Welcome Little One

Thought I would start making some baby cards, since there are a few babies entering the world very soon from close friends.  Some will be first-time parents, some will be grandparents, and I am soooo excited for all of them!!  On this sweet baby girl card, I  used Echo Park papers, and a Verve Sketch from May (VLV5)  The stamped images are from PTI- tag its 4, and Bitty Baby Blessings. I also used some Hero Arts lace, bakers twine, and a bitty clothespin for accents.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!!

Birthday Wishes

Hello there, here is a simple birthday card.  I used a white cardstock base and sponged a blue sky on the background.  Then, I cut a green paper strip (Echo Park) to represent grass. All of the stamped images are from PTI- Way to Go Kiddo set.  I just love these little snails.  I painted some glossy accents on their shells, to give them a little shine.  The tree is colored with Copic markers.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Thanks, Teacher

Here's a thank you card I made for the teachers at the end of the school year.  I used the new rainbow die from My Favorite Things (MFT) as well as their rolled daisy die. The stamped images are from the PTI- School Time set and the clouds are PTI dies as well.  All of the strips on the rainbow are cut from Echo Park pattern papers. The daisy is also cut from Echo Park papers.

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by.

HUGE, and I mean HUGE, Paper Maniac sale

Paper Maniac is going out of business, and Patti is having a huge sale.  Check out the storefront for all of the details and for amazing sales on all your favorite goodies!!

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July weekend!!

PTI June Blog Hop

Hello Everyone, its the 25th and its time for another FUN installment of the PTI Blog Hop Challenge.  This months challenge is an inspiration challenge.  We had to use the photo below as the inspiration for our projects.  I just love all the rainbow colors, and thought a baby card was in order.

Here is the inspiration photo:

On my card, I used the new Bundle of Love stamp set.  I cut all the colored strips using the XL RicRac die.  I stamped the stork over the strips and then again on white cardstock.  I cut out just the body of the stork and placed it over the strips (and where the body of the stork is on the card front).  I stamped the baby on white cardstock as well, and cut it out, placing it under the stork's beak. Last, I stamped the triangular baby blanket in green and adhered to the cardfront.

Don't forget to stop by the PTI Blog for the list of awesome card designers who are playing along today.

Enjoy the hop and have a great weekend.

Supplies: All from PTI: Stamps: Bundle of Love. Cardstock: White, Kraft, Chartreuse, Harvest Gold, Blush, Melon Berry, Terracotta, Pure Poppy, Scarlet, Spring Rain, and Hawaiian Shores.  Die: XL RicRac Border.  Accents: Rhinestones.

Happy Birthday

Here is a bright and cheerful birthday card! Look at that, I used Simple Circles and the matching border die again.  :-) I guess I just love the simplicity of this die and stamp set. It makes a quick, yet awesome design in a jiffy. This is a PTI Hawaiian Shores card base using the simple circles elements stated above, as well as Wonderful Words die and Wonderful Words Additions stamp.  Easy. Bright. Fun.

Have a great day!!

Graduation Invite

Here is the graduation invitations I made for the school- I had to send them to all the sending parishes and to all of the teachers.  It was so much fun making these invitations, and a little bittersweet at the same time.  I really can't believe how fast the year flew by. So proud of my little girl. 

The navy card base is cut using a spellbinders grand scalloped square die.  The white square invitation layer is computer printed and then cut using a spellbinders grand classic square die.  The circle border across the top is cut from the PTI Simple circles border die and then stamped using Boy Basics: Simple Circles in various inks. The graduation cap comes from the For the Graduate set and is stamped in Night of Navy ink.

Thanks for stopping by.   

Honoring an Incredible Father

Hey peeeeeeps! How goes it? I cannot believe its been nearly a month that I havent blogged. It has been so hectic around here lately. My little angel graduated from Kindergarten last week, and I was pretty involved in the preparations with the school.  And, my son is into everything, and non-stop.  By the time the babes go to sleep, I am ready myself!! Hope everyone is well.

Here's a fun Father's Day card I made for my incredible husband.  I have been in such an "orange" mode lately.  What does that mean?? I hardly ever use orange, and lately I have been using it on everything. LOL.

I used the following stamps on this card:  PTI: Boy Basics: Simple Circles, My Hero/My Dad.  The die cut word "you" comes from the PTI Wonderful Words die set.  And the Circle border die is also from PTI.  I used orange, red and black inks and a kraft card base.  

and......this is the most incredible husband and father on earth.  I. LOVE. THIS. MAN!!!

(yes, that's a baby bear he is holding.  Our neighbors had a mama and 3 cubs denned up under their enclosed deck all winter.  This spring they heard weird noises coming from under their deck.  They called Eric, who is a police officer.  Eric contacted Fish and Wildlife Dept, and when the bear response team came out, they let us hold the babies, while they tagged the mama bear)

love you, Eric!! you are the BEST!!!

Happy Birthday card

Here's a fun Happy Birthday card, using a paper flower medallion on the front. I really like making these paper flowers, they are fun, and add interesting element to your cards.  The card is just a PTI Pure Poppy cardstock with Beautiful Blooms pattern paper.  The stamped sentiments come from the Big Birthday Wishes and Birthday Bash Sentiments stamp sets.

Here is the inside of the card, using the same elements.

Thanks so much for stopping by, have a great day!

Danny's 1st Birthday Invites

This invitation goes back to February, when Danny turned one! I cant believe that I didn't write this post until now.  I embossed the card front with the PTI By The Numbers Impression Plate.  I wanted to keep the design simple as I had several of these to make, so, I just used the Mat Stack 3 die and matching stamp set to create the focal point. The number 1 is cut using the Numbers dies, and the sentiments come from the Big Birthday Wishes stamp set. The edged circle is cut from a Limitless Layers die. I then tied orange bakers twine around the card to finish it off.

The inside of the invitation is computer printed.  The caterpillar comes from the Way to Go, Kiddo stamp set and is colored with Copic markers. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful, safe weekend.

Graduation Success

Hello there, I hope everyone is having a good week. I made this card for my one of my awesome cousins who just graduated college! I wanted to keep the card clean, simple and masculine in theme.  I figured a black card base with bright colored stars would really pop. I used the PTI stamp set For the Graduate and the Seeing Stars dies. The colors used are: Black, Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf and Harvest Gold. I stamped the sentiment in Fresh Snow ink onto the black cardstock, then swiped the edges of the card in Fresh Snow ink as well.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Lucky To Have You- PTI Blog Hop

Hi Everyone! Happy 25th of the Month and that means its time for PTI's Blog Hop. The challenge theme this month is: FLOWERS.

The Challenge:

May is the month when many flowers finally go into full bloom after a long winter's sleep. For the blog hop this month we want to see your favorite take on flowers. You can stamp backgrounds, create custom floral embellishments, showcase unique flower center additions (buttons, rhinestones, beads, etc...), flowers die-cut from different materials (like fabric, felt, vellum, etc...) or anything else you can dream up! We are looking forward to seeing all of your amazing creations!

My circle card simply uses flowers on the background paper.  I love how there is a slight touch of Aqua Mist on these flowers, that matched my wonderful words die cut perfectly. The lace accent (Hero Arts) also has little flowers on the ends.  I used the PTI stamp set, Wonderful Words Additions along with the "Lucky" die cut that matches the set.

Check out the PTI Blog to catch the details on playing along in the challenge today, as well as the InLinkz list to see all the other inspiring projects.

Have a fabulous day!

Have a Wonderful Day

Here is another card I made using the awesome embossing technique from PTI's Make it Monday series. This technique was MIM #11- Embossing with Dies. For the embossed elements on this card, I used the Vineyard impression plate with the Mat Stack 4 die. I really like how the impressions come out on this technique.  The stamp sets used are: Mat Stack 4 collection, Tag Its 3, Flower Fusion 1.  The colors are: Raspberry izz, New Leaf, Harvest Gold and white.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Congratulations!

