May Creative Weekly, part 3

I have one more project to share for the May Creative Weekly Challenge on the Crate Paper Blog: Summer Splash. Once again, I used some of Crate's newest line: The Pier.

I decided to switch my Photo Tray for summer... I filled each opening with either a black and white photo from last summer or some Crate Paper patterned paper.

I cut my title on my Silhouette from Crate Paper patterned paper and mounted it right on the frame.

For the first opening, I layered a Crate Paper slide frame over a tag and added a PTI button and twine. The little popsicles were cut from some Crate patterned paper. For the second opening, I layered a Freckled Fawn wooden embellishment over a Crate journaling card. The photo is one of Jonah & Sage playing on the new play structure at Sage's school.

In the top opening, I stamped on a Crate Paper tag with a sentiment from PTI's Fabulous Frames. To the tag, I added a PTI button, twine and a Flair badge. Below that, I added a slide frame to my photo (one of my favourites from last summer, taken at our beach).

In the bottom corner, I stamped on a Crate tag with a CTMH stamp and added another PTI button, twine and Flair button.

Again, I added a slide frame (I love these!) to my photo of Austin & Sage at the Corn & Apple Festival  and in my last opening, I stamped "sunshine" from one of the Framed Out #3 stamp sets by PTI. I again added some PTI twine and a button. I also added a few MME enamel dots.

Thanks for looking!

May Creative Weekly, part 2

In my kitchen, I have a shelf. On this shelf, I like to display a project in a frame. For the last couple of years, it's been a Bible verse printed on some MME patterned paper.

However, I'm longing for summer. On Tuesday, I decided to change up some of the decor in our house. I took away most of the candles and other knick knacks and put out some summer themed items. And, I was inspired to change what was in the frame.

I printed up some favourite photos from a trip to the beach last summer (you might have noticed them on this layout here). But I love them so much, I decided that I'd love to have them on display for the season.

I decided to use some of Crate's newest line: The Pier and create something for the May Creative Weekly Challenge on the Crate Paper Blog: Summer Splash.

Here's what I came up with, using Crate Paper patterned paper and slide frames.

I layered the frames over all three of my photos. That blue matches the blue I have in my kitchen-- I love it!

For my journaling, I took some lyrics from my new favourite song: Every Good Thing by The Afters. I created my title and cut it out with my Silhouette Portrait, using that yummy Crate Paper woodgrain patterned paper. I'm so glad I bought two sheets of that right away!

I added a few banners I made diecutting some words on the Crate Paper patterned paper with my PTI double-ended banner die, which I embellished a little with MME enamel dots. (Wouldn't it be great if Crate started making these to coordinate with their lines? I'd love to have some in this green, that blue and off white, that soft yellow....)

I should mention that the "this" banner is from Elle's Studio, which I cut down to fit on my layout.

And here's how it looks on my shelf....

I wasn't even thinking about the wall colour when I chose the background paper, but look how well it coordinates! Love that!

Thanks for looking!

May Creative Weekly, part 1

I wanted to share the layout and card that I made for the May Creative Weekly Challenge on the Crate Paper Blog: Summer Splash.

At first sight, I fell in love with Crate's newest line: The Pier. It is just the most perfect summer line ever! I was so glad that I had waited to scrap these photos that I took last summer at our local beach, because this line was perfect for them!

I used The Pier patterned paper as well as the slide frames--- oh my goodness, I am crazy about these slide frames! They are so fun and different!

I cut some word strips from the Crate patterned paper and diecut them with my PTI double ended banner die. I also stamped a Mama Elephant stamp in aqua mist onto some spring moss cardstock and cut it out by hand.

For my title, I used PTI's Headline Alphabet stamps and dies, along with berry sorbet cardstock and ink. Then, underneath that, I stamped a Mama Elephant stamp from their new Wanderlust set.

More diecut words and a close up on those fabulous frames....

And, while I had everything still out on my table, I decided to make a card, as well. I used PTI's harvest gold cardstock as my base and layered on the Crate Paper patterned paper and slides. I diecut some more words, just like I had on my layout. I also added some stitching and some MME enamel dots.

I love these little frozen treats! They were on a journaling card, but I cut them out when I discovered that they fit perfectly into one of the frames. Did I mention how much I love these frames? LOL!

