Author Archives: kth

Mahalo

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After a long time on the market, we finally sold our condo in Hawaii. I was so impressed by everyone involved, that I wanted to send a couple thank you cards.

Since I wasn’t really sure how either of the recipients felt about handmade cards, I decided to keep them very clean and classic.

For this first card, I wanted to use a hibiscus-like flower and this image fit with what I had in mind.

The sentiment is from the complimentary set that PTI distributed at the end of 2011.

I used the same sentiment for the second card as well.

The pattern on this card was inspired by a rug I found on Pinterest, but the colors came from a recent PTI Make-it-Monday (#64).

I was going to add a bow, but that detracted to much from the relatively flat card/sentiment – so instead I added a string of pearls.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks (lavender)
Stamps: Daydreamer, A Big Thank You (PTI);
Colors: Lavender Moon, White, Melon Berry, Shadow (PTI);
Thanks (linen)
Stamps: Mat Stack 5 Collection, A Big Thank You (PTI);
Colors: Linen, Chocolate, Aqua, Ocean, Berry Sorbet, Chartreuse (PTI);
Other: Ocean ribbon (PTI); Pearls (Hero Arts);

Miss You All the Time

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My hubby is off again today on another week’s business trip. This will be the third in a row (and there is still one more next week). I’m just glad he gets to come home on weekends!

I recently won this Hero Arts stamp set and I am so happy I did – it is perfect for cards like this! To play off the sentiment, I stamped the clock hand multiple times along the clock face.

I die cut the Tessatina border out of wood veneer and left in the cut-out pieces because I liked the more solid effect.

Thanks for stopping by!

Miss You All the Time
Stamps: All the Time (Hero Arts);
Colors: Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, White (PTI);
Other: Wood veneer (SU), Tessatina border die (MemoryBox); Woodgrain Impression Plate (PTI); Circle die (Spellbinders);

Grunge Gift

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Next week is Mom’s “last chance” stamp camp (where she celebrates those sets that are retiring). My task was to make a teen card using Grunge Rock & Extreme Elements. But not just any card – a gift card for a graduate. Whew!

Now this isn’t overly “graduation” but it still qualifies 🙂

This is my first time doing grunge and thankfully it wasn’t too hard. I did place the melon splashes in their spots purposely. Also, I added a bit of turquoise to balance the ribbon bow.

To decide on the type of gift-card card to do, I did some searching – looking for a type that we hadn’t done yet, but that was also simple. Thankfully I ran across this card.

I ended up using the Rounded Tab and Word Window punches to make my opening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Congratulations
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Grunge Rock, Extreme Elements, Delightful Dozen;
Colors: Turquoise, Pear, Daffodil, Melon, White, Basic Grey;
Other: Turquoise ribbon, Round Tab punch, Word Window punch;

Raspberry Blooms

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I’ve been admiring the latest Retro Sketch (rs9) for a week, but only just now got my idea for a card (which of course is after the deadline, lol).

I used some new supplies – Celebrations set and Notched Flowers die. I chose a bright color scheme.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Celebrate
All supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Celebrations, Sending You (flower centers);
Colors: Lemon Tart, New Leaf, Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, True Black;
Other: Turning a New Leaf die, Notched Flowers die;

Berry Sweet Birthday

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I’ve been trying not to order stamp sets the day (or month) that they are released. I have a habit of getting caught up in the hoopla. However, the Strawberry Patch set could not be ignored for long. Last week when I put in an order, I added the set to my cart. I got my box yesterday!

I used Copics to color the image and may not do that all the time as it is time consuming to go around all the little seeds, but I do love how it turned out. I think I did pretty good on shading the strawberries, but one day I really want to learn how to do leaves!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Sweet Birthday Wishes
Stamps: Strawberry Patch, Strawberry Patch Sentiments (PTI);
Colors: White, Spring Rain (PTI); Black (Memento);
Other: Markers: y15, yg11, yg13, yg17, r22, r24, r27, r29, r59 (Copic); Polka Dot embossing folder (SU);

FYI – Earthy Teapot

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It is time for another For Your Inspiration challenge. Check out the latest challenge -> FYI29. This challenge is sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs.

This inspiration photo is very interesting. I love the subdued feel and earthy tones. The thing that kept catching my eye was the waterfall. It steered me to my image selection.

I picked this adorable teapot from Fresh Brewed Designs. The cute little scene was perfect for the earthy tones – and the waterfall made me think of pouring water.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Debbie
Debby
Michelle
Rochelle
Rudlis
Sara
Steph
Sylvia
Vicki

I hope you join us at For Your Inspiration!