Here's a really quick Congratulations card- I designed this as "event neutral" so it could be used for anything, Baby, Religious events, Graduations, etc. I used White cardstock and the PTI stamp set: Way to Go, Kiddo.  The Pattern paper strip is from Echo Park.

Thanks for stopping by, Have a great day!

Another Mom Card

Catching up on some blog posts- here's another Mother's Day card. I liked trying out a new technique from Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday series. This technique is called: Embossing with Dies.  I loved how simple and fun this technique turned out to be.

I used the PTI color scheme of White, Harvest Gold, New Leaf and Raspberry Fizz on this card. The stamp sets are: Flower Fusion #3, Mat Stack 4 Collection, and the Vineyard Impression plate was used with the Mat Stack 4 die as the embossed area.

Try out this fun technique today! Thanks for stopping by!

Better than Mom

Hi everyone- wow, I have not posted in a while! Between being AWAY on vacation for the kids' spring break and fighting allergies since we returned, I have been pretty beat. I hope you all are heathly and feeling great!  It's with a heavy heart that I write this post.  My dear friend, Patti, is closing her store, Paper Maniac. It has been a great pleasure to have the opportunity to design for her over the years.  

She is offering 30% off all merchandise, use the discount code GOODBYE at checkout. 

So, please visit www.papermaniac.com today!!

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for visiting.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI: Chevron Stripes.  Verve: Love Deepens.
Paper: White CS
Ink: Memento: Angel Pink, London Fog and Plum.
Accessories: Websters Pages Stick Pin, Plum ribbon, Spellbinders Label 18 die.

Paper Maniac- May Sale

Have you checked out this awesome Paper Maniac sale yet??  Hurry, its ending on the 15th!! Lots of new items in the store now too.

www.papermaniac.com

Have a great night!!

Welcome Little One

Here is a sweet baby girl card that I made for a friend at work, who just welcomed his 1st grandchild. I LOVE making baby cards, and this is the first one I have made in a while. I used a Kraft card base with Echo Park: Springtime papers.  I stamped the image and sentiment (from Taylored Expressions: Hangin' Out stamp set) onto a vanilla Spellbinders: Lattice Rectangle die cut. I colored the image with Copic markers and added glittery accents with Stickles on the flowers.  I then cut felt flowers using the PTI flower fusion dies, and added rhinestones to the centers. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Papertrey Ink April Blog Hop Challenge

Hey everyone, its the 25th, and that means its the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge!  This month's challenge gets you creating for the men in your life:

The Challenge:

This month's blog hop is dedicated to all the boys and men in our lives! Now's your chance to create Father's Day projects, boy birthday cards and more to build up your stash! Focus on masculine color schemes, fresh pattern combinations, understated embellishments and unique uses of images you may already have in your stash!

Here's my card for the challenge, its a sweet little boy birthday card.  I just love this little turtle from the Tiny Treats: Birthday stamp set.  (I secretly hope that PTI turns this turtle into it's own Boy Basics stamp set!!) I used PTI white cardstock as the card base.  The squares are punched from Basic Grey Hello Luscious pattern papers.  The turtle is stamped onto a Spellbinders: Lattice Rectangles die cut, and I sponged the edges with Memento: Pear Tart ink. I colored the turtle with Copic markers, and then used glossy accents on its shell, to make it shiny.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day and enjoy the hop!!

Hi There

Hi There, Paper Maniacs! Here's a fun card made using the new Basic Grey- Hello Luscious papers, along with Websters Pages Spring Market papers and Hero Arts stamps. I stamped the large house stamp onto the Spring Market papers two times: once on the cream colored sheet and once on the red polka dotted sheet. I cut the roof off the red sheet and adhered it to the house. I colored all the accents on the house with Copic markers. The Hello Luscious paper is the hills- I liked how this pattern resembled rolling hills, so I cut out a strip, rounding the hills, and adhered to the bottom of the white card base. Then, I adhered the house. I then stippled blue ink around all the leftover white space, to resemble the sky. The potted plant images also come from the Hero Arts stamp set. Thanks for stopping by today. There is just a few more days left of the amazing April sale, so be sure to check it out.