So, usually I give away my cards or sell them at church, but this one is for me. I've already put it on my computer armoire, along with a lantern and my wrought-iron bicycle and it will stay there until summer is over. ;)

By the way, I'm also submitting this card for this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking!

May AEI♥U Challenge

I thought I'd play along with this month's AEI♥U challenge at Avery Elle, which was to create a project using the following photo as inspiration:

I really loved the way the blues in the photo change from the top towards the bottom of the photo, so I decided to make a card, using Avery Elle's To The Point stamp set to stamp the background of my card. (I used PTI inks: Enchanted Evening, Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, Hawaiian Shores & Aqua Mist.) I matted this on some PTI Enchanted Evening cardstock and added some stitching with my sewing machine. I layered a piece of cardstock over the background and stamped my sentiment, using the same stamp set. Because I also loved the nautical theme of the photo, I decided to cut out some oars (using PTI aqua mist cardstock & a Silhouette cut file) and the anchor (using PTI enchanted evening cardstock and a Studio Calico cut file), on my Silhouette. I ran these through my big shot with my PTI woodgrain impression plate before adhering them to my card.

Thanks for looking!

An interactive birthday card

Today, I wanted to share an interactive birthday card that I made for my nephew, Noah, who will be turning 10 next Monday.

I wanted to include a gift card on the front. I thought of borrowing my friend Mandy's gift card zipper die, but then remembered the Fancy Pants vellum bags that I'd purchased recently and thought that they would serve the purpose quite well.

Here's my card. I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (true black) and some new Simple Stories 24/7 patterned paper & chipboard. I stamped "wishing you the" (from PTI's Strawberry Sentiments stamp set) & the "happy birthday" (from PTI's Boutique Borders: Birthday) on a piece of Simple Stories 24/7 patterned paper and slipped it behind the chipboard piece. Then I added the three chipboard stars.

For the gift card holder, I made an insert using PTI's Edgers #5 die and stamps from PTI's Movers & Shakers sentiments set. Once the  insert is pulled out...

.... you can open it to reveal the gift card inside:

Thanks for looking!

A couple more bicycle cards

I wanted to share two cards that I made using the new Pedal Pusher stamp set from Papertrey Ink.

First, I grabbed a sheet of Crate Paper patterned paper and from that, I pulled my colours for my bike. I stamped on some Rustic Cream cardstock, mixing some of my inks a little so that they would match the patterned paper. I diecut the banners using my Tag Sale #5 die. I stamped the sentiment from Birthday Style and then cut down my banner and layered it over a second banner. I also added a scalloped edge that I diecut using my heart border die.

While I was happy with my card, I wasn't thrilled with it. I did like the design though, so I started over, this time using some Trendsetter patterned paper by Fancy Pants.

Rather than stamping directly onto the background, I diecut the bicycle from rustic white cardstock and layered this over the patterned paper background. I also decided to add some buttons to the wheels to finish it off.

I really like this second one better. I think it would be a great birthday card for a teenage girl.

Thanks for looking!

PTI May Blog Hop

Once again, I'm playing along with the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.

This month's challenge was Bouquet Builder. Nichole supplied us with seven colour schemes and challenged us to use one of them with our favourite floral set to create a card.

Now, normally, I like to wait until I get my new PTI stamps in the mail and use those to create my blog hop projects. However, since I didn't order any floral stamps last month (shocking, I know!), I figured that I could get a head start on the challenge, since my stamps don't usually arrive until a couple of days before the hop.

I figured I had seven floral sets in my stamp stash... so I challenged myself to create seven cards, using a different floral set for each colour combo.

Okay, so here are the cards that I made...

I paired this colour combo with Rosie Posie. I used a soft stone panel that I'd stamped with my WMS woodgrain stamp (leftover from these cards ). On this, I layered a journaling tag, that I stamped with the "today is:" stamp from Fabulous Frames, as well as with some Stylish Sentiments: Birthday sentiments ("your birthday" & "wish big.") I layered on the blooms and leaves and added an orange zest and pure poppy button, as well as some twine.

