Life is a beautiful ride

I'm popping in today to post a layout that I made for the

 September Sketch Challenge on the My Mind's Eye blog.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout...

I used some of my new My Mind's Eye patterned paper and decorative brads.

I fussy cut the title from one of the sheets of patterned paper. 

I stamped a sentiment from PTI's Pedal Pusher as a sub-title.

Thanks for looking!

Fusion #18

When I saw Fusion #18 Challenge, I knew it would be a great opportunity

to make a card for a friend using my PTI Scent-imentals set.

I decided to use the inspiration photo and the sketch.

Here's my card:

I'd started off with a soft stone mat stack but ended up smearing my stamped sentiment. 
I was happy with how I'd stamped the cup & the coffee in it, 
so I used my new Scent-imentals dies to diecut it. 
Then, I layered it on the black mat stack, which looked even better. 
I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder.

For the heart on the coffee cup, I heat embossed it with red zing powder on black cardstock 

and then diecut it.

I impressed the background with my PTI Simple Stripes impression plate and added some banners cut with Get a Handle on It from some Studio Calico patterned paper.

I'm also linking this card up for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking!

A fall fox

When I first saw Danielle's Make It Monday Challenge at Papertrey Ink, where she uses dimensional paste to create a flocked look on her cards, I figured I couldn't participate because I don't have any dimensional paste.

Then, Danielle linked to Cornelia's blog, where she shares a recipe to make your own dimensional paste.

I still wasn't sure if I would participate, since I only own two PTI cover plates, but then I saw

this fabulous card that Debby Hughes made and I was inspired.

So, I mixed up a batch of dimensional paste, substituting white glue for the white paint. 

And here's what I made...

I used the Mighty Oak cover plate for my technique.

For my fox, I paper-pieced him with rustic white and canyon clay card stock.

Sage has this t-shirt, which sparked the idea to give the fox a scarf.

I used the scarf from my SSS Stylish Simon stamp set and trimmed it down.

I was going to paper-piece it for the stripes, but then I reminded myself that I'm not a crazy person,

so I water coloured it with some classic kraft ink instead.

I added his head and the speech bubble with some dimensional adhesive.

I gave this card to Sage. She and I have been pretty sad that summer is over (& we can't buy watermelon in the store anymore!) So, I wanted to encourage her to find the blessings of each season and told her to write five of them on the back of the card.

She wrote six:

1. how beautiful it looks outside

2. school

3. all the days I can play inside

4. my birthday

5. my new teachers

6. all the time I get to spend with you

Isn't she the sweetest?

By the way, I'm also linking this card up for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking!

Gossamer Blue Anniversary Challenge

Note: This is my third post for today.
Please scroll down to see my CAS(E) this Sketch post  and
my September Release post for Fresh Squeezed Stamps.

Gossamer Blue is having a sale and a sketch challenge to celebrate their anniversary.

I decided to play along with the sketch...

At first, I was a little stumped on what to create, because of the numbers along the side of the photo.

Then, I came across the photo I took of my kids on their first day of school earlier this month.

I pulled out some Fancy Pants patterned papers and

my layout came together quite quickly after that.

I fussy cut the 9, 6 & 4 from a sheet of Fancy Pants paper. 

For my title, I cut a piece of navy blue paper and rubbed some white ink on it with a Kleenex to give it more of a chalkboard feel. Then I added the Simon Says Stamp hello diecut and 

the PTI modern alphabet diecut letters over top. 

The little ampersand is also a modern alphabet die.

For my journaling, I cut the three tags from a sheet of Fancy Pants paper. 

I typed my journaling on my typewriter and adhered it to the grouping of tags,

stitching it in place with my sewing machine.

Some twine in each tag and some enamel dots finish it off.

I'm also linking this up for this month's Pages With Papertrey #25 challenge: no cardstock.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) this Sketch #47

Note: This is my second post for today.
Please scroll down to see my September Release post for Fresh Squeezed Stamps.

Today I'm sharing Sketch #47 by Chrissy Larson:

Here's the card I made with it:

I was at a crop with a friend when I stamped this card, so I was able to borrow her MFT dies. :) I stamped some PTI classic kraft cardstock with my PTI Chevron Stripes set. Then I added a diecut word & feather, cut from patterned paper. A button and twine finish it off.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch and to play along, if you'd like. You have until Thursday, October 3rd to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

A Wee Christmas

Welcome to Day 3 of the peeks for the September release for 

Fresh Squeezed Stamps!

Today, we're featuring a stamp set called A Wee Christmas. 

It has some adorable and creative Christmas images in it, as well as some lovely sentiments!

Here's the card I made with it...

I had fun paper-piecing this one! 

I stamped three trees onto the mat, as well as that tiny little reindeer 

(I had to mask him a little... but he's so cute!) 

I found some patterned paper in my stash that I thought worked well with these folksy images.

I stamped one of the sentiments directly onto the patterned paper underneath.

A little twine finishes it off.

Head on over to the Fresh Squeezed Stamps blog for more inspiration 

from the other DT members using A Wee Christmas. 

There you can see the full stamp set AND leave a comment to be entered into the draw to win it!

Thanks for looking!

PTI September Blog Hop

Note: this is my second post for the day. 

To see my September release post for Fresh Squeezed Stamps, please scroll down.

It's the 25th, which means it's time for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.

This month's challenge is wreaths.

I decided to make a card and a layout for the challenge.

First up, my card. I used my Wreath for All Seasons stamp set. 

I stamped the branch stamp in Versamark and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. Then I stamped the berries and heat embossed them with red embossing powder. 

I diecut a double-ended banner die from pure poppy cardstock and heat embossed my sentiment in gold. 

I layered the patterned paper panel over some gold shimmer card stock.

I'm also linking this card up to the Moxie Fab World All That Glitters is Gold Challenge
and Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes Challenge.

When I'd first seen the challenge, I'd been toying with the idea of creating a layout using the theme. 

Here's what I came up with.

Can you guess what I used to make the wreath?

It's the Might Oak cover plate-- the tree trunk. I diecut 10 of them from some dark woodgrain Echo Park patterned paper and layered them on my Teresa Collins patterned paper. 

Here's a close up.

I added some leaves that got diecut along with the tree trunk... I just flipped them over first. 

Then I added a few groups of buttons.

For my title, I stamped my sentiment from Counting My Blessings.

I diecut the "grateful" from aqua mist cardstock. 

Then I stamped it with a WMS feather stamp and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

Around my photo, I added some more feathers, which I stamped first with versamark and then heat embossed with clear (aqua mist) and white (rustic white) embossing powder. 

A few large buttons finish it off.

Thanks for looking!