I wish all of you a wonderful holiday weekend.

A Happy Hello

Here is a super-simple CAS card for you today.  Its a Kraft card base, and I stamped the big flowers from the PTI stamp set, Sending You, right onto the card.   I love these flower stamps from this set.  Its fun to make 2-toned flowers and scatter them all over the card. I colored clear gems with coordinating Copic markers and placed them in the center of the flowers. I stamped the angled label from Label Basics and then placed the sentiment, also from the Sending You stamp set.  

Have a wonderful day! 

Celebrate Today

I am loving the Circa 1934 papers from Cosmo Cricket.  I have had them in my stash for a while, but havent used them until now.  They are so vintag-y and sweet. Here, I used them paired with Kraft cardstock and a Pure Poppy doily die cut.  I punched 6 squares again, and arranged them into a rectangle (this is an easy way to add some dimension to a rather simple card, and also anchors your focal elements.) I scalloped the edge of the pattern paper layer on this card. The yellow lace is from Websters Pages. The doily die cut is from PTI (doily details die collection) and the circle frame and sentiment are from Tag Its 2.   

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great day! 

Big Birthday Wishes

 Here is a quick and easy birthday card, that does not take alot of time to put together. I simply punched out 6 squares of Circa 1934 (Cosmo Cricket) papers and arranged them as a rectangle on the card front.  I then die cut a doily image (PTI- doily details dies) as the focal point for the card.  I layered a circle, stamped with Tag Its 1 and a sentiment from Birthday Bash Sentiments, and ran a length of  red Websters Pages ribbon underneath. I used the red pearls on the top and bottom to "anchor" the elements to the card.   

Hope you have a great day.

Bright Floral Wishes

I had fun making this bright, colorful card.  The Sending You stamp set from PTI, ROCKS!! It has multiple floral images that you can layer with different colors to make awesome flower backgrounds for your cards. The flowers could also serve as focal images too. The sentiment also comes from the Sending You stamp set.  The Label and Frame is from the Label Basics set, and I used the matching die to cut the frame. I used pink bakers twine on the label and stickles (glitter glue) to accent the flower centers.

Have a wonderful day!!

Sending Love

Hello Paper Maniacs!! Hopefully, by now, you are all experiencing some nice spring weather. It appears the weather will be breaking here in NJ, real soon. Yesterday it was yucky and rainy, so here is a card that fit the day. I used Echo Park Springtime paper and and adorable Stampavie stamp (Under My Umbrella). The trim is from Websters Pages. I colored the image with Copic Markers.

Please stop by the storefront this week, Patti is having another amazing sale. You won't want to miss this one!!

Have a wonderful day. :-)

Floral Fusion

Here's a fun card I made using the Flower Fusion 2 stamp set and matching die from PTI.  I pulled out a bunch of different PTI felt colors and cut the flowers using the Flower Fusion 2 die and adhered them to the Kraft cardstock.  The frame is from the Fillable Frames Additions 1 set, the sentiment comes from Flower Fusion 1 and the cute little butterfly is from the Tag Its 2 set. The flower centers are from the Flower Fusion 2 stamp set as well. 

Hope  you have a great day!!

A Rainbow of Wishes

Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely LOVE rainbows and anything having to do with rainbows.  They hold a special place in my heart, especially on the rare occasion when I can actually see one. I always think of my dad when I see one, like a sign that he is still right here. Rainbows=Happiness.

I had so much fun making the rainbow for this card.  I used PTI's new Ribbon Tails stamp set and different colors of Memento inks on white cardstock.  Then I just tied coordinating bakers twine around the rows.  The sentiments come from the Sending You and Fillable Frames 1 stamp sets from PTI.

Have a HAPPY day.

Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop Challenge- Blooming Flowers

Hello- It's the 25th, and do you know what that means??? It's time for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge.  This months challenge is:

Use Embroidery Floss

For the March Blog Hop we are challenging you to use embroidery floss in a fun and inventive way on your project. This could include stitching, wrapping it around and tying it like ribbon, braiding, accenting tags, embroidered patterns or anything else you can dream up! We look forward to seeing your creations!

