Flying Hearts

I've had this little Sizzix envelope die for years, and thought it would look cute with hearts flying out of it for Valentine's Day. The envelope is cut from SU Whisper White, lined with a scrap of something I had left from another project. I attached it with dimensionals so that only the base of the envelope is adhered, and the flap is loose and turned up a little.

I'm not sure I quite pulled this one off — there's a contrast issue with the hearts and the background — but it's a good start. I'll have to play with it a little. Maybe I should just use solid colored hearts...

What I used:
Stamps: PTI Heart Prints
Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red, PTI Fresh Snow
Paper: PTI white, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette
Other: Sizzix die, Heart Nestabilities, Rose grosgrain ribbon

i {heart} my friends

What is it they say? Friends are the family you give yourself. Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with my family; I must say that my family is probably the most "normal," (practically) drama-free family I know of, and I adore them all. My daughters consider us a boring family. Hey, I'll take boring any day!

But my friends bring an entirely different element into my life. Many different elements, actually. And for them I am immensely grateful. So ladies, you know who you are — this one's for you!

The patterned paper, stamps and some of the other supplies I used are available at i {heart} papers. Kate ships quickly, so you still have time to order for Valentine's Day. And she has a lot of stuff on sale right now!

I'm not sure what, but something is missing from this card. It felt unfinished, somehow, so I added an aura of pale yellow around the bouquet, and then I added some Shimmerz on the cone and leaves, and I covered the hearts with Glossy Accents. Still, it's missing something. I think it needs some kind of something in the lower right corner, but I don't know what. Oh well.... Any ideas?

What I used:
Stamps: Sweet Hearts (Impression Obsession)
Ink: Palette Noir, Copic markers
Paper: PTI White; SU! Cool Caribbean, Regal Rose, So Saffron; Basic Grey Urban Prairie
Other: Nestabilities, Ranger Glossy Accents, Candle Light Shimmerz, SU! circle and scalloped circle punches

CASEing Myself!

Last night, after I submitted my card for the PTI Blog Hop (scroll down to the next post to see that one), I wanted to do it again, but a little differently. I love the combo of black, white and hot pink, so I used Raspberry Fizz instead of the Pure Poppy, switched to a different butterfly punch, and added a little trail of paper piercing. The inside is done exactly the same as the other card, so I didn't bother photographing it again.

I really do love this set — hope you all don't get tired of seeing me use it!

PTI Blog Hop

I just finished a birthday card using some of my brand new Papertrey Ink goodies and was delighted to find that it fit into the theme for this month's Blog Hop, which just happens to be tonight!

I absolutely ADORE the new With Sympathy set. From the very first sneak peek that Nichole gave, I knew that set was mine. I knew that the classic style would find many uses, and of course hoped that I would have very few occasions to use the phrases included in the set (although they are indeed very beautiful).

And just because I couldn't get enough of those gorgeous vines (and because I chose Pure Poppy as my base), I decided to decorate the inside of the card, too.
What I used:
Stamps: With Sympathy, Birthday Basics
Ink: True Black, Pure Poppy
Paper: True Black, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White
Other: True Black twill, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Nestabilities ribbon tags die, bling (gotta have the bling!)

CHA Sneak Peek: JustRite Stampers

This just in from the JustRite booth at CHA... I am so excited about this first one -- the Demi Phrases Set. I'm guessing it works with the small alphabet set to customize something for every occasion. What a great shortcut!

I think if you click on the pictures you might get a somewhat larger view. And please forgive the pic quality -- I'm doing the best I can with what Kate is sneaking out of there! I'm no Photoshop genius, to be sure.

CHA Sneak Peek: Impressabilities

Looks like Spellbinders is jumping on the embossing sheet wagon -- yay!!!! Metal sheets that emboss like a Cuttlebug folder in 4 designs: Paisley, Butterfly, Snowflake and Flowers. Retail $7
Keep checking back for more. They have actually banned picture taking at CHA this time {sob!}, but somehow Kate has managed to sneak a few!

CHA News and Views — Stay Tuned!!!

Twice a year, the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) holds a huge show where vendors introduce the new products they will be offering in the coming months. Kate, from our favorite i {heart} papers, is there scouting out the goodies and will be sending me pictures and news tidbits throughout the day, which I will then pass along to you. Stay tuned for what's sure to be some fabulous sneak peeks!

