on the card base

Inside I stamped the smaller bloom and layered it on raspberry fizz.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - all PTI unless noted}

Stamps: Framed, In Bloom

Ink: True Black

Paper: Raspberry Fizz, White, True Black

Other: Copic Sketch markers - Raspberry Fizz Trio, Distressed Notebook embossing folder [Tim Holtz]



67th Anniversary

My aunt and uncle are celebrating 67 years of marriage this month.  I think its amazing to think that they got married, my uncle went off to war (WW II - he was stationed in France), and then when he came back they started their married lives together.   In this day and age of such prevalent divorce, any anniversary is a thing to celebrate.  67 of them is almost mind boggling!

I always make a fall/leaf changing color card for them (well ever since their 60th which is when I started making cards).  For this one I used a crumb cake base (4.25 square) then extended the focal layer over the edge.  I sponged blue and green to anchor the scene and even stamped 2 little love birds in the tree branches.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Branch Out (tree silhouettes and splatter leaf pattern) [SU!], Fillable Frames #4 (sentiment)Through the Trees (birds) [PTI]
Ink: Dark Chocolate, True Black, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Pure Poppy [PTI]; Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist [SU!]
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, White [SU!]
Other: twine [My Garage]

Birthday Cake

Here is a another birthday card for the October birthday blitz.  This card I made for a good friend ...

I used  one of my new MFT a la modes sets Time To Celebrate. I colored with more Copics than I can count - even paper-pieced the jeans after using my Jeans background stamp (SU! retired) .  1 misstep on the lowest tier of the cake forced me to rearrange the sentiment so a lot of that work is covered,  but I still like how it turned out. 

I used a colorless blender to create the pattern on the cake and covered the decorative frosting part with a Spica clear glitter pen so IRL it sparkles.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Time To Celebrate [MFT]; Jeans [SU! retired]
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko];
Paper: Early Espresso, Melon Mambo [SU!]; Soft Stone [PTI]
Other: Sketch markers [Copic]; Glitter pen [Spica]; White gel pen [Signo] rhinestones [PTI]; Diamond impression plate [Sizzix]

I {heart} to Stamp .... SFYTT

I love Jens sketches ... they are so awesome and so different from what I normally do that sometimes they are more of a challenge that I'm looking for.  Amazingly when I saw this weeks sketch I had a card pictured in my head and for once, it turned out ... pretty much exactly as I envisioned it would.  I love it when that happens!  :)

I used a glitter paper tutorial from Heather Nichol's for the vertical layer.  Its not a perfect match on the glitter color, but close enough I think.  LOVE the sparkle!!  I also was too impatient (imagine that?!? :) to wait for my PTI order delivery tomorrow when I get my bakers twine, so I used my button twine and colored it with a Copic marker to make it red and pop more off the buttons.

And dontcha just love that sentiment ... MFT hit the nail on the head with this set ... I love the a la modes so much!!

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Background Basics:Christmas [PTI]; a la modes - Candy Cane Kisses [MFT]
Ink: Pure Poppy, True Black, Smokey Shadow [PTI]
Paper: White, Real Red [SU!]
Embellies: glitter [SU! retired]; Real Red satin ribbon [SU!]; Buttons and button twine [PTI]

Card Patterns Sketch # 86

While blog-surfing this weekend I found a great new {to me} sketch challenge ...Card Patterns

I love sketch challenges because I feel like my layouts get in a faster /deeper rut than anything else about my card making.

Here is the card I made for this weeks challenge:

I needed a simple fall card for my SILs birthday.  I like how this one came out.  Inside I added a single tree to continue the theme

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Trendy Trees[SU!]; Birthday Bash Sentiments[PTI]
Ink: Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango [SU!]
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango [SU!]
Tools: Circle punch, Scalloped border punch [SU!]
Other: Twine [My Garage]

Elegant Wedding card

Rachel's wedding has come and gone.  Since her gift was the peacock feather invitations, I didn't actually have a gift to give at the ceremony/reception proper.  So I made this card just to have something to stick in the basket at the reception...

It mimics the invitations, but I used a black and white color scheme and added half pearls instead of the feather (although if I would have planned enough in advance I would have totally looked for a white peacock feather and used that)

Best wishes Mike & Rachel for a long and happy life together!