Here is my card:

Friends- I needed another dose of spring card. We have had 2 snowstorms this week, 1 snow day and delayed openings yesterday at the schools, and Im just sick of winter to say the least.  I thought winter had left when we had some awesome 60 and 70 degree temperatures last week. Sighhhhhhh. Guess winter is still holding on a little bit longer. Making this card cheered me up.  Look at all those blooming flowers!! I cannot wait until we have some flowers sprouting up, grass growing and birds singing their songs.

I used the new Flower Fusion sets 1 and 2 by PTI, and the tiny grass stamp from the Love Lives Here stamp set.  Stamped the images right onto the white cardstock and embellished with buttons and rhinestones. Fun. Easy. Springy. (I used bakers twine as my embroidery floss, I embellished the buttons with it- hope thats ok PTI peeps. I love using embroidery floss and bakers twine on the button holes.)

Have a Wonderful Day!!

HB 2 U

Hey Paper Maniac peeeeps, how are you all doing on this wonderful Thursday?? I have a really easy card to share with you today- its a white cardstock base, which I stamped the images right onto. The images are Kanban Stamps- Fairy Cakes, and colored with copics. I accented a few areas with stickles, and the glittery strips are made with double-sided tape and just press the glitter of choice right into the strip.

Hope you have a great day!!

Happy Spring!

Hello Paper Maniacs, is anyone getting Spring Fever yet?? I know I sure am.  The weather is starting to get real nice in NJ and I hope it stays this way.  I am done with the dreaded winter already.  So, in honor of spring, I made this card with some cuuuuuuute new Echo Park paper (Springtime) and an adorable Stampavie Stamp.  Patti has tons of new CHA releases arriving at the Paper Maniac Store everyday, stop on by and check it out. 

Have a wonderful day! 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Happy Birthday Collage

Hello everyone, here is another "go-to sentiment" style card.  I LOVE how easy it is to make these kinds of cards.  Its fun to pick out all the different styled sentiments and then match up different inks to make a really fun card.  For this card, I stayed with 2 shades of green and brown.  The frame and image come from the PTI Tiny Treats Birthday set, and the frame is cut with the Mat Stack 5 die.  All of the birthday sentiments come from the following PTI kits:  Birthday Bash Sentiments, Say it with Style, Up Up and Away, Simple Sentiments, Make a Wish and Tiny Treats: Birthday. 

Have a great day!!

Have a Wonderful Day

 

Here's a fun springy card made with the new Flower Fusion 1 set from PTI.  This is such a fun set, and it even has a matching flower die.  Hello? Felt flowers, anyone??  eeeep. The frame is made from the Mat Stack 4 die (I punched the inside out and used it on another card.) I love being able to do that, instead of throwing the frame part away, which is what I used to do, out of habit.  I just placed some 3D foam on the back of the frame piece to pop it up a bit.  FUN!!

Here is a close up of the frame:

The sentiment comes from the Flower Fusion 1 set as well.  The flowers are cut with the matching die, using PTI felt (Harvest Gold, Raspberry Fizz and Terracotta Tile).  The grass is a strip of MemoryBox Minuet pattern paper. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a Wonderful Day!!

Sparkliest Butterfly

Hey Paper Maniacs! Hope you are all having a great weekend so far! I was happy that I grabbed some time to play with some new Memory Box papers and an awesome new Memory Box butterfly stamp. The stamped image is fun to color and glitter up. :-) The pattern papers are from the Minuet collection, look at that- it even matches the stamp. The lace accent is from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

It's Birthday Time

Here is another fun sentiment collage- I just love making these kind of cards.  The tutorial is part of the Make It Monday series over on Paper Trey Ink's blog.  Click HERE for the "Go To Sentiment Card" tutorial. This is just a plain white card front, with various PTI birthday sentiments stamped in different Memento Inks across the bottom half.  The shaped piece is PTI Mat Stack 5 and the stamped images come from the Tiny Treats Birthday set.  I used orange zest buttons and orange baker's twine (divine twine).  