Oh, and my design teammate, Lori, will also be getting other CHA info and pics from Kate throughout the day, so be sure to check out her blog as well. Apparently there's just too much going on for one person to handle it all -- it's gonna take both of us!

Cupcake Trio

I thought I'd try my hand at Taylor's Anniversary Cupcake Challenge. She and 8 of her Cupcake Crew have each presented a different sketch, and this is from Taylor's own sketch (shown below).

I got many of the supplies for this card at i {heart} papers. (enabler alert: Kate is having a HUGE sale there!)

I wish you could see just how shimmery and beautiful this card is. I must have taken about 20 photos trying to show it off in its best light, which is difficult when there is no good light in my apartment!

First of all, the patterned paper has a kind of raised, glazed, glittery pattern over the cross-hatch lines. And the cupcakes, from the Birthday Cupcake stamp set, are colored with Shimmerz. I cut the image out with my Oval Nestabilities, using the die as a mask while I sponged some pink ink around the edges, then mounted it on a Scalloped Oval, which I also sponged around the edges with darker ink. The chipboard hearts were something I've had laying around for ages — can't even remember where or when I got them. It's finished off with some wide grosgrain ribbon and a strip of brushed gold cardstock (to pick up the gold in the patterned paper) that I ran through my Fiskars Threading Water punch.

What I used:
Stamps: Birthday Cupcake (Inkadinkado)
Ink: Palette Noir, Pretty in Pink, Copic markers
Paper: SU! Rose Red, Regal Rose, Brushed Gold; PTI White, My Mind's Eye Flirty Little Girl Smocking
Other: Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, Shimmerz, Nestabilities

Butterfly Birthday Wishes

I realized the other day that I need to restock my non-cupcake birthday card stash. Almost every birthday card I've made recently has been cupcake-related, and sometimes that just won't do!

I came across this beautiful card on Dawn Easton's blog and was immediately inspired by it. I had this paper from Kate at i {heart} papers that had gorgeous embossed butterflies on it, and a Martha butterfly punch (or two) that would work well with it. The colors are not accurately represented in this photo (bad lighting), but they are Regal Rose and Rose Red. They match the patterned paper (from the Chocolat line) perfectly. The bottom of the piece is punched with the Fiskars Threading Water punch, and it's tied up with some white tafetta ribbon.

For the sentiment, I dragged out an oldie but goodie from SU! - Elegant Greetings, and cut it out with my Nestabilities, sponging the edges of the white layer with Regal Rose while it was still in the die. To dress up the punched butterflies, I added a little bling, also available from i {heart} papers.

I think I'll whip up a few more of these to have on hand!

Me? Fabulous?

Well, maybe not me, but my blog, according to Kate at i {heart} papers, who has bestowed upon me this cool blogging award! Wow!

Interestingly, the rules for this award require me to list 5 of my obsessions. If you're a dedicated reader of my blog, you know that obsessiveness is the curse of my Scorpio-hood (Scorpio-ness? Scorpio-tude?) Hmmm. How to limit it to just 5...

OK, current obsessions:

1. Obviously, papercrafting stuff. I've long been obsessed with beautiful papers, but now have come to include such things as ribbons, stamps and bling in my hoarding habits.
   
2. On a related note, but enough to warrant their own number, are Copic markers. I'm slowly building my collection, and will be attending a Copic Certification class next month. I'm so excited!
3. Cupcakes. Anything to do with cupcakes. 'Nuf said.
4. Spelling and grammar. I am blessed/cursed with the ability to spot a typo or grammatical error a mile away and have been known to take a red pen to notices posted on the walls of my workplace. Fortunately, at least my boss appreciates this particular obsession.
5. Days of Our Lives. Don't shoot me! I know it's one of the cheesiest soap operas around, and I never intended to get sucked into it. I used to keep the TV on for background noise after I watched the Today show and Ellen when I was home (unemployed), and all of a sudden I realized I was starting to care about the characters and story lines. I DVR it every day. (Isn't it interesting how "DVR" has become a verb?) Ahhhh, the DVR. I think I'll save that obsession for another day...
   

