Monthly Archives: May 2011

Teacher Gifts

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So last week my blog was pretty quiet. The reason was I was working on teacher gifts – the ones I needed to get into the mail to send back to our old school….before school got out for the year!

In that school my girls switched classes for different subjects, so there were many teachers. For one group I did note cubes with matching pens. For the other set I did acrylic sticky-note holders with matching pens. I kept it simple and used the same design for all of them.

Then for the card that accompanied the gifts, I continued the same design. I did break out the felt to create the flowers and then used the vine stamp from Background Basics for the leaves (because at some point I lost the leaf stamp that I was using, but PTI, being an awesome company, is replacing that image – for just the cost of a stamp!).

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms 2, Background Basics, Think Big #2 (all PTI);
Colors: Royal Velvet, Harvest Gold, Raspberry Fizz, Blueberry Sky, Simply Chartreuse (all PTI);
Gifts: Acrylic picture frame, sticky-note pads, note cubes, Pentel RSVP pens;

Monday Post

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I had a hard time getting started with the latest Make it Monday (mim14) – selective inking – because PTI does such a good job of breaking up stamps already. Often stems are separate from flowers, etc.

As I was browsing my stamp index I was so excited when I realized that Mailbox Greetings provides the perfect opportunity for selective inking. I’ve actually done a “single mailbox” from this set before, but I got it by cutting it out. This time I used tape to mask my image before inking. Then after inking, I remove the tape and presto – a perfectly inked partial image. Here is a link to the original stamp image; and below is a look at what the tape method looks like.

Thinking of You
Stamps: Mailbox Greetings (PTI);
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, White, Lemon Tart, Simply Chartreuse( PTI);
Other: Copics; Button die (PTI); Grass die (MFT); Circle cutter (CM); deco scissors; machine stitching;
Sketch: WMSC1

July Banner

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Today a new sketch at Waltzingmouse was posted (wmsc47). I just received my latest order and knew exactly what I would do.

I admit I bought the Bitty Banner set just for these rounded banners. I’ve always loved the 4th of July banners I’ve seen done in this style. I kept the card very simple. It ended up being a long card because I wanted that many banners 🙂 I love the new WM set – Say it Loud – such a happy font! I had to steal the “4th of July” bit from a Papertrey set.

Happy 4th of July
Stamps: Bitty Banners, Say it Loud (WMS); part of the sentiment – Vintage Picnic (PTI);
Colors: Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Vanilla (SU);
Other: vanilla twine (?); Rustic button (PTI);

Gift: Frame

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This photo frame is for a friend back in Hawaii who recently had a baby. Since this was not her first child, I figured she probably wouldn’t need clothing. I decided a photo frame would be a great gift.

I started with a wood frame – something I’ve had in my stash for a long time, but I’m pretty sure I got it at Michael’s or a similar shop. It was plain wood. I painted the frame front and sides white. Then I covered the front with paper (some old KI Memories paper). You can’t tell it in the photo but the pattern paper has sheen to it.

Next I added a bit of ribbon. Then I finished it with the chipboard letters and felt flower accent. The insert to the frame had a generic advertisey look to it, so I painted that white and added a protective layer (with a decoupage-like glue).

Every gift needs a card, right? I made this one to match the frame.

I used the same supplies. This gift is for many reasons, so I left a greeting off the front and wrote everything inside. Since the gift is a wood frame, I used a wood embossing plate to texture the card’s background. The flowers on the frame are felt and have their own texture. The flowers on the card are paper and felt a bit flat. I added some white sponging to the centers, just enough to peek out behind the top layers.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Frame
Leaf die (Taylored Expressions); Flower dies (PTI); Ribbon (PTI); paper (KI Memories); chipboard letters (?); button (stash); glue (PPA glue-mat finish);
Card
Leaf die (Taylored Expressions); Flower dies (PTI); Ribbon (PTI); light blue/pattern paper (KI Memories); card stock (Baja-SU); button (stash); Impression Plate (PTI);

Garden Lattice

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I created this card for my mom. I’ve seen some really cool lattice cards lately. I thought I’d make my own by pairing up a couple dies. I started with a Top Note and cut a rectangle window in it. Then I cut a lattice die and glued it behind the Top Note. The flowers are stamped on watercolor paper and then watercolored.