A Little About the Challenge: The For Your Inspiration challenge is posted the first and third Thursday of each month; each challenge is open for two weeks. The first challenge of each month has a sponsor – and prize! To play, create a card based on the current challenge photo – however the inspiration hits you! Make sure you tell us in your blog post how you were inspired!

happy birthday
Stamps: Ladybug Teapot (Fresh Brewed Designs); sentiment from Hats Off (Lawn Fawn);
Colors: Kraft, Lemon, Dark Chocolate, Canyon Clay, White (PTI);
Other: Markers (Copic); Wood grain Impression plate (PTI);

Birthday Butterfly

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This is another recently acquired stamp set. I’ve been too intimidated to give it a try (there are so many awesome cards out there already).

I sorta started with Papertrey’s Make-it-Monday inspiration, but quickly left that color palette because I wanted more of a soft feel.

To color the butterfly, I started with a second generation of Melon Berry (I am looking forward to Sweet Blush ink this month!!). Then I added Copic markers (the ones designated by PTI as Melon Berry). I do like how it turned out.

The flourish panel is done by stamping the flourish on an A2 sized panel then trimming down (partly with my cutter, partly by hand). I didn’t want to pop that panel as I felt it was too much, so instead I placed my tape in the center of the panel leaving the edges the ability to float just a bit. I do like how that looks in real life.

My final touch was a Copic-colored rhinestone – it seemed to make the butterfly more cohesive by bridging the darker bits of the wings.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Birthday
All supplies Papertrey Inkunless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Beautiful Butterflies, Fancy Flourishes;
Colors: Lemon, White, Spring Moss, Melon Berry, (Smokey Shadow or Chocolate for the sentiment – can’t believe I don’t remember!);
Other: Butterfly die (PTI); Markers (Copic); hinestone (Kaiser);

Whimsical Wishes

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A month or so ago I posted about a random-file picker that I was using to help me chose stamp sets. Well, apparently I have a lot of stamps that I don’t like because lately I have been uninspired by the program’s choices! So instead, I’ve sorted my image files by date and I am choosing to work with sets I’ve recently added to my collection.

I got lucky and won this Forest Whimsy stamp for playing along in the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge! I love this gnome and was so happy when he arrived here!

This card is very simple – because I didn’t use ANY challenge (can you believe it??). Not bad for doing it “all by myself” 🙂

I definitely had fun coloring! My kiddo is learning shading in art this month and so has shown much interest in my coloring projects. I’ve promised them Copic lessons (mostly because that means I’ll learn a bit too – I’ve been winging it).

Thanks for taking a peek!

Whimsical Wishes
Stamps: Forest Whimsy (PaperSmooches);
Colors: Spring Rain, White, Chartreuse (PTI); Going Grey (SU); Black (Memento);
Other: Markers (Copic); Grass die (MFT); Twine;

Color Crush Inspiration

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Through Pinterest, I have found a few color combo sites. One of these sites is Photo Card Boutique who publishes Color Crush Palettes. They posted this palette yesterday. I loved the photo as well as the colors!

It was just the push I needed to try a technique I’d been thinking about.

I’m sure those who use Copics all the time already know that they dry on vellum, but I wasn’t sure – and I really wanted to try coloring vellum with the markers. I was so happy about how easy it really was. To add some interest to my circles, I spritzed them with rubbing alcohol. This gave the circles a great texture (very much like salted watercoloring).

I went with a “thinking of you” theme because the circles (I call them bubbles in my head) are the perfect muted, sedate color palette.

The Color Crush Palette photo helped me with the layout of the card as well. And I chose to embossed the card base with the wood grain because of the photo.

Thanks for taking a peek!

thinking of you
All supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Up, Up & Away;
Colors: Fine Linen, Kraft, Smokey Shadow, White, Vellum;
Other: Wood grain Impression Plate (PTI); YG11, B34, B37, BG99, BV08 Markers (Copics); Circle dies (Spellbinders); Brads;

Birthday Cameo

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I created this card for the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge (wmsc94).

This isn’t my normal style, but I was very inspired by the design team!

I hand cut-out the frame. I embossed the cameo with vanilla powder onto Melon cardstock then mounted it behind the frame.

The tag die has a hole in the top, so I used that to thread my ribbon through. I tied the ribbon in a double bow for extra fluffiness.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday
Stamps: Cameo Creations, Frame It (WMS);
Colors: Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Melon Berry (PTI);
Other: Pattern Paper (My Mind’s Eye); Vanilla embossing powder, Vanilla seam binding (SU); Tag #5 die (PTI);