Calendar #6 - Flowerpots

This is not my normal day to post but I really wanted to get this last calendar posted!

I was running out of ideas of what stamps to use on the calendars and came across this Martha Stewart stamp set I bought about 6 months ago and never used. Actually, I think it was closer to a year ago! 

I stamped the flowerpots in beige ink and added the leaves in light green ink. The flowers are stamped in Pure Poppy ink with black centers made with Pearl Pen. I stamped the little butterfly in Harvest Gold ink and added glitter to the flowers. 

The calendar is layered on light brown cardstock and on foam tape for dimension. The top was made using a Martha Stewart punch with Pure Poppy pattern paper. Adding the ribbon was the final step.

Project Details:

• Stamps:  Martha Stewart Peg Stamp Starter Kit
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, Pure Poppy Leaves; Bazzill
• Ink:  PTI Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold; VersaMagic Aloe Vera; Brilliance Pearlescent Beige
• Tools:  Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch
• Other:  Calendar; Pearl Pen; Ribbon; Glitter; Foam Tape 
• Project Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Calendar #5 - Butterflies

I'm getting there with the calendars...only one to go after this!

For this calendar, I pulled out a set I haven't used for a long - Peaceful Gardens - and used it to create the grass and the flowers. The grass is stamped in two shades of green and the flowers in two shades of orange.  The butterflies were made with the Memory Box Dancing Butterflies die, die-cut in Spring Moss and Orange Zest cardstock.

The border at the top was made with a Martha Stewart heart border punch using Orange Zest striped paper. The calendar is adhered to a rectangle of Lemon Tart cardstock and on foam tape for dimension.

The final steps were adding glitter to the flowers and tying ribbon around the top. This was one of my favorite calendars I made this year.

Project Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Peaceful Gardens
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, Lemon Tart, Orange Zest, Orange Zest Stripes, Spring Moss
• Ink:  PTI Spring Moss, Simply Chartreuse; Memento Tangelo; VersaMagic Mango Madness
• Dies:  Memory Box Dancing Butterflies
• Tools:  Martha Stewart Heart Border Punch
• Other:  Calendar; Foam Tape; Ribbon; Glitter
• Project Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Happy January Birthday

While cleaning my craft room, I found some things I want to try and use - like glassine bags! I have a lot of these and rarely use them.

I placed the glassine bag on white cardstock and adhered it to a Raspberry Fizz cardstock card base. Then I die-cut the stitched rectangle in Hibiscus Burst cardstock and placed it on top of the bag.

January is die-cut three times in Aqua Mist cardstock, glued together and positioned on a slight angle. I stamped "happy" and "birthday" in black ink. To finish the card I added a few clear sequins.  

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Birthday Classics: January
• Paper:  PTI Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, White Stampers Select, Aqua Mist
• Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
• Dies:  PTI Monthly Moments: January; Lil Inker Designs Stitched Mats: Rectangles
• Other: Amuse Glassine Bag; Pretty Pink Posh Sequins
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Celebrate It's Your Day

I made this card a while ago using some of the new WPlus9 stamps I bought.  I really like the font from the Strictly Sentiments set.

On white cardstock I stamped the leaves in Spring Moss ink. On a separate piece of paper, I stamped the flowers in Pure Poppy ink with Cantaloupe ink centers, cut them out and placed them on top of the leaves.

The sentiment is stamped in black ink. To help fill in some of the space, I added the trio of circles also in Pure Poppy ink. To finish the card I added pearls to the flower centers and rounded the bottom right hand corner.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  WPlus9 Spring Blooms, Strictly Sentiments #5
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select
• Ink:  PTI Pure Poppy, Spring Moss; Memento Tuxedo Black, Cantaloupe
• Tools:  Corner Rounder
• Other:  Pearls
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Happy Valentine's Day

I can't believe I already made a Valentine card - I'm ahead of schedule for me!

I started with a white panel and placed Washi tape at the top and bottom. Next, I die-cut XOXO in Raspberry Fizz cardstock and adhered it to the panel on foam tape. I stamped the sentiment above it and added a few sequins (Pink Peonies, Sweetheart Mix).

The panel was layered onto a black cardstock card base. I like this raspberry and black color combination with a touch of pink from the sequins.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Boutique Borders: Valentine
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, True Black, Raspberry Fizz
• Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
• Dies:  PTI XOXO Border
• Other:  Washi Tape; Pretty Pink Posh Sequins; Foam Tape
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Purging!!!

I've been cleaning my craft room for the past 4-5 days. Yes, it's taking me that long to go through it and it's not 100% done. The good thing is I'm in the mood to get rid of stuff - which sometimes can be dangerous. lol

Brads, buttons, eyelets, flowers...why am I keeping so many of these when I don't use them much anymore? Border punches, corner punches, individual punches? Do I really need them all? 

