Paisley Punch

A friend from high school asked me to create some thank you cards for her.  She is fan of paisley designs, and I was lucky to find this patterned paper in my stash:

She is also into clean and simple cards that have some detail to them, so I used flower punches to create a decorative edge along the paisley.  Had to add some sequins to give it pizzazz!  (I find sequins addictive.  Do you feel the same way?)

Glad you could pop in today.  Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Stamps: Everyday Sayings - Hero Arts Paper: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, orange, pink patterns - Stampin' Up!; paisley pattern - Raspberry Suite - K & Co. Accessories & Tools: Metallic Gold sequins - MJ Trimming; Hydrangea punch - Martha Stewart; Itty Bitty Accents (smaller flower) punch - Stampin' Up!

A toy for baby

Hi!  I recently made this baby card for the shop, Arts Plus Gallery, where I sell some of my creations.  My inspiration piece:  this little toy duck stamp, which I've had in my unfinished project box for ---ew, quite a while.   I remember stamping a bunch of these at one time, to make THIS card and THIS card.  (Warning:  they're ancient!)

I jazzed things up with a Harlequin stamp (Inkadinkado) in yellow-on-yellow, added some punched stars and sequins, and a yellow ribbon.

Oh yes, I like this version the best.  Those other cards (linked near top of post)....not so much.  Ha!

Stamps: I don't remember, and sold the set, too! Paper: Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Crumb Cake - SU Ink: So Saffron - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: Daffodil Delight ribbon - SU Accessories & Tools: larger star punch - Fiskars; small star punch - Itty Bitty Accents - SU; Metallic Gold sequins - MJ Trimming; Sparkling Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; markers

From prom dress to greeting card

Yes, I used a bit of a prom dress on this card!  My daughter's prom dress from last year had been shortened so that she could use it in her high school theater production, so there was excess material I saved (of course).  The netting was perfect to create this flower:

The dies I used to create the flower are listed below my signature at the end of the post.  And I believe it's the first time my Quatrefoil Background / Unity has seen ink!  I've only had it for, oh, you know, a few years. (wink, wink)

Are any of you also loathe to throw away scraps of fabric, in case you can use them on other projects?

Stamps: sentiment - Thankful Leaves - My Favorite Things; lattice - Quatrefoil Background - Unity Paper: white - Papertrey Ink; Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose - Stampin' Up!  Ink: Kiwi Kiss - SU; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: tulle Accessories & Tools: Branch With Leaves, Floral Fusion dies - Sizzix; Simply Scallops Large die - My Favorite Things; Scalloped Circles dies - Spellbinders; Regal Rose brad - SU

Eclectic For You

Hey there.  :0)  The card I'm sharing today took on a life of its own.  I like when that happens!

My inspiration piece was this Anna Griffin floral stamp.  It was in my unfinished-pieces box, already colored and trimmed to this size.  Also on my desk at the time:  a piece of black and white plaid paper.  Now, normally, I would never think to pair an elegant floral with this paper, but  just struck me as 'right'.

On the card base, I used Stampin' Up!'s Bella Toile in a tone-on-tone combo.  The glittery die cut is from K & Co.

I had a smidgen of cocoa velvet ribbon (May Arts) on my desk, so that went under the Anna Griffin stamped panel.  The round circle sentiment from Inspired By Stamping is one I use a lot.  It is "comfortable" to use:  fits in a lot of different designs, just the right size, etc.

The plaid paper already has a distressed look to it.  I love how it appears on the bottom left corner of the card!

Thanks so much for coming by today!  I hope you are having a good day, in your little corner of the world.  :-)

Stamps: Bella Toile Background - Stampin' Up!; floral - Anna Griffin; sentiment - Cherish - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla - SU; plaid - Garden Vignettes by Carina Gardner - My Mind's Eye Ink: Crumb Cake, Basic Gray - SU; Old Paper, Antique Linen - Ranger Fibers: lace; cocoa velvet ribbon - May Arts; Crumb Cake ribbon - Stampin' Up! Accessories & Tools: pearls - Queen & Co; circle punch - Stampin' Up!; swirl glittered die cut - K & Co.; Copic markers

Hand-stamped Patterned Paper

One of the things that pleases me most in paper crafting is creating my own patterned paper.  Oh, I've got oodles and oodles of patterned paper pads, and they do make me happy, but there's nothing like choosing your own colors and your own stamps to create something unique.

