Sentimentless

Hello again! Stopping back in to share a card I made several weeks ago with what I call my "accident paper." LOL I couldn't decide on a sentiment or where to put it, so I just left it blank. Does anyone else have anxiety about adding sentiments to cards sometimes? :-)

Anywho, in person this card is pretty glittery. I added some Stickles around the edge of the patterned paper and to the hydrangea flower as well. And this combo of Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides, and Berry Sorbet just makes me smile. Love it.
Well, that's all I have for you now ... I am still working on sewing letters to t-shirts. Come by tomorrow for a new card with Ippity stamps! See ya then!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits
Ink: Sweet Blush
Paper: Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides
Other: Berry Sorbet grosgrain & button; from craft supply - hydrangea flower, twine; Ranger Stardust Stickles; EK Success border punch

Snowed in

Hey y'all! We're all snowed in here today :-) Well, 4 inches of snow around these parts may not seem like a lot, but it sure does shut things down here. So, I am warm and cozy in my craft room working on finishing up some orders for my t-shirt customers.

It's been nearly a week since my last post ... we started a new semester on Tuesday, so things have been busy getting my new classes going. I do have several cards I have yet to share, so I thought I'd show you one of them for now. Hoping to create a few things for fun later this weekend. :-)

This card was made using rub-ons from Stampin' Up. They are really easy to use and make for a quick card once you cut your layers to size. The sentiment is the only thing I stamped here. :-) I have several sets of rub-ons, but tend to hoard them. I really need to just start using them up!
Thanks for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow to share again and will have another Ippity card for you on Monday! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: SU! Best of the Bunch
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Paper: PTI Kraft, Dark Chocolate
Other: SU! Dots & Designs rub-ons

Ippity Blog Hop

Happy Monday y'all! I am back this week with another Ippity card for the Monday blog hop. :-)This week, I used the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch #44 for my layout. Unfortunately, I didn't get this posted in time for their sketch challenge, but its all good. Check out the sketch here. I used stamps from both Devoted and Because of You, which I got from my buddy Banu.

I started by cutting the card stock down and roughing up the edges a bit. I added the sentiment to the main panel and then stamped a flourish over it with Versamark before heat embossing it. The butterfly was stamped on white and colored to match with Copics along with a little glitter. And that was about it. Very easy peasy!

That's about it for now. Lots to do today before the new semester starts tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Unity Ippity - Devoted, Because of You; PTI Fancy Flourishes
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip; Versamark; Copic markers
Paper: PTI Lemon Tart, Lemon Berry, Dark Chocolate, White
Accessories: Stampendous glitter; foam tape; Filligree clear embossing powder; PTI Dark Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; Heidi Swapp edge distresser tool

I miss you

Hi everyone! Just popping in to share a quick card I made a few weeks ago with some Unity stamps. I sent this off to a college friend of mine who is now living out-of-state and she is just the funnest person. I miss having her around!I used some Bazzill textured card stock as well as some PTI Dark Chocolate and kraft card stock on this one. I stamped the leaves from one of the Ippity sets (Devoted) and colored the leaves a little with a Putty colored Copic marker. The sentiment is from a Unity KOTM from a few months ago. A little apron lace punching and some ribbon and that was it. Hope she liked receiving it in the mail. I need to do better about sending off cards instead of collecting them on my desk! :-)

Thanks for stopping by ... I will be back tomorrow with another Ippity card for the Monday blog hop. If you're interested in purchasing any Ippity stamps, check out my buddy Banu!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Unity July 09 KOTM (sentiment), Ippity Devoted (leaves)
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip; Copic marker
Paper: Bazzill; PTI Kraft, Dark Chocolate
Accessories: foam tape; PTI Dark Chocolate grosgrain; Fiskars Apron Lace punch

This & That

Hi and Happy Friday! Popping back in to share the notepads I made for the PTI swap on Splitcoast. I was playing around the other day with some patterned paper and decided I liked Melon Berry and Spring Rain together, so that is how this all got started. I used two different kinds of designer paper - Bitty Box and In Bloom and some leftovers from my cards. The only stamping I did was the sentiment. To jazz things up, I added some Stardust Stickles, hydrangea and buttons. I wasn't sure how I liked the flower placement, so I made them all slightly different. These photos don't quite do them justice (its dark out and I need to mail these tomorrow so no sunlight photos). Here's a closer view of some of the details.
The ribbon is just under the sentiment circle and can be completely removed, if desired. Well, I hope my fellow swappers enjoy these!

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Take Note, Blooming Button Bits
Ink: Melon Berry; SU! Chocolate Chip
Paper: Melon Berry, Spring Rain, Stampers Select White, Bitty Box - Spring Rain, In Bloom - Melon Berry
Accessories: Melon Berry twill, buttons; twine & hydrangeas from craft supply; Stardust Stickles; foam tape

PTI Swap Card

Happy Happy Joy Joy ... tomorrow is Friday! Hip Hip Hooray! :-) I am in a PTI swap on Splitcoaststampers and here's what I made for my card ...
I made some more "accident paper" but this time on purpose. I used Melon Berry ink on white and roughed it up with ink and an edge distresser. I also stamped a leaf image on Dark Chocolate and roughed that up too. Once my backgrounds were all set, I sprayed them with glimmer mist and then added ribbon and a sentiment. They are based off of this card. Here's a closer view of them ...Well, I hope to get some crafting done tonight and over the weekend, but need to work in some sewing too. I have a few more things I've made and have yet to share, so I'll be back regardless! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Turning a New Leaf
Ink: Melon Berry, Chai, Chamomile; SU! Chocolate Chip
Paper: Melon Berry, Stampers Select White, Dark Chocolate
Accessories: Melon Berry satin ribbon, vintage button; Glimmer Mist (in Pearl); twine & hydrangea bloom from craft supply

Another Unity card for you

Hi! Happy Wednesday! Thank goodness we are on the way to the weekend again! :-) I am doing some training to add to my license this week and so far its been a little draining sitting in a chair listening all day. (I guess that should give me some empathy for my students!) Anywho ... I wanted to drop in and share another Unity card with you real quick.

This one uses an image from a past kit-of-the-month. I forgot to take a picture of the inside where I had an "enjoy" sentiment but its in there. A really basic layout here, but some distressing with ink, Copic coloring and some KaiserCraft rhinestones.
Well that's about it for now ... have to do a few things for the continuation of my course tomorrow. Hope you are having a wonderful evening and thanks for all the comments on my Ippity cards! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Unity
Ink: SU! Dark Chocolate; PTI Chamomile & Chai; Copic markers
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream; SU! Pink Pirouette
Other: PTI Scarlet Jewel ribbon; KaiserCraft rhinestones; Sakura glitter pen

Unity Ippity Blog Hop

Happy Monday y'all! I am enjoying my extra day off hanging out with my husband. I hope you are all having a great day whether you are working or not! :-)

Today, I am participating in the Unity Ippity Blog Hop. You can check out all the info and participants here. I decided to make some quick cards in preparation for Valentine's Day next month. I used the heart from Devoted and the sentiment from Because of You. Both of these cards are super quick and easy to make ... a key when mass producing/making multiples.

First up, a pink card base with a rectangle of homemade patterned paper.
Card #2 - my fav of the two - same papers, just a little stitching and punching along the bottom. It is hard to tell in the photos above, but I did spritz the patterned paper I made with Glimmer Mist and also used a glitter pen on the sentiment of card #2. This photo shows it a little better.Well, that is it for now folks! Thanks for stopping by to check out my Ippity cards! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Unity Ippity - Because of You & Devoted
Ink: PTI Hibiscus Burst
Paper: PTI White, Hibiscus Burst; SU! Pink Pirouette
Other: PTI Hibiscus Burst grosgrain; Wright's seam binding (white ribbon); Apron Lace punch; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl; Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pen

Inspired Crafters Challenge Card Sketch

Hey everyone! Some of my card swappin' friends have gotten together to create a new challenge blog called Inspired Crafters. We'll be working on Christmas cards and scrapbook pages so checkout the sketches if you are interested.

I will admit, I cheated. I was *supposed* to make a Christmas card but I chose to make a thank you card instead. Check out the sketch here. And here's my card for the ICCJan10 challenge ...I used more of my accident paper on this one ... I backed it with some latte-colored paper and adhered it to a little 3.5 x 5" Berry Sorbet card base. I really love the color scheme and how this turned out. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the whole thing is sparkly thanks to some Glimmer Mist! :-)

Hopefully, I will squeeze out a Christmas card with this sketch before the next sketch comes along! I will let you know when I do :-) Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Signature Greetings
Ink: Sweet Blush, Chamomile; SU! Close to Cocoa
Paper: Berry Sorbet, Vintage Cream; Bazzill Basics Almond Cream
Accessories: Berry Sorbet satin ribbon; Vintage Cream button; Craft supply - twine, hydrangea bloom; Distress Stickles in Worn Lipstick; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl

Baby Thank Yous

Happy Saturday y'all! I am definitely excited for the long weekend. I made it through exams and in total, 94% of my 88 kids scored proficient on their state exam and one of the three courses was at 100%! My new school is realllly score-oriented and since two of the three courses I taught this semester were ones I had never taught before this was great news - all my hard work was worth it! Unfortunately, the pressure is on for next semester since the scores for one of the courses I will be teaching next semester (another one that will be new-to-me) weren't great with the current teacher, so they are expecting me to make the difference!

Anyway, thanks for letting me share my professional victory! On to some crafy stuff. It seems like everyone I know is having a boy! One of my friends is expecting her first child in April and she often gets general assortments of cards from me so I wanted to send her some baby thank you notes. I don't have a good baby set yet, so I made do with an assortment of stamps.

First, I started my making my own paper using some Unity stamps from a kit of the month. The sock monkey is too cute and I added the "it's a boy" intermittently between the monkeys. Then I colored parts of the monkey with some Copics. Here's how it turned out ...

After making the paper, I cut some card bases, some 3-3/4" kraft mats and trimmed my paper to 3-1/2" squares. I stamped the bottom portion of the card bases with some polka dots and added a sentiment from PTI's Giga Guidelines. Here's how it came out...And here's the quick-to-make-and-assemble set of 6 ready for packaging.Hopefully, my friend will like them and enjoy thanking friends and family with these. I plan to make a few other different sets too in the coming weeks and will share them as I do.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Unity (monkey & its a boy): PTI Polka Dot Basics II, Giga Guidelines (thank you sentiment)
Ink: Chamomile, Chai, New Leaf; SU! Chocolate Chip
Paper: Vintage Cream, Kraft

Thanks a Bunch Card Kit

Hi and happy Wednesday! I am looking forward to getting to the weekend! My students are taking exams, which means my week is a little easier planning-wise. However, I did get some news about how things will be next semester that was a little disappointing, but I am going to do my best to build a bridge and get over it so to speak. :-) So, I left work and came home to play in my mess, I mean, craft room!

I needed a few thank you cards so I made this little card. So cute but simple and to the point.
I liked it so much and thought it would be an easy card to make - even for a beginner so I made a kit to try out in my Etsy shop. Here's the kit contents all together with a finished card. Maybe someone will enjoy playing with these goodies. :-)
Well, I have to run and whip up some dinner for the mister. Have a great evening y'all and thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Unity
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip; Copics
Paper: PTI White, Raspberry Fizz
Accessories: PTI Raspberry Fizz button, twine

Happy happy joy joy!

Happy, happy, joy, joy y'all! While today is Monday, I am so excited that tomorrow is our last day of regular classes before exams start. You see, 90 days of 90 minute class periods with 30 boys has driven me to the edge! LOL I am looking forward to moving on to a new course and new kids next semester. :-) Admittedly, though, today was still a Monday with all the usual trappings of a Monday and then some. But I am home now and have caught up on my blogs via the fab Google Reader and am hoping to mess around a little with my crafty stuff since the hubs is working late keeping our community safe.

On to my "happy, happy, joy, joy" card ....
I must start by admitting that the floral paper I created was an accident. I have not been so successful with the new PTI ink formulation and was trying desperately to get some flowers evenly stamped for my cards in the previous post. So, I kept stamping and stamping and finally just decided "I might as well stamp the whole sheet and use it for a background" and switched to a similar shade of SU! ink for the other cards' flowers. Anywho ... the softness of the paper and imperfect stamping worked great for this card and a few others. (And inspired the paper for this card.)

So, I used some scraps of Bitty Dot paper and strips of my accidental background paper to create this 4.25" square card. Love this size. I stamped the sentiment from Blooming Button Bits on a punched label shape and added that on foam tape. I am also loving these hydrangea flowers smeared with Stickles. I can't wait to try pink Stickles AND Glimmer Mist on some! Oh the joy of glittery goodness! I did discover that the new Sweet Blush ink looks really nice with the Berry Sorbet ribbon ... give it a go y'all!