{Supplies}
Stamps:Fillable Frames #4 [PTI]
Paper: White [Bazzill]
Ink: True Black [PTI]
Other: Half pearls, Elegant Lines embossing folder [SU!]

Happy Birthday Mike

Its my brothers birthday today!.  Happy Birthday Mike!

Here is the card I sent ...

I am really liking making frames then having some of the stamp peek out the side.  I used Framed, Birthday Bash sentiments and Through the Trees on this one

I sponged the trees to give them a burst of fall color.

Thanks for stopping!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Framed: Through The Trees, Birthday Bash Sentiments [PTI]
Ink: Dark Chocolate [PTI]; Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Real Red [SU!]
Paper: Crumb cake, Chocolate Chip [SU!]; Soft Stone[PTI]
Other: Wood grain impression plate[PTI] metallic eyelets[SU!]

Flower birthday

October kicks off  birthday season around here ... I have 4 birthdays in 2 weeks then more in November and December (plus holidays / Christmas card making) ...

Here is one in the series of birthday cards I'm making in the next couple of weeks ...

This is for a dear friend of mine (can you guess her favorite color? :) )  Happy Birthday Karla!

I used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder from SU! and Beautiful Blooms II #1 dies from PTI.  They pair nicely together dontcha think!

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}

Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments[PTI]

Ink: Perfect Plum [SU!]

Paper: Perfect Plum, Concorde Crush, White [SU!]

Other: Elegant Bouquet embossing folder[SU!], Beautiful Blooms II #1 die, Plum Pudding button [PTI]

A Manly Birthday Card

The girls youth pastor's birthday was last week so I needed to make a manly birthday card ... that's kind of uncommon since most of my cards are a little more on the girlish side

Here's what I did:

I used the polka dot impression plate for the background texture, an old SU set (Artifacts ) for the collage and Birthday Bash Sentiments for the sentiment

I used mostly browns and black so I added a pop of color with the pure poppy buttons

Inside I made another little collage and separated it from the writing part with a strip of early espresso card stock

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}

Stamps: Artifacts, Itty Bitty Backgrounds [SU!]; Birthday Bash Sentiments [PTI]

Paper: Early Espresso, Basic Black [SU!]; Soft Stone[PTI]

Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede [SU!]

Embellies: Pure Poppy vintage buttons [PTI]

Thankful Stamp Camp Card

Here is the other card we are making at my monthly stamp camp.  I had a request for unique folds, so decided to make a pocket card this month.

I used Leaf Prints for the background, Wreath for All Seasons for the focal image and Take Three: Fall for the sentiment
Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Leaf Prints, Wreath For All Seasons, Take Three: Fall [PTI]
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso [SU!]; Cream [Bazzill]
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso [SU!]
Other: Twine [my garage]

Spooky Stamp Camp Card

I have my monthly stamp camp this week.  I like to mix it up and do some basic cards and some challenging ones.  This month I am going pretty basic

Black & white, clean & graphic.  It doesn't get any simpler than that

The ghostie and sentiment are from Friendship Jar Fall Fillers.  The frame is from Framed.  I outlined the ghosties with a C1 copic sketch marker

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - all PTI unless noted}
Stamps: Framed, Friendship Jar Fall Fillers
Ink: True Black
Paper: True Black, White
Other: Copic Sketch C1

Happy World Card Making Day!!

My friend Tara is coming over today so we can make some cards
to celebrate this day devoted to all things paper-crafty

I might even take some pix, but we'll see. 

So celebrate today with paper and send a card you made to
someone you care about

It'll make their day!

My new stamps are here!!! My new stamps are here!!!

I got my new MFT order in the mail today!  Yay!!  I went a little crazy on their a la modes line ... love them !

Here's my first card with the Miss you a latte set:

I saw one of the MFT design team members make a cup caddy looking card so I decided to CASE that.  I also used a technique I first learned from Beate Johns on the jeans.  I colored with Copics, then put some blending solution on a rough towel and blotted it.  Gives it a little texture ...

Thanks for stopping by!

Got some Kraftin' Kimmie stamps heading my way sometime this week too!  Get ready for an angry ballerina!  :)

{Supplies}
Stamps: A La Modes: Miss you a Latte [MFT]
Ink: Dark Chocolate[PTI]; Momento Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]
Paper: Soft Stone, New Leaf [PTI]'\; Early Espresso Crumb Cake [SU!]