Madison Avenue

Catching Up

I know I posted on Friday but it feels like forever since I have been able to post.  I just have trouble finding the time sometimes you know?!  Thought I would quickly share a birthday card I made using Damask Designs and a different color combo of Spring Rain, Melon Berry, True Black and Fresh Snow.  Had a scrap of Spring Rain stamped with damask in Fresh Snow hanging around and decided to try to use it up.  Came up with this different and odd sized card, I adapted the size to fit the little pieces I was trying to fit together.  Do you ever do that?  Sometimes I just get sick of standard sized cards anyway and feel the need to mix it up! 

 

So I stamped another damask design in Spring Rain and Melon Berry just kinda layering them and then stamped more on the Melon Berry flower I cut with my Cuttlebug, love the texture that stamping on a die cut gives.  I added a True Black button to the center.  The sentiment was stamped in True Black on Linen Vellum but I thought it was too sheer to really show it off so I added a rectangle of SS White to the back of it which gave the added benefit of hiding my adhesive.  I tied a lovely piece of Melon Berry satin to the front and called it done!

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Damask Designs (PTI); Cardstock - SS White, True Black, Linen Vellum, Spring Rain, Melon Berry (PTI); Ink - Fresh Snow, True Black, Spring Rain, Melon Berry (PTI); Other - True Black Vintage Button (PTI), Melon Berry Satin Ribbon (PTI), Mega Scalloped Square Punch (Marvy), Flower Die (Provo Craft)

Hope you are all having a great week!  I feel like this week is going to be busy and next week is Spring Break, wow time flies huh?  Mikey will be 10 months next week, he is into everything right now!

For Lauren

Good Morning!  Just popping in to post about a very wonderful woman who is undergoing a little surgery today - Lauren Meader, one of my design team cohorts for Papertrey Ink and the designer behind all those fabulous My Timeless Templates (if you haven't used one, check out the free ones Papertrey has to offer, you will love them!).  Anyhow, I made her a little Feel Better card (sentiment from Mega Mixed Messages) using the flowers from With Sympathy similar to how Nichole did here.  I absolutely love how they turned out, gorgeous, I might have to do a set of simple notecards with them.  I paired them flower images with some more of that DCWV Citrus paper, it is lovely!

 

The little linen border is punched with the Apron Lace punch from Fiskars which I adore.  I wrapped some ribbon around the card front but didn't want to bulk it up too much so I tied it with some twine, perfect little accent!

  

You can see that I added some dimension but the card was still flat enough to send with one stamp - always a good thing!!

 

Supplies (All PTI unless otherwise noted):  Stamps - Mega Mixed Messages, With Sympathy, Borders and Corners Circle; Ink - Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow; Cardstock - Kraft, SS White, Linen Vellum, Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Citrus Matstack (DCWV); Other - Spring Moss Stitched Ribbon, Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (EK Success), Super Jumbo Circle Punch (Marvy); Mega Scalloped Circle Punch (Marvy), Twine

So I wish Lauren a speedy recovery and hope she gets a chance to take it easy for a while - although she has three little ones so that might be difficult!  Have a happy Friday and nice weekend!!!

Friends for Life

Hello there!  Happy Wednesday!  Having a full day of work, kids, and just plain life today!  I have my baby taking a nice little nap, my big boy working on subtraction problems (wow, how did he get so big so quick?) and thought I would take a quick moment to post on the ol' blog.  I made this card with Lisa's Life set using SU! ink cause you can watercolor it and I wanted to soften all the edges of the images.  Used Tangerine Tango, Real Red, So Saffron, and Old Olive to create my focal panel on watercolor paper, then I just washed over all the images with a bit of water.  I let it dry and added the sentiment from Tags for Spring in Papertrey's True Black ink.  I also sponged some Spring Moss ink over everything just cause I like to do that.  The cardbase is Spring Moss, then Pure Poppy with Ripe Avocado grosgrain ribbon.  Button is from my stash, think it is SU!, tied with some twine.

 

Here's a closer look at the main image panel, I really like how it turned out, I alternated stamping the larger and small of these images from the set.

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Life, Tags for Spring (PTI); Ink - Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Read Red, Old Olive (SU!), True Black (PTI); Cardstock - Spring Moss, Pure Poppy (PTI), Watercolor Paper; Other - Ripe Avocado Grosgrain Ribbon (PTI), Button (SU!)

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you are enjoying the day!  We are off to get t-ball pictures taken tonight!

Spingtime Citrus Love

Happy Monday all!  Just getting home and trying to get the baby down for a nap...he has figured out how to pull himself up in his crib and laying down is proving to be a bit difficult lately.  He is so funny though and proud of himself!  It was a wonderful first day of Spring around here, spent some time in the sun with the kids only to spend the weekend with rain and snow falling at our house, but lucky for us the sun has returned today.  So while we had lots of sun I was inspired to make the lovely citrusy card - I used some patterned paper from a DCWV Citrus mat pak I found at Joann's with the most lovely colors.  The tag is from Tags for Spring, I punched out the center first after inking it with Summer Sunrise and Pure Poppy, then stamped it again in Ripe Avocado on Kraft cardstock.  I have been using the dotted circle border from Borders and Corners Circle so much lately, just love the little punch it adds.  Stamped it here in Fresh Snow ink. 