Ok ... I'd better run and get some things done so that I can maybe get to play around! Hope your week is off to a great start. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits
Ink: Sweet Blush, Chamomile; SU! Chocolate Chip
Paper: Kraft, Vintage Cream, Bitty Dots Dark Chocolate
Accessories: Berry Sorbet twill & button; hydrangea and twine (Michael's); Stardust Stickles; SU! Curvy Label punch; Heidi Swapp edge distresser tool

Friends like you are precious and few

Hi and happy Saturday! Hope you are all staying warm and enjoying a break from the work week! :-)

I got to play with the Blooming Button Bits set the other day and made a few cards. Here's the same card two ways ...This one uses Dark Chocolate buttons and SU! Purely Pomegranate ink flowers along with some Ripe Avocado ribbon. I like the contrast in this one the best of the two.
And this one uses SU! Cameo Coral ink and ivory twill tape (from Ellen Hutson). I also added some New Canvas ink on the edges of the label die cut to help it stand out from the stamped card base. This stamp set is really cute and versatile - I can't wait to play more with it.

Thank you so much for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits
Ink: PTI Ripe Avocado; Palette New Canvas; SU! Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Cameo Coral
Paper: Kraft, Vintage Cream
Accessories: Dark Chocolate & Lemon Tart buttons; Ripe Avocado stitched ribbon; twine; cream twill tape (Ellen Hutson); Sakura glitter pen
Other: Cricut Boxes, Bags Tags & More cartridge

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #21

Happy, happy Friday y'all! We got a 2 hour delay this morning and I sure did love sleeping a little late! :-) I got a little time today to play around a bit with my paper and stamps before I need to get back into the sewing groove. Here's Dawn's newest color challenge ...
I am not sure I would've come up with this color combo on my own, but I do love it all together! Here's my card ...

I started by stamping the triple flower image from Blooming Button Bits onto Vintage Cream card stock using Aqua Mist ink. (Anyone have any tips for using the new ink formula? I always have trouble with it.) I punched the bottom of the panel with the Apron Lace punch and rounded the corners at the top. I roughed the panel up with some Chai and Chamomile ink before adhering it to the Aqua Mist base and adding a belt of Dark Chocolate grosgrain.

Dawn put up a great video tutorial for these paper flowers ... I gave it a whirl today and added one by the bow and then stamped the "So sweet of you" sentiment from the Signature Greetings set. This is a super simple card, but would definitely make the recipient feel special!

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my card! :-)

Supplies Used (all Papertrey Ink):
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Signature Greetings
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Chamomile
Paper: Lemon Tart, Vintage Cream; book print
Accessories: Dark Chocolate grosgrain, Lemon Tart button; twine

Thankful ...

Hi! So excited that it is almost Friday ... and that there is a little bit of weather on the way ... hoping for a delay so I can sleep in but not have to lose a day off later in the school year! I know many of you with kids are so thrilled they are back in school ... so I laugh to myself that we all wish vacation was longer while you think "my kids are driving me nuts!" :-)

Anyway, I recently got some Melissa Frances rub ons when Emma's Paperie had a 25% off everything sale ... I love the handwriting feel to them and they are really easy to use. I decided to use some papers from the kit I bought from Melissa Phillips. I mentioned earlier how I love her stuff. This card took a pretty long time to put together ... I think I was nervous about mixing those papers together and how to make it sort of collage-y feeling. (Click photo to enlarge)

I accidentally put the rub on sentiment a little lower than I should have ... and then I was irritated about how it was turning out. To try and add some balance, I added the flourish in the top right corner of the die cut. And while I still wish I had placed the sentiment a little higher, I am happy with how it turned out.

Taking Melissa's suggestion at using florals from the craft store, I bought a hydrangea bloom for like $5 that had a bazillion (well maybe like 100) blooms on it. I ripped them all off and put them in a ziploc for future use. Here, I used a button for the centers and I smeared some Stickles on them to add some sparkliness. I also added some Stickles along the edges of the polka dot scrap and did some stitching around the edge of the panel and along the bottom edge of the pink strip ... mostly because my ribbon tension was a little too tight and I wanted it to lay flat! :-)

I plan on attempting more girly, lovely cards like this one ... I have a lot of hydrangeas to use up! With that said, I will still be working a lot in my comfort zone since those cards tend to get put together a lot faster! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Rub ons: Melissa Frances
Stamps: PTI Fancy Flourishes, Polka Dots Basics II
Ink: PTI Chai, Dark Chocolate; Versamark
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Kraft card stock; patterned paper - unknown (from a kit)
Accessories: PTI Sweet Blush grosgrain, buttons; twine, hydrangea bloom (craft store); Star Dust Stickles; sewing machine; apron lace edge punch

Pink & Bling ...

Ok ... so pink and bling are great. But, I fear I may have gone overboard with this one ...What do you think?! :-) I like it but also think something is missing or "off" about it. Maybe the scale? I do love all the glittery goodness and and polka dots, though!

Keeping it short and sweet tonight ... hope you are all surviving the first week back from the holiday ok! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Giga Guidelines, Signature Greetings, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: Raspberry Fizz; Versamark
Paper: Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush
Accessories: Sweet Blush grosgrain, Hibiscus Burst buttons; glitter (Taylored Expressions); rhinestones (KaiserCraft); foam tape

I'm dreaming of ...

... snowflakes! There is a *slight* chance of snow here on Friday morning. Is it bad for a teacher to hope for a snow day!? LOL Doubt whatever we get, if anything, will involve a late start or day off, but one can dream, right?! :-)

Speaking of flurries, Paige on the CARDS blog challenged us to create a card with snowflakes. Here's what I came up with ... I used my new Cricut Expression (thanks Mom!) that I got for Christmas to cut out the flakes and the label shape. I edged the shape with some white ink and stamped some flourishes around the snowflakes before gluing them down. I added a little bling and a sentiment and called it good. The center panel is mounted on foam tape for a little dimension as well.

I created several more cards with a similar layout that you'll be seeing in the next few days ... just flowers instead of flakes!

Hope you are all enjoying the new year and being back to work! :-) Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Stocking Prints, Fancy Flourishes
Ink: Fresh Snow
Paper: Kraft cs, Aqua Mist Bitty Box paper
Other: Kaiser Craft rhinestones; foam tape; Cricut (Accent Essentials cartridge)

Quick & Easy Birthday

Hiya! I don't know about you, but I am savoring my last day before reality tomorrow. Although, I will have to spend a few hours today getting some lesson plans together. Ho hum. :-)

Anyway, I made a couple of quick and easy birthday cards using a background that I got in a swap. I just cut the background in half and mounted it on a piece of Berry Sorbet card stock, punched the edge, and mounted it on an SU! Kiwi Kiss card base. This card is actually a 3.5 x 5" card and I am currently making almost all my cards in this size ... not sure why, but just love it. I think this background was made with the first anniversary set from PTI, but I am not for certain and I love that there is a scored grid on it. The sentiment is from Vintage Picnic and is on foam tape for a little dimension.
Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Vintage Picnic (sentiment)
Paper: SU! Kiwi Kiss; PTI Berry Sorbet, patterned paper from a swap
Other: PTI Berry Sorbet stitched ribbon; SU! Scallop edge punch

2 Sketches 4 You #42

Hello again! Back to post a card for the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch challenge ... here's the sketch for this week ...
I did flip the sketch for my card ... I used some Basic Grey Wisteria papers for this one along with some Vintage Cream card stock. Everything got a little extra "age" from some Chamomile and Chai ink. And I must say the silk May Arts ribbon is like a dream. I wish I had gotten some thicker widths when I ordered some to try out! :-) Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my card! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: PTI Vintage Picnic (sentiment)
Ink: PTI Chai, Chamomile, Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream card stock; Basic Grey Wisteria patterned paper
Other: May Arts silk ribbon; twine; SU! Scallop Edge punch; 3/4" circle punch; sewing machine

Another Happy New Year Card

Hi again! Only one more day left before its back to the grind. How sad! LOL Anyway, one more new year's card for you ... the same as yesterday's post but a different color scheme. This one uses the Wisteria papers from Basic Grey. I think I like this one the best. :-) Thanks for dropping by - enjoy your Saturday friends!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: SU! A Brand New Year
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, PTI Chamomile & Chai
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Basic Grey Wisteria
Other: Corner rounder punch, Taylored Expressions glitter, 2-way glue pen, Wright's twill tape, sewing machine

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 y'all! We rang in the new year pretty quietly after a long ride back to NC from visiting family in NJ, but that was quite alright with me. :-) We did watch the action in Times Square, which was neat since we did visit the City and walk right through there on Tuesday ... I will try to post pictures of that part of our trip soon!

This afternoon, I whipped up a few New Years cards. This one was the first prototype.
I decided to make the rest of them with a cream card base and add some glitter with a 2-way glue pen to jazz it up a bit. I ended up making 8 of them all together - 6 in this colorway. The glitter on "new year" doesn't show up well, but if you click on the photo you may get a better view. Thanks for checking in - I hope everyone's had a great first day of 2010! :-)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: SU! A Brand New Year
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; PTI Chai & Chamomile
Paper: SU! Kiwi Kiss, PTI Vintage Cream, Making Memories (Funky Vintage- Ruby Collection) patterned paper
Other: Wrights Twill Tape, corner rounder, SU! scallop edge punch, 2-way glue pen, Taylored Expressions glitter, sewing machine