And now to pass this award on to 5 other fabulous bloggers:

1. Jannie (aka Chicken Girl), my fabulous soon-to-be daughter-in-law. She's an uber-talented illustrator, and I'm gently trying to drag her into the world of stamping.
2. Debbie Olson, whose blog I am only too happy to "click through" in my Google Reader to see her wonderful designs.
3. The 3 ladies who comprise Clean&Simple Stamping. I've just recently discovered this one and have come to rely on Harriet, Natasha and Becky for inspiration.
4. Marianne, at I Like Markers. She gives me my "fix" of Copic marker techniques and has in large part contributed to my current obsession with the things.
5. Nichole Heady of Papertrey Ink, whose talent makes me love/hate her with every fiber of my being. I wish I had the amount of creativity she has in her pinky nail. I wanna BE her when I grow up! Maybe in my next life...
   

DT Challenge!

This month I challenged the i {heart} papers design team to create a Valentine's Day card (or project) for someone other than a significant other.

Inspired by a sketch on Clean & Simple Stamping, I came up with this cutie for a friend. I'm loving the Sweet Hearts set by Impression Obsession. I'm also loving the Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper (yes, Kate does still have a few of the 6x6 pads left!). This particular sheet goes really well with SU's Riding Hood Red and Soft Sky (yes, it's last year's color, but this year's Baja Breeze would work just as well).

For the main image I used my Oval Nestabilities and colored with Copics, and to add a little detail (it's all about the details, isn't it?) I whipped out my Ranger Glossy Accents for the hearts, and Matte Accents for the flower pot. When I first heard of the Matte Accents, I couldn't imagine what I would use it for. But it really does give some nice dimension to things that you wouldn't necessarily want to be shiny. Oh, and a little birdie told me that Kate might be carrying both of these at i {heart} papers soon!

I know that Kate has taken the challenge, but I'm not sure who else on the team has (or what time they might be posting it), so you'll have to go and check them all — several times today. Or you can just subscribe to all of our blogs so you'll never miss anything!

Sarah Anderson
Cathleen Torina
Loretta Lock
Amber Kroening
Kendra Wietstock
Lori Tecler
Deb Felts
Tracy Schultz
Meredith Socha
Dee Jackson

So Sweet!

I am so in LOVE with the Basic Grey Bittersweet paper! Maybe they market it for Valentine's Day, but those brown and pink patterns say year-round to me!

I was also smitten by a sketch I found on a blog I somehow only just discovered -- clean&simple stamping. How could I have never seen this before?!!! What an awesome blog! Anyhow, I pulled out one of my favorite cupcake stamp sets that I recently got from Kate at i {heart} papers (she also carries the Bittersweet paper) and made a super-quick card.

I had a lot of fun with that cupcake. I busted out my Liquid Applique and some cute little colored micro-beads that I've had forever, and then I covered the cherry with some dimensional glaze to make it really pop! (Note to self: remember to punch out cupcakes first, then add dimensional stuff!)

What I used:
Stamps: Birthday Cupcake (Inkadinkado)
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white, SU! Chocolate Chip & Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey Bittersweet pad
Other: SU! circle and scalloped circle punches, Liquid Applique, Ranger Glossy Accents, microbeads

Let's Pretend...

OK, I'm gonna pretend that this card came out just the way I imagined it would, and because you are all my bestest friends, you're gonna make believe, too.

I can't really say how I thought it would look, but I can say that it is a (very) loose adaptation of Jamie's Bella Sketch Challenge, which really inspired me today.

I will also say that in my original plan, among other things, that heart in the corner was going to be a ghost heart, which I had airbrushed with a pink Copic marker. The heart looked really cool. I was very excited. And then I messed it all up trying to glue it onto the card (with the wrong adhesive). And when I tried to clean it up, I took blotches of the ink off. And when I tried to re-spray it, I realized I was completely out of canned air. So I tried to color it directly with the marker (like I knew I shouldn't, which is why I airbrushed it in the first place!) and completely screwed it up. So I used the messed up ghost heart to trace the shape onto the paper, and outlined it with a marker to make it stand out a little.

Is it any wonder that my mojo has gone awanderin'?

Anyhow, I have decided to embrace the card. I will love the card as if it were exactly what I planned. That is my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

What I used:
Stamps: Out on a Limb, Green Thumb, Heart Prints (all PaperTrey Ink)
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, PTI Raspberry Fizz and Ripe Avocado
Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, PTI white, Basic Grey Eva collection

Help!

If anyone has seen my mojo wandering around, could you please send it back to me?

I finally cleared off my table enough yesterday to do a little creating, and nothing was coming out the way I wanted it to. I've done a little wandering around the blogiverse today and found a couple of inspiring sketches, so maybe tonight...

I'm so bummed!