This card was for my father-in-law's birthday:

I used Inkadinkado's Harlequin Background in a kraft-colored ink, and a flourish icon from TPC Studios' Classic Icons in pale gray on a white panel.  Then, the edges were distressed with kraft colored ink.

This leaf from Stampin' Up!'s With Gratitude has to be one of my favorite stamps.  I love the sorta-realistic, sorta-grunge look it has.  I stamped it on a vintage book page, adhered it to a scrap piece of cardstock, then trimmed.  That gives it more heft, making it sturdier to pop up on foam tape.

Thanks so much for joining me today!

Stamps: gray flourish - Classic Icons - TPC Studio; Harlequin Background - Inkadinkado; leaf - With Gratitude - Stampin' Up! Paper: Going Gray - SU; kraft, white - Papertrey Ink; vintage book page Ink: Going Gray, Crumb Cake - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Walnut Stain - Ranger Fibers: twine - Creative Impressions Accessories & Tools: brass brad and buckle - Stampin' Up!

Pretty Postage

Hello!  A while back, last year, I was on a design team called Seize The Sketch.  Sadly, it closed before I had been there for very long.  This card was made for one of the sketches that never made it to fruition:

These postage stamp images may look familiar.  In 2013, I had designed these guys as little magnets.  Unfortunately, because of the thick layer of Crackle Accents (Ranger) on each one, they curled up and did not look so pretty on the refrigerator.  I removed the magnets, and adhered them to this card instead.  They were the inspiration for all other design choices here.

The pale pink damask paper is retired (of course) from Stampin' Up!, and the Harlequin Background / Inkadinkado was stamped with Milled Lavender.

Yep, sure do hate to throw anything away!  I always try first to repurpose before trashing.

So glad you could stop by today!

Stamps: Harlequin Background - Inkadinkado; sentiment - All Year Wishes I, postage stamps - Summer Postcard Add-On - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla, pale pink damask pattern - Stampin' Up! Ink: Milled Lavender, Frayed Burlap - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: crochet lace - Hero Arts Accessories & Tools: Copic markers; doily; vintage buttons; Bisque Liquid Pearls, Crackle Accents - Ranger; doily - Wilton

Mad for Plaid

My friend asked for some monogrammed cards, and she is WILD about plaid.  She says that plaid is her favorite color!  Isn't that funny?  :-)

She also loves wreaths, so I paired this glittery plaid paper from My Mind's Eye Garden Vignettes with a wreath image from Avery Elle's Happy Spring.  I snagged that AE stamp set from i{heart}papers when they first announced they were going out of business.

The alpha stamps are from Doodlebug Designs.

Thanks for letting me share this with you today.  See you soon!

Stamps: Curly Alphabet - Doodlebug Designs; wreath - Happy Spring - Avery Elle Paper: plaid - Garden Vignettes by Carina Gardner - My Mind's Eye; Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black - Stampin' Up!; white - Papertrey Ink Ink: Old Olive - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: circle, Fancy Tags Three  dies - Spellbinders; rhinestone gems - Queen & Co.

Tinsel & Twig Christmas

Happy Monday!  I've got some Christmas Joy to share today:

Nearly everything you see here is from the Girls' Paperie Tinsel & Twig collection.  I picked up one of these kits for $20 a few years back at a Tuesday Morning store in North Carolina.  It has so many cool things in it:  a stamp set, alpha chipboards, snowflake embellishments, ribbon and laces, and die cuts.  I remember how excited I was to happen upon it.  :-)

I've tucked this card into my Christmas stash, all packed and ready to be sold when the time comes.

Hope you have a blessed day!

Stamps: text, snowflakes - Tinsel & Twig - Girls' Paperie Paper: green cardstock Ink: Early Espresso - Stampin' Up! Fibers: crochet lace, red scallop trim - Girls' Paperie; twine - Creative Impressions Accessories & Tools: alpha stickers, snowflake die cut embellishment - Girls' Paperie; Champagne Liquid Pearls - Ranger

Seashore Thank You

Hey there.  :-D  A short while back, a longtime friend of mine asked for a custom set of thank you cards.  This is one of the designs she received, since she is a fan of all things nautical:

It is quite simple, with some repetitive stamping of a starfish (Blockheads Paper Arts) and a nice, big sentiment (Papertrey Ink).  I also added a scallop shell (Golden Acorn), another starfish -- both trimmed out and popped up -- and a couple of pearls.  The images received a coat of clear glitter, too.