I was totally inspired by this photo to create my card, using my Embroidered Blooms set. I stamped the leaves using Turning A New Leaf. The leaves were diecut from Beautiful Blooms II #2, as well as Lovely Layers. I used the Embroidered Blooms and Lovely Layers stamps to stamp on my blooms. I adhered these to my card and added some MME enamel dots for the flower centres.

Again, I was inspired by the inspiration photo for my card. I used Cutting Garden to create my blooms. I used my Lawn Fawn Summertime Charm jar die to diecut some kraft cardstock to create my crock. I stamped on it using a sentiment from Bountiful Banners and the leaves from Modern Wood Mats. I mounted this all on my Simple Stripes impressed background and a little twine finished it off.

I decided to make a graduation card for my niece using this colour combo and The Sweet Life. I diecut a frame from some Pretty Party by Crate Paper patterned paper and layered this over some more patterned paper from the same line. I stamped my sentiment, from Happy Day, using New Leaf and Ocean Tides ink (combined together).

For this colour combo, I used Lovely Layers. I stamped the one solid image repeatedly on the vintage cream cardstock background in Versamark and then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder. I don't have pinefeather ink or cardstock, so I used Bazzill for the darkest green. I also used my Limitless Layers: Squares dies and my double-ended banner die. The decorative brad I used for the flower centre is Echo Park. I stamped the sentiment (using Wreath for All Seasons) in New Leaf ink.

For this next colour combo.... I decided to use the new PTI stamp set I ordered this month: Pedal Pusher. I stamped the bike in Enchanted Evening (as I don't have royal velvet) on a fine linen diecut. I masked the seat and handle bars so it would look more like my own bike. I created the background scene by stamping Botanical Sihouettes along the middle (but I masked off the bottom, so they wouldn't be as tall). I used New Leaf for the stalks, as I don't have Pinefeather. For the sky, I diecut some clouds from post it notes and then added Blueberry Sky ink using my Tim Holtz Blending tool. I used the same tool to add fine linen for the road. I let Sage choose the sentiment... and then turned around and gave it to her-- she needed some cheering up & encouragement after losing a family game of Risk that evening. ;)

And, lastly, I created this card using Friends Til the End. I stamped the two flowers from the set on Fine Linen cardstock, using Fine Linen ink. I diecut the flower from Winter Wisteria and Lavender Moon cardstock and then mounted them together. I stamped the flower center on Sweet Blush cardstock and then cut it out by hand. To hide the seem, I adhered a diecut banner from Bountiful Banners (the sentiment is from this same set.)

(By the way, I figured out later that I actually have nine floral stamps in my stash, not seven, as I'd previously thought. I didn't end up using Lace Bouquet and Funky Florals. ;) )

Thanks for looking!

A quick card

Just popping in to share the card that I made for the latest 10 Minute Craft Dash, where the challenge is to create a card in less than 10 minutes using the colour palette on the logo above.

I decided to ink up my new PTI Pedal Pusher set. I found some coordinating Authentique patterned paper and got to work...

Now, I have to confess, this is my second attempt. For the first one, I stamped on rustic white cardstock, using the same design.... but I messed up on the basket filler. I stamped the flowers green, thinking they were suppose to be leaves... sigh. So, I started over.

Because I was using the same design (and could reuse the scalloped edge that I diecut using my heart border die), this one went quite quickly. Here it is:

I decided to use some Crate Paper as my background this time. I even had time to add stitching, which made me happy. :)

And my time...

Thanks for looking!

A trio of baby cards

I wanted to share a trio of baby cards that I made using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: Paper-Piecing.

For all three cards, I used Teresa Collins patterned paper and PTI's Tremendous Treats: Birthday stamp set.

For my first card, I used the PTI Hexagons cover plate to diecut my cardstock and patterned paper. I layered my paper-pieced elephant and balloons on a Half & Half diecut. The sentiment is selectively inked from the Simple Sentiments stamp set.

I used some leftover hexagons to make my next card. This time I paper pieced the little chick and added a sentiment from PTI's On the Farm, stamped on a double-ended banner diecut. A couple of My Mind's Eye decorative brads finish it off.

And lastly, a baby card using the same little elephant, but this time for a baby girl, layered on a couple of Limitless Layers: Oval diecuts.

I cut the "J" from a piece of My Mind's Eye patterned paper, thinking it would be a neat way to personalize the baby's card by using her first initial.

Thanks for looking!