Thanks for stopping by!!

Birthday Wishes

Hello Paper Maniacs and Happy Saturday.  Hope you all had a great week.  All my lovies have been struggling with another round of sickness this week- and I'm blaming this terrible winter.  We had a small taste of spring last week, and poof, its gone and now its freezing again.  So, in honor of spring, I wanted to make a bright, floral card.  I used the awesome new Memory Box Brioche papers and a sentiment from Kanban Stamps Love Hearts set.  The lace is new Hero Arts adhesive lace found in the store.  I made the floral medallion, and Paper Maniac will be sharing that tutorial with you real soon.  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm and healthy. 

Forever and a Day

In honor of Valentine's Day, here is one more LOVE card.  It was a very simple card to make, basically a red base, with a strip of pattern paper, and a blue sentiment strip.  The flower medallion was super fun to make as well.  (Tutorial coming soon)

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!   

Wishing for Spring

Happy Saturday Paper Maniacs!! Hope you all had a great week and are off to a great weekend. Here's a fun card I made using new Kanban Stamps and 3 Bugs in a Rug (April Showers) papers found in the Paper Maniac Store.  The stamped image is colored with Copic markers.  The "Happy Spring" sticker also comes from the April Showers paper pack.  This paper pack is so awesomely beautiful.  I actually had a dilemma deciding which papers to use- I didnt want to cut them up, they are that pretty!! Hope you have a great weekend.

Birthday Boy Collage

Here's another fun sentiment collage card.  This one I made with a masculine theme, as there are alot of boys/men that I have to make cards for this month.  :-)  I used PTI New Leaf cardstock as the base, then layered with pattern paper from Echo Park Little Boy collection.  The following PTI stamp sets were used on the collage panel: Big Birthday Wishes, Birthday Bash Sentiments, Make a Wish, Take Three Summer and Just the Ticket. 

Have a GREAT day!

Love You Collage

 

There is a fun technique highlighted over on the Papertrey Ink blog this week, as part of their new series: Make It Mondays.  This week's tutorial was a Go-To Sentiment Card. I Love the idea behind this card- basically you collage similar themed sentiments all over the main panel.  It's amazing how fast a card can come together when you make one of these!!

This is a LOVE themed card.  I used sentiments from several different PTI stamp sets: Way to Go Kiddo, Delightful Dahlia, 2010 Love Tags, Signature greetings, Fillable Frames 10, Mat Stack 3 Collection, Signature Series: Flower, Little Bitty Bird, and Love Lives here (hearts). 

The cardstock is Memory Box: Dove grey. The pattern paper is from the K&Co Ka-Zoo paper pad.  Then I finished the card with Pink bakers twine from the Twinery and Rhinestones (colored with Copics to make them pink). 

Have a great day!!

My Favorite PTI creation from 2010

As part of the anniversary festivities over on the PTI Blog this week, Nichole asked her dear followers to pick thier favorite PTI creation from last year.  This is mine.  :-)

Here is my scalloped circle card, made with the biggest Spellbinders scalloped circle die. I think the circle ends up being about 4 to 4.5" round when cut. It fits realnicely inside an A2 envelope. I used Bazzil cardstocks (kiwi and tangerine) along with some Echo Park pattern paper. How cool is that paper- butterflies all over!! LOVE it!!

Well, I couldn't help it, the butterflies were so darn cute, I had to make a matching envelope using the A2 envelope liner die from PTI.  I lined a Kraft envelope with the awesome paper, when die cut also include a score line.  Just tuck into the envelope and tack a little glue on the back of it to stay in place.

Here is a close-up of the card.

You can see that I used a white gel pen to add accent dots around the whole card. I also used some Stickles (glitter glue) on the butterfly wings. Copic markers were used to color the stamped images.

Shaped cards are so much fun, and it rarely enters my mind to make them. I think I'm going to have to give it a try more often.

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you have a fabulous weekend.