Thanks for taking a peek!

card
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Four Frames, Teeny Tiny Wishes;
Colors: Always Artichoke, White, Perfect Plum;
Other: Botanical DSP, Watercolor paper, Lattice die, Top Note die, Leaf die, White Organdy ribbon, Decorative Label punch; machine stitching;
Technique: watercoloring

Butterfly Tea

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I created this card for my mother-in-law. My hubby chose “butterflies” and I went from there. I picked out the DSP and since it is called “Afternoon Tea”, I threw in the doily. The butterfly needed some texture, so I ran it through the Big Shot with an embossing folder.

When I bought the doily die, I also bought the companion die/tool that helps you poke out the little pieces. I have to say that I can’t figure out how to use it, so now I just use my paper piercing tool….much easier 🙂

Mother’s Day
Stamps: Fillable Frames 4 (PTI);
Colors: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, White (SU);
Other: Afternoon Tea DSP (SU), doily die (PTI), Butterfly die (PTI), Elegant Lines embossing folder (SU), pearls (Kaiser), Eyelet Scallop Border punch (SU);

Guided Background

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By accident I have 2 packs each of the Guidelines and Guidelines II paper by PTI. Needless to say, I am trying hard to use it. Of course, making my own patterns with the Guideline stamps isn’t my forte. Thankfully I found an awesome card to case (by Debbie Olson). The colors were perfect for my step-mother, so I completely copied the original background. I changed up the rest though.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother’s Day
All supplies PaperTrey Ink unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Giga Guidelines, Guidelines II, Fillable Frames 8; sentiment (TAC);
Colors: Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, White;
Other: Guidelines II paper; Blush ribbon, Fillable Frames 8 die; Rhinestones (Kaiser), Scallop Border punch (Fiskars);

Impression Trickery

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This week’s Make-it-Monday challenge (mim13) is to use the PTI impression plate and die trick. The technique is pretty cool.

For my card I used the Circles border die with the Picnic impression plate. Unfortunately the circle stamp set was sold out when I ordered, so I just went through my stash to find images that would fit – I ended up using Dot Spot, but I did find out that Guidelines II also fits in the big circles.

Thanks for taking a peek!

For You
All supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Dot Spot, Tiny Tags;
Colors: Lemon Tart, White; (I used Daffodil & Lilac inks by SU);
Other: Picnic impression plate, Simply Circles border die, Sending You die (for the leaves), Sig.Series Flower die, Tiny Tags die, Velvet & Chartreuse felt, Lemon button, Rustic White twine;

Lucky Chevrons

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I created this card for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge (wmsc45). I will say that the idea looked better in my head, lol. Still, it was fairly quick card to make, even with all the background stamping.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Good Luck
Stamps: Off Beat Backgrounds, Fancy Phrases (Waltzingmouse);
Colors: Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Handsome Hunter (SU);
Other: Celery ribbon (SU); Rhinestones (Kaiser); Label die (Spellbinders);

VSN Cards

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As my previous post stated, there was a mini-VSN at SCS. I wanted to do a few more challenges, so on Sunday I stamped, stamped, stamped. Upload deadline is today, so I’m posting them all at once.

First up is my card for the third challenge which was an inspiration challenge (may11vsnmini3). The photo was a beach scene – very calming. I wanted to keep the relaxing feel, so I went with subdued colors and a “relax” sentiment.

Next up is the fourth challenge (may11vsnmini4) – a color challenge . I always have a hard time with color challenges, so my normal attack method is to find pattern paper that has the required colors and then let the paper determine the “theme” of the card. This paper screamed fun to me, so I went with a cupcake and sprinkles. I even broke into my stash of baker’s twine finally!

The fifth and final challenge (may11vsnmini5) was to use wood on a card – either as an image or a material. I wasn’t sure what I’d do, so I looked through my stamp index and saw the ruler image. Perfect – this week is Teacher Appreciation week. The ruler is stamped on a thin wood.

Thanks for stopping by!

Relax
Stamps: Day at the Beach (PTI), Sensational Scenery (SU);
Colors: Bashful Blue (textured), Barely Banana, Crumb Cake, River Rock (SU);
Other: dimensionals (SU);
Thank You
Stamps: Cupcake Collection (PTI);
Colors: Apricot Appeal, Gable Green, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, White (SU);
Other: Rainbow Sherbert DSP (SU); baker’s twine (?); glitter (Doodlebug); cupcake dies (PTI); Border punch (Fiskars); machine stitching;
Teacher
Stamps: It’s Official, Teacher’s Apple (PTI); Stamp of Authenticity (SU);
Colors: Aqua Mist, Black, White (PTI); Ruby Red (SU);
Other: wood (SU);