 

The little jewel flower in the center is from K&Company I think...and I added the dotted circles on the background paper in Spring Moss.

 

And can't resist sharing a picture of my little one standing in the crib - isn't he melt your heart cute?!  I so enjoy every minute with him!!!

 

Have a happy Monday afternoon, I will be back this week cause I have been creating like crazy lately!

Happy Spring!

Happy first day of Spring everyone!  The sun is out in our neck of the woods and it promises to be a warm day....but not for long, rain and/or snow predicted for the weekend!!!  I will enjoy it today with my boys though! 

Another card made for the Papertrey release using Wishing You.  I used this great product that I have had forever, they are called Maple Cards and I purchased them at Impress - they are really not any thicker than Papertrey cardstock and yet give your card a whole new dimension.  I have a whole bunch of them and am going to try to use them more!!  I stamped the tulip image directly on the maple with Melon Berry, New Leaf and True Black inks.  True to Papertrey style, all the elements in the set are separate allowing for wonderful customization of color.  I sponged Spring Moss of the edges to soften it up, it takes ink beautifully.  I added a background piece stamped with a grid pattern from Journaling Lines and a new leaf strip with a Background Basics Retro pattern stamped on it.  Add some buttons - do you see the cool way I threaded the buttons???, stitching, twice and lots of distressing.  I really like the way this one turned out.  The sentiment is from Mega Mixed Messages. 

 

Another view of the dimension of the Maple Cards and the cute little buttons!

 

Supplies:

Stamps - Wishing You, Journaling Lines, Background Basics Retro, Mega Mixed Messages
Ink - Melon Berry, New Leaf, True Black, Spring Moss
Cardstock - Vintage Cream, Melon Berry, New Leaf
Other - Maple Card (Impress), Vintage Cream and Fresh Snow Vintage Buttons, Melon Berry Grosgrain, Corner Rounder (EK Success), Sewing Machine, Twine

Thank you for stopping by for a visit!  Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Simple Life

Just another little card I made with Lisa's Life set.  A different size for me, 3x5.5, really like how those turn out, I will be making more for sure!  I stamped the image on Melon Berry in Melon Berry ink then followed it up with the same image in Fresh Snow, just moved a slight bit.  Add a Linen Vellum mat, sewing, brads, Bitty Dot Basics Paper, fancy little Apron Lace border punch (from Fiskars), sponging, a New Leaf Button, Bitty Dots Melon Berry Ribbon, sweet little sentiment, and you have a cutie card to brighten someones day!

 

I am really liking rounding one corner for a little interest, usually I round the corresponding corner on the inside of the card but this time I left it square so the inside of the card can peek through!

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Life; Ink - Melon Berry, Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado; Cardstock - Dark Chocolate, Melon Berry, Ripe Avocado, Linen Vellum, Bitty Dot Basics Patterned Paper; Other - Brown Brads (Bazzill), Scalloped Corner Punch (Fiskars), Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars), Melon Berry Bitty Dot Ribbon (PTI), New Leaf Vintage Button (PTI)

Hope you are enjoying your night, I am going to watch AI, craft a little, and eat some strawberry shortcake with the hubby!  Hugs!!!

March Papertrey Release

Another wonderful Papertrey Ink release today!!  Hooray, the stamp designers created some beautiful sets (as always) and I had lots of fun playing with them!  I can't wait to make more stuff with them, they are all beautiful.  You already saw a peek of my Mother project in my last post, that set is a wonderful set full of quotes (and some basics) for any special person in your life.  I will share one piece from each set and save a few more to share over the rest of the week - okay??

First up is Life by Lisa Johnson, love the soft silhouettes in this set, I am sure to use it over and over.  Loved using my Scor-Pal to create a grid background, loved slightly bending the sentiment and following the curve of the image I decided to use and love that cute button (Melon Berry by the way).

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Life; Ink - Melon Berry, Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss; Cardstock - Melon Berry, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, SS White, Bitty Dot Basics Patterned Paper; Other - Fresh Snow Twill, Melon Berry Vintage Button, Scor-Pal, Square Punches (EK Success), Twine, Sponge

 

Next up is Wishing You by Melissa Bickford, a wonderful tulip set that is so so pretty and I cannot wait to use it more and more!  I am addicted to the Bitty Dot Basics Patterned Paper so I used more of it here - bright color combo of New Leaf and Raspberry Fizz.  A pretty simple card but with a lot of punch!