Studio G $1 stamps -- was I hoarding them at one point? I must have at least 150 packs of these - and maybe, maybe I've used 20 sets. I also have a lot of "cheaper" stamps that I bought when I was first starting out. I didn't know the difference between a good stamp and a bad one. Now I mostly buy higher quality stamps, so my old stamps will maybe go to someone who is also just starting out.

Sizzix and Sizzlet dies - weren't these just great when they first came out? But now that so many companies have stamps and matching thin dies, who needs big, bulky dies and a special machine to cut them? Remember the original red Sizzix machine that weighed a ton? Bye-bye.

And let's not forget paper. OMG, why do we all have so much paper? Are we expecting a shortage? And how much do we really use? I have a 16" stack of paper I'm getting rid of - it's in a box and weighs 48 pounds!! lol I kid you not, it's 48 pounds! It's mostly 12x12 paper with some 8-1/2x11. I'm donating  it to a school and hope they enjoy it. The sad thing is it really didn't make a dent in the remaining paper I still have....

Originally I was going to try and sell this at a yard sale, but what are the chances crafters are going to come and buy it? Maybe, maybe not. I just want to get it out of the house and I actually feel better about donating it. So tomorrow when the Vietnam Veterans come to pick up my donation of clothes, books and household items, my "no longer loved" craft products will be waiting for them too. 

Calendar #4 - Flowers

Only a few more calendars to go!

For this one, I pulled out the flower from Note Niblets and stamped them in Sweet Plum ink. The stems and leaves are from Oopsie Daisy - I like the dotted look of the stems from this set. Since I like purple and raspberry together, I stamped the little flowers in Rosebud ink.

The strip at the top was made using a border punch. The calendar is layered on Raspberry Fizz cardstock and on foam tape for dimension. The final touches were glitter on the flowers and ribbon tied around the top.

Project Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Note Niblets, Oopsie Daisy
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, Raspberry Fizz, Guide Lines
• Ink:  PTI Spring Moss; Memento Rosebud, Sweet Plum
• Tools:  EK Success Scalloped Border Punch
• Other:  Calendar; Foam Tape; Ribbon; Glitter
• Project Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Winter Is Warmed by Friendship

As I mentioned before, I'm hooked on PTI's Phrase Play dies and here I'm using one again.

The Kraft cardstock is impressed with woodgrain and adhered to an Ocean Tides cardstock card base.  Next, I die-cut two snowflakes in Ocean Tides and white, sprinkled them with glitter and placed them on the card.  I pulled the ends of the snowflakes up a bit for dimension.

The two banners are die-cut in Ocean Tides - I filled in "winter" with white cardstock and placed it on foam tape.  The sentiment is stamped in black ink and carefully lined up below the banner.  To finish the card I tied white fun fur around it.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Phrase Play #9
• Paper:  PTI Ocean Tides, Kraft, White Stampers Select
• Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
• Dies:  PTI Phrase Play #9, Woodgrain Impression Plate
• Other:  Foam Tape; Fun Fur; Glitter
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Thanks

This is a quick card I made using pattern paper I had for quite a while - I need to use up some of my paper!!

I placed the green striped paper on a white cardstock card base. I die-cut the diagonal in white and added the thanks on top, cut three times in coordinating green to give some dimension to the word.

It was too plain looking so I added the butterfly with a couple gems in the center to offset some of the empty space.

Card Details:

• Paper:  K&Company Wedding Collection
• Dies:  PTI Wet Paint; Memory Box Pippi; Lil Inker Designs On The Diagonal
• Other:  Gems
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

With Sympathy

I'm trying to use some of my neglected stamp sets and haven't used Feather Finery for a while. This month when Heather Nichols released PTI's January 2105 Monthly Moments Color Scheme (Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Smokey Shadow, Fine Linen), I was surprised to see it was almost the same color combination I used on this sympathy card!

I needed to make this card for a male friend, so didn't want anything that was too frou-frou. I stamped the feathers - the larger one in Ocean Tides ink, the smaller in Aqua Mist ink. The centers of the feathers were stamped in Versamark ink, sprinkled with silver embossing powder and heat embossed. I think the silver went great with these two colors!

The sentiment is stamped in Smokey Shadow ink and the panel adhered to an Ocean Tides cardstock card base. These are nice masculine colors and also remind me of winter - must be why Heather released them in January!

