Nichole Heady (PTI) started a weekly challenge – Make It Monday. This week’s challenge is to use distressed edges (MIM5). I was explaining the challenge to my kiddo (whose card is shown below) and they said “like frayed fabric edges”. So that got me thinking – I’d use the cotton batting to make clouds. That was the start of my card.

Since I wasn’t sure the clouds would be enough to qualify for the challenge, I decided to do traditional distressed edges. First I sewed around the panel; then I distressed the edges; finally I sponged white ink along the edges. The rest is pretty obvious.

My kiddo played along too. They used PTI paper, ribbon, and the Butterfly Dreams stamp set. Their distressed edges are the mat for the focal image – one of my old tie-dye t-shirts!

It is that time of year again – Papertrey Anniversary. Once again I find myself without supplies due to a move. Thankfully Nichole’s first anniversary celebration challenge is one I can do without supplies! All I have to do is pick my favorite card I made in 2010 using PTI supplies. Hrm…I may be able to do this challenge without supplies, but a challenge it is!

I *love* Papertrey products! But then what is not to love – they are high quality products created with much thought (and love). So it isn’t a surprise that I own quite a few sets – and that most of my cards use PTI images.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick one favorite, so I narrowed my list down to my top six and had my hubby pick his favorite. He chose the new home card I made for my brother. I used the Boards & Beams set and colored it with Copics. (Here is a link to the original post: New Home card.)

If you are interested, here are my other top choices:

• Butterfly Four Square – Uses my favorite PTI product (butterfly die).
• Birthday Fishes – I love the layout on this card.
• Pixie Pattern – This card just makes me smile – love the bright colors.
• Birthday Rose – Simple, but bold; I love the coloring of the rose.
• Inspired by PTI – Totally out of my comfort zone, but love the result.

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be moving into my new home in a couple weeks and I can’t wait to get my hands inky again!

My brother recently bought an old home and has spent much time fixing it up. I know he isn’t done, but I wanted to get a card in the mail to him.

I knew I wanted the card to feature the home from Boards & Beams. Since the image is so large, I needed a layout that was simple. I colored the image the same as the real house. I really love how this turned out!

This flower stamp is why I started buying Copic markers! To do this flower I started with colored card stock, stamped the image three times, and cut out the layers. Then I created the shadows with the Copics. I put it all together with pop-dots. I love how it turned out!

Once I had the flower done, I had to figure out the rest of the card. I wanted the flower to be center stage, so I kept the card very simple. A trend I’m just getting around to is incorporating text/book-print papers. I used the PTI background stamp to create this card base (though I wish the stamp was longer so I didn’t have to worry about the overlap). I added the rhinestones to finish off the card.

To create my background, I embossed 3/4 of my top layer with the Guide Lines impression plate. Since the lines didn’t stand out enough for me, I went back with the Faux Ribbon set and stamped white ink. Now some folks are able to ink up their impression plate and embossed thus accomplishing both steps at once, but I do to much futzing with my paper – I’d end up with ink everywhere.

Recently, there was a discussion on the PTI forum about favorite anniversary sets. This Round & Round set is the latest and I hadn’t inked it up yet, so I thought I should. Since I decided to use the image as my focal point, I found a small butterfly in Butterfly Dreams that worked. That way I could stamp the Round image in one color and not worry about trying to color just the butterfly piece different.

This week’s CAS challenge at SCS is about sympathy cards (cas91). Unfortunately, I needed to make one. I know I should have sympathy cards on hand because it is so hard to make them when I need them, but at the same time, I like making a card while the receiver is on my mind – kinda like weaving the love into the card.

I knew I wanted to keep it very neutral and calming. I just purchased the Life stamp set and decided to ink it up. When it came for choosing the ink, I was debating between Sahara Sand and River Rock. I ultimately chose River Rock because it is a warm shade, whereas Sahara Sand is cool.