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Wishing You, Borders & Corners Circle; Ink - True Black, Fresh Snow, Raspberry Fizz, New Leaf; Cardstock - New Leaf, SS White, True Black, Bitty Dot Basics Patterned Paper; Other - Hibiscus Burst Vintage Button, True Black Gingham Ribbon, Tag Die (Spellbinders),  Scalloped Circle Punch (Marvy)

   

Last for today is Guide Lines Two by Nichole, I also incorporated the new Mega Mixed Messages with this card, love those larger sentiments!  The patterned paper I created uses Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides on White Shimmer paper, it really packs a punch especially in real life!

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Guide Lines Two, Mega Mixed Messages; Ink - Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Ocean Tides, True Black; Cardstock - Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Ocean Tides, White Shimmer; Other - Border Punch (EK Success); Fresh Snow Velvet Ribbon, True Black Vintage Button, Circle Punch (Marvy), Stickles

 

Thanks for stopping by and for supporting Papertrey, they really are a great company with more great stuff on the way next month!!!  Have a great rest of your Sunday, I am off to eat a quick dinner with the family!  I took the weekend off from stamping cause I needed to take a break and spend some time with the family and cleaning up my house, I am feeling much more refreshed and ready to stamp next week!!

Celebrating Mothers

This month Nichole gave us a very special assignment to make a gift and card for our mom's to show them how much they mean to us and inspire all of you to get started on those Mother's Day gifts.  So I wanted to share a bit about my mom along with my project.  My mom has 5 of us kids, 4 girls and 1 boy and 5 grandchildren (so far!) - ironically 4 boys and 1 girl.   She has always been such a wonderful person in my life, not only my mom but my friend too.  She may not have always liked the decisions I have made but she has always supported me.  I love that we are so close, I truly don't know what I would do without her and I know all my siblings feel exactly the same way.  Here is a cute picture of my mom with all of her grandkids taken last year, they all love her so much!!!

   

So I made this little mixed media picture which kinda ended up as a scrapbook page and a matching card using the new Mother set and the Guide Lines Two set. I really tried to keep my mom's style in mind when I made it and I wanted her to know how much I look up to her as a mother and grandmother. 

 

Make sure to check my PTI gallery on release night for more pictures and details.  I am really sick today so this is short really but I had to get it up for you all to enjoy.  Please click on all the Papertrey girls links in my sidebar to see their wonderful creations.  And Nichole has compiled a fabulous download on her blog with all the DT projects, complete with directions for making your own, it is fabulous!!  Thanks for checking in with me!

Melon Damask

Are all of you watching the wonderful previews from Nichole and some of the other Papertrey girls?!  They are all fabulous!  You will love the new sets, they are gorgeous, fun and easy to work with.

Anyhow, tonight a little card using Dawn's Damask Designs set and some pretty colors!  I love the new Melon Berry, it is so lovely and rich.  I stamped one of the background stamps with Melon Berry on Linen Vellum cardstock and adhered it over a slightly larger white piece, adding a little Aqua Mist border.  See that cute border punch??  It is one of the new EK Success punches that fold up, I got it at Michael's and they are on sale right now!!!  They have so many cute ones!  Okay, simple card with lots of cute details!

 

For the focal point, I stamped the larger damask on White Shimmer cardstock with Aqua Mist ink and they sentiment in Melon Berry ink.  I also used scalloped scissors to cut on edge.  The flowers are both EK Success punches and that is a little Melon Berry Vintage button.

 

Supplies:  Stamps - Damask Designs; Ink - Melon Berry, Aqua Mist; Cardstock - White Shimmer, Aqua Mist, Melon Berry, Ocean Tides, SS White, Linen Vellum; Other - Ocean Tides Swiss Dot Ribbon, Melon Berry Vintage Button, Flower Punches, Wavy Border Punch (EK Success)

 

Thank you for stopping by today!  Have a great Wednesday!  Tomorrow a sneak peek of a special Papertrey release project! 

Easter Greetings

Thought I would share a simple Easter card I made with some of the last release stuff from Papertrey - Tags for Spring and Background Basics: Retro.  I took color inspiration from that pretty designer paper from Crate Paper, it is so pretty and spring like.  It matched Melon Berry really well and I pulled Lemon Tart, Spring Rain and Spring Moss out as well.  These colors all say spring to me and just make me smile.  Lots of sponging going on too, gives more definition. 

 

A closer look at the focal point...made from Nestabilities - love those:)!!

Supplies:  Stamps - Tags for Spring, Background Basics: Retro; Ink - Spring Moss, Spring Rain, Melon Berry, Fresh Snow; Paper - SS White, Spring Rain, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, Melon Berry, DP by Crate Paper; Other - Vintage Button Collection (PTI), Square and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Spring Moss Stitched Ribbon (PTI)

Sorry not terribly talkative today - lots to get accomplished and not enough hours in the day!!!  Have a great Monday!  And make sure to stop by Nichole's blog tonight (midnight EST) for the start of this months countdown!