My youngest daughter had oral surgery a week ago today, in preparation for braces.  Sure would be nice if she could just have braces put on her teeth, with no issues to fix beforehand.  Poor kid had a couple of teeth grow in sideways, and some extra-heavy layers of gum tissue covering some teeth in the back, where the brackets/anchors for braces go.  The doctor dug holes into her gums to give a clear view of the teeth in there (ew), so the orthodontist can attach those brackets.  It's been a painful week for her.

When her smile is finally picture-perfect a couple of years down the road, she'll be glad.  Right now, she is having a hard time imagining that!

Stamps: starfish - Seashells with Round Frame - Blockhead Paper Arts; scallop - Golden Acorn; sentiment - Think Big Favorites #5 - Papertrey Ink Paper: Sahara Sand - SU; white - Papertrey Ink Ink: Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand - Stampin' Up!; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: Crystal glitter - Martha Stewart; pearls - Queen & Co.

xoxoxo roses

A little something eclectic today.  I let the card take me for a ride the day I made this.  The starting point were two String of Hearts die cuts (Simon Says Stamp) I made, as tests that the die worked okay.  Do you check your dies when you first buy them?  I learned the hard way to always try them right away, before too much time passes.  I've had a few dies with glitches on them, where the metal is messed up and you don't get a clean cut.  Luckily, the companies stood behind their products (My Favorite Things, Memory Box, Spellbinders) and I was able to get replacements.

I joined those two strips of hearts together, and used pearls between each heart.  I added a seam binding bow, a tiny tag with Lawn Fawn stamping (from Love n' Breakfast), a beautiful old-fashioned roses sticker from Anna Griffin, and a tiny piece of Wrought Iron Gate die cut (Memory Box) in pale gray.  It was lying on my craft desk, and thought it looked kind of neat on here.

Oh!  Not sure if you can tell, but the little white strip of paper, under the roses, is actually white glitter cardstock from Colorbok.  It's another cast-off that was just lying on the desk, and almost made it into the trash bin.

Thanks so much for your visit today!

Stamps: tiny heart, xoxo - Love n' Breakfast - Lawn Fawn Paper: white glitter paper (strip) - Colorbok; black/white patterns - Harper's Boutique - The Paper Studio; True Black, white - Papertrey Ink; Going Gray - Stampin' Up! Fibers: Pink Aster seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop; vintage thread Accessories & Tools: String of Hearts die - Simon Says Stamp; rose stickers - Anna Griffin; Tiny Tags die - Papertrey Ink; Wrought Iron Fence die - Memory Box; pearls; button

Happy, Preppy Banners

I'm flying some flags on today's card.  Happy, preppy patterns and colors, flying on a background of white.

(It's just so tough to photograph a white card on a white background!)

When I photo-edited these pictures, they looked fairly bright to me.  Now that they are in Blogger, they seem duller.  Darn!

If you do an internet search on 'preppy patterns', so many fun designs turn up.  I saw plenty of polka dots, and a lattice pattern, and bright, punchy colors.  That's where I got my inspiration for this card.

Thanks so much for coming by today!

Stamps: Whimsical Banners - Inspired By Stamping; Think Big Favorites #15 - Papertrey Ink Paper: white - PTI Ink: Pink Passion, Green Galore - Stampin' Up!; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: white string - Stampin' Up! 

Custom Valentine

A friend of mine asked me to make an elegant, masculine Valentine for her husband.

I liked the end result so much, I had to make one for my husband too.  (shhhh, don't tell!)

Yes, there's glitter, and there are sequins, but I still think overall it's a masculine card.  As one of my Instagram followers said, it's "dark and sexy."  LOL!

Stamps: sentiment - Anna Griffin Paper: Early Espresso, Real Red - Stampin' Up!; brown damask - Graphic 45; red glitter polka dot, cream script - Union Square - My Mind's Eye Accessories & Tools: Espresso 6mm, gold 4mm sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; Metallic Gold sequins - M&J Trimming; red glitter - Martha Stewart; Heart to Heart, Full Heart, Itty Bitty Heart punches - Stampin' Up!

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Another Christmas card this week?  Sure, why not!!  This one is my fave.  It pairs cream and white with gold.