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Feather Finery, Keep It Simple: Sympathy
• Paper:  PTI Ocean Tides, White Stampers Select
• Ink:  PTI Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Smokey Shadow; Versamark
• Tools:  Heat Embossing Tool
• Other:  Ranger Silver Embossing Powder
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Enjoy Your Birthday

I wasn't crazy about PTI's Phrase Play dies when they were first released - now I don't know what I would do without them! They're a lot of fun to use and add a nice touch to cards.

I started by embossing a piece of white cardstock with a herringbone design and placed it on an Aqua Mist cardstock card base. Next, I die-cut the "enjoy" Phrase Play die in Aqua Mist, filling in the wording with Hawaiian Shores and Summer Sunrise cardstock. Circle Scribbles is another favorite of mine and I die-cut two in Simply Chartreuse and Hawaiian Shores. I placed them on the card and layered the Phrase Play die-cut over top.  

I stamped "your birthday" on a banner die-cut in black ink and added some of my favorite clear sequins to finish off the card.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Phrase Play #4
• Paper:  PTI Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, White Stampers Select, Summer Sunrise
• Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
• Dies:  PTI Phrase Play #4, Circle Scribbles, Sketched Shapes
• Tools:  Cuttlebug Herringbone Embossing Folder
• Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Celebrate

I'm in love with another PTI stamp set - this time it's "Uncorked" - it comes with coordinating shape dies and word dies. I know I'll be using this a lot in the future because it'll be good for all occasions.

I'm really liking the color Soft Stone these days and used it again for the card base and added a layer of Soft Stone stripes on top. I die-cut the bottle (it's in 2 pieces) and stamped it with black ink. On white cardstock, I placed the two pieces of the bottle with enough space between them to stamp the sentiment. Notice the cork I placed behind the bottle top is made out of real cork! I layered the white on top of a piece of black cardstock and adhered it to the card.

Celebrate is die-cut in Autumn Rose cardstock and sprinkled with glitter. I die-cut the banner at the bottom, stamped happy birthday in Smokey Shadow ink and placed it on foam tape for dimension.  I love how this turned out, especially the color combination!

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Uncorked
• Paper:  PTI Soft Stone, Soft Stone Stripes, Autumn Rose, White Stampers Select, True Black
• Ink:  PTI Smokey Shadow; Memento Tuxedo Black
• Dies:  PTI Uncorked, Uncorked Words
• Other:  Cork; Glitter; Foam Tape
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Calendar #3 - Sunflowers

Maybe I'll get all the calendars posted before 2016!

I stamped the sunflowers in Tangelo ink and partially colored them with a coordinating Copic marker.  The centers are stamped in dark brown ink, fussy cut (I don't have the die for this set!) and placed on foam tape with a bit of glitter on them. The leaves are stamped in Spring Moss ink.

The calendar is layered on Orange Zest cardstock and on foam tape for added dimension. The top portion of the card is cut with a Martha Stewart border punch with white ribbon tied around it.

Project Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Simple Sunflower
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, Orange Zest, Spring Moss Gingham
• Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate; Memento Tangelo
• Copics:  YR65
• Tools:  Martha Stewart Zig Zag Edger Punch
• Other:  Calendar; Glitter; Foam Tape
• Project Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

With Sympathy (MIM #196)

It's been a while since I tried one of PTI's Make It Monday challenges, but since I needed to make a sympathy card, I thought I would do this week's MIM #196 Colorful Card Corners.  The idea is to make the corner the focal point of the card.

Two of my favorite PTI colors are Aqua Mist and Spring Moss and I wanted to use them for this card.  I stamped the flowers in Aqua Mist ink and the leaves in Spring Moss ink, adding Tropical Teal ink  for the flower centers.  I also added glitter to the flowers for a little sparkle.

I like to add a butterfly to sympathy cards and made a trail of butterflies stamped in Fine Linen ink. I rounded the corners and adhered the panel to an Aqua Mist cardstock card base.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Friendly Flowers, Beautiful Butterflies, Keep It Simple: Sympathy; WPlus9 Fresh Cut Florals
• Paper:  PTI Aqua Mist, White Stampers Select
• Ink:  PTI Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Tropical Teal, Fresh Linen; Memento Tuxedo Black
• Tools:  Corner Rounder
• Other:  Glitter
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Winter Birthdays Are A Joy

It feels good to get back to posting something that's not holiday related, although I do have a few more calendars I need to post!

I wanted to use Soft Stone colors for this card and picked Scarlet Jewel to go with it. I used Soft Stone cardstock for the card base and added a layer of Soft Stone polka dot, placed and cut on an angle.

I die-cut the snowflakes and winter banner from Phrase Play #9, placed the banner on foam tape and added the sentiment below the banner. I used some of my clear sequins and glitter on the snowflakes. To complete the card, I placed a strip of Scor-Tape at the bottom of the card and shook glitter on top - it really adds a nice sparkle to the card!

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Birthday Classics: December
• Paper:  PTI Soft Stone, Soft Stone Polka Dot, Scarlet Jewel, White Stampers Select
• Ink:  PTI Scarlet Jewel
• Dies:  PTI Phrase Play #9
• Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins; Glitter; Foam Tape; Scor-Tape
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

There's No Place Like Home...

I think this is the last of my holiday cards to post! This is the card I made for my parents mail carrier, I try to make her something "postal" each year. I wanted to put a mail truck on the front and remembered that cute little truck in Special Delivery.

Yes, that's the Falling Snow stencil again! Haha I got good use out of it so far! I started with a Blueberry Sky cardstock card base and used embossing paste and the stencil. And yes, used my In The Meadow snowdrifts again...they were well worth buying (even though I thought it was silly to have snowdrift die-cuts in the beginning). The drifts are lined with glitter.

Next, I stamped the house, colored it with Copics, trimmed it and placed it on thin foam tape. Then I stamped the windows and door again (using the holiday additions to the stamp set), cut them out and placed them on top. These steps sound quick typing them, but they all took a while to do! I die-cut the trees in Spring Moss and placed them in the drifts on foam tape, adding a bit of glitter to them too.

And finally the truck. I stamped the truck on a white die-cut, adding the red and blue stripes on the side. I had some USPS priority mail stickers and carefully cut out the postal wording and added it to the side of the truck. I think it looks pretty authentic, don't you? To finish the truck, I colored the headlight in yellow and placed Glossy Accents on top. I added glitter to the top of the truck and stamped the sentiment in Pure Poppy on the snowdrift.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Boards & Beams, Home For The Holidays, Special Delivery, Postmarks
• Paper:  PTI Blueberry Sky, Spring Moss, White Stampers Select
• Ink:  PTI Pure Poppy, Blueberry Sky; Memento Tuxedo Black
• Copics:  B34, E25, E33, G24, R27, Y000, YG91, YG93, W1, W3
• Dies:  PTI Special Delivery, In The Meadow, Love Lives Here: Holiday
• Tools:  Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow Stencil
• Other:  Embossing Paste; Foam Tape; Glitter; Glossy Accents
• Card Size:  5.25" x 5.25"

Christmas Stocking

I needed a quick idea for a card and decided to use the same idea from Tag #6 posted 12/20/14. Why invent the wheel when I can recycle an idea?

I used Pure Poppy cardstock for the card base, adding a layer of textured green paper, rounding the bottom corners. The bookmark is cut in DCWV striped paper and adhered on thin foam tape.  I die-cut the stocking in red cardstock, added the top in white cardstock and placed it on thin foam tape. Sarah's name is in New Leaf cardstock using the Alphabet Soup die. I added a snowflake brad, loop at the top and a little glitter.

Merry Christmas is stamped in red on a banner die-cut and placed on foam tape.  I tied a gold ribbon through the top and added the snowflakes.

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Keep It Simple: Christmas
• Paper:  PTI Pure Poppy, New Leaf, White Stampers Select; DCWV; Reflections
• Ink:  PTI Pure Poppy
• Dies:  PTI Basic Bookmark #3, Bountiful Banners; Memory Box Eyelet Stocking, Alphabet Soup
• Tools:  Corner Rounder
• Other:  Foam Tape; Brad; Stampin' Up Frosted Sequins; Ribbon; Twine; Glitter
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"

Happy New Year

Well, I can't believe 2014 is over....it seems like a lost year to me....just very busy with family things.  I'm hoping 2015 is going to be a better year and I'm looking forward to a fresh start.

I haven't made any cards since before Christmas, which is a long break for me. I've just been relaxing and enjoying the days doing nothing.

I found this DCWV glittery paper I've had for years and cut a piece and layered it on a white card base. I die-cut the numbers in silver paper and the number mats in black and placed them on the card, with the 1 on foam tape.

The sentiment is stamped in Smokey Shadow ink on a banner die-cut and on foam tape for a little more dimension.

Happy New Year!  No resolutions for me, I don't really believe in them, but I am hoping to use more of my craft stuff!

Card Details:

• Stamps:  PTI Keep It Simple: New Year
• Paper:  PTI White Stampers Select, True Black; DCWV All Dressed Up
• Ink:  PTI Smokey Shadow
• Dies:  PTI By The Numbers, By The Numbers Mats, Sketched Shapes
• Other:  Foam Tape
• Card Size:  4.25" x 5.5"