The inspiration piece:  a Top Note die, already embossed with snowflakes and with a touch of gold cardstock along one edge.  This was in a Scrap Bag from my Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  Then, I found a pear topiary (CTMH), already colored ages ago, in my image box.  I stamped a little bird from Hero Arts, trimmed him and added him to the pear tree.

I punched a few holly leaves out of the same gold cardstock, and added pearl 'berries'.  A few more little details:  an embossed card base, a seam binding bow, and a tiny Papertrey Ink sentiment.

Thank you so much for coming by today!

Stamps: sentiment - Tag-Its #8 - Papertrey Ink; bird - Sending Smiles - Hero Arts; tree - Topiaries - Close To My Heart Paper: Vintage Cream, white - Papertrey Ink; gold - Stampin' Up! Fibers: Argentina seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: Northern Flurries embossing folder, Top Note die - SU; Copic markers; pearls - Queen & Co.; holly punch - Martha Stewart; Holly Ribbons embossing folder - Cuttlebug

Love from a Mouse

Yesterday, I shared an elegant Valentine, and today I''m showing a whimsical card for our 13 year old.  Her personality is different from that of her older sister, and I always try to match their style to the cards I create for each of them.

This card features an older Stampin' Up! set: Happy Heart Day (the mouse image), and the 'feb 14' is from the A Happy Heart set.  I tied in the sage green and peach stripes to the sentiment by using markers and an 'xoxo' stamp (Inspired By Stamping) multiple times on a small circle tag.

In 2009, I gave each of our girls a Valentine that featured the same mouse:

Man, what a difference!

Stamps: mouse & heart - Happy Heart Day; feb 14 - A Happy Heart - Stampin' Up!; xoxo - Creative Tags - Inspired By Stamping Paper: patterns - Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm - American Crafts; white - Papertrey Ink; Pretty In Pink - Stampin' Up! Ink: markers: Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Sage Shadow - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: hemp twine - Hemptique Accessories & Tools: pink gem; circle die - Spellbinders; Sparkling Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; tag punch - Martha Stewart; small circle tag - Tiny Tags - Papertrey Ink; Copic markers

A Beautiful Heart

Hello!  I wanted to share the elegant Valentine my husband and I gave to our 16 year old over the weekend.

I really love how this turned out.  I've got a heart from an old Stampin' Up! set, A Happy Heart, some little paper flowers from www.iamroses.com (you should check them out; cheap prices, cheap shipping, and it's pretty quick, too) and sequins from Pretty Pink Posh in Sparkling Clear.

The 'Feb 14' sentiment is from the same Happy Heart set, and of course, some Hug Snug seam binding...this one is called Mushroom.  I love the color.  It goes with just about anything.

Thanks for letting me share this.  I'll be back tomorrow to show a much different Valentine that went to our 13 year old.  See you then!

Stamps: heart, feb 14 - A Happy Heart - Stampin' Up! Paper: pattern - The Paper Studio; white, kraft - Papertrey Ink; vintage book page Ink: Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko; Cherry Cobbler - SU Fibers: Mushroom seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: paper flowers - iamroses.com; Round Tab punch - SU; Sparkling Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; doily - Wilton

Peace On Earth

Hey.  =)  Last week, I showed off some cards that seemed like spring or summer.  This week, I'm kicking it off with a wintry Christmas card.

The inspiration piece was this neat bubble-like sticker from K & Co.  It's got glitter inside, like a snow globe.  I added a little doily die cut behind it, and chose papers to coordinate.  A strip of snowflakes is also courtesy of K & Co.

A guy at work just missed a whole week due to the flu.  He said he did get his flu shot this year.  Yikes.  I got mine too, and am keeping fingers crossed that this bug does not hit any of my family.  I had heard that the flu vaccine administered this year was not as effective as in years past.   Hope they get that situation worked out.  My co-worker said it was a bad week.  :-(  Keep washing those hands frequently!

Paper: kraft, white - Papertrey Ink; Chocolate Chip, embossed kraft (skinny strip) - Stampin' Up!; wine and green patterns - Holiday Traditions - Me and My Big Ideas; cereal box chipboard Accessories & Tools: small star punch - SU; medium star punch - Fiskars; Crystal glitter - Martha Stewart; Decorative Doily Duo die - My Favorite Things